


Cat-Ra

by Monokub



Category: She-Ra - Fandom, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: 2018, AU, Alternate - Freeform, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Adora Remains with the Horde (She-Ra), Alternate Universe - Catra is She-Ra, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canon - Cartoon, Catra (She-Ra) Redemption, Catra (She-Ra)-centric, Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, F/M, Gen, Girl - Freeform, Horde Adora (She-Ra), Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, IF, Minor Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Multi, Netflix and Chill, OF, POV Catra (She-Ra), Princess - Freeform, Princesses, RA - Freeform, Role Reversal, Role Swap, She-ra - Freeform, Ship, Switching, What-If, cartoon, female - Freeform, finds the sword, girls, if catra found the sword, my first fic on ao3, netflix, power, role, she, swap, swapped, switch - Freeform, switched, sword - Freeform, there will be shipping elements, universe - Freeform, what, what would happen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-26
Updated: 2019-09-03
Packaged: 2019-11-05 19:12:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 63
Words: 620,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17924693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Monokub/pseuds/Monokub
Summary: (Title changed from She-Ra IF)"If" is such a powerful word. What if the reasonings for our duo were different? What if the personalities of our two favorite females were altered ever-so slightly? Would their adventure be any easier, or harder? How would Catra go about trying to be a hero? What sort of struggles would change because of a simple switch? And most of all, what if Catra became She-Ra?Current Episode: Season 2 Episode 1 Part 5





	1. Episode 1: The Sword Part 1 P1

_**Hey Guys, monokub here! Brand new user to Ao3, Thanks to WingedPegasus for the invite! Anyway I hope you all enjoy this series as I look forward to all the feedback from you guys! Comments are welcomed all over! Leave a like fave, share, etc., whatever you do on this site ^^. All these chapters are on my fanfiction page too, hence i have so much to post here. As such, I have author notes i post at the beginning of chapters for the people over there so if some things don't make sense, ignore them.** _

 

_**Other than that, enjoy ^^!** _

 

 

 

_**A/N: A few things to note before we begin.** _

_**1, to my fellow RWBY fans, I'll be taking a break from Rwby for awhile. I need to get back the energy i used to have by trying something new, so the latest rwby series is on a short hiatus, sorry.** _

_**2, I'll be posting the episodes in 2 parts per episode. For those who know my usual work, I usually write verily long chapters, and while some people love that and all, they also know for rwby's short 10-14 minute episodes, i write near 8k+ chapters. Cause of that, I'll be splitting these into two parts per episode, otherwise I'll be looking at a freaking 15k episode posts, and I dont think anyone wants to go through those incredibly long things XP.** _

_**And 3, the last thing, I'll be posting these in both she-ra sections, the old one and newest one. Reason being? Because I'm 90% sure half the She-ra 2018 fanbase is on that side of things such as they are on this one- I almost posted in this in the classic she-ra section myself by accident, so given how easy it is to make that mistake, i'll be posting on both sides so everyone who's a fan of Netflix's she-ra can see this.** _

_**So with that said, onto the show ^^!** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

"Crap!" Catra hissed as she raced down the halls.

Life in the Horde was never easy. You were expected to follow orders, ask questions never, and preform routine training regimes until they came of age and joined the Horde themselves. For the glory of Hordak and the unity of Eternia, all members of the Horde were expected to work hard and earn their keep, prove themselves to their fellow peers, and surpass any and all expectations of their leaders.

That's why it was a sorry morning for Catra herself when she realized she overslept. It was bad enough when she appeared late to her training sessions but it was so much worse when she did it on a constant basis. It wasn't her fault though, at least to her, that she was a heavy sleeper. Being part cat aside she found little to no enjoyment in her line of work. Everyday it was always "do this", "do that", "do all of these things" repeatedly and without end. There was never a break for her.

And a break was the least she wanted out of this.

What she truly wanted was respect. Not once since being raised in this place did anyone ever show her an ounce of courtesy. No one wanted anything to do with her, no one wanted to acknowledge her existence, it was almost like she was diseased or carrying a plague that everyone wanted to avoid. It was tolerable from her fellow teammates and all that, the real trouble came from her superiors that graded and scored her numerous tests, both physical and mental. It always felt like they pushed her harder than everyone else and acted like she as at fault when someone else messed up.

Naturally all of these demerits and bad scores weren't just accepted with a slap on the risk or a stern talking about whatever teamwork-related fancy shmancy piece of garbage they could find in their rulebooks. These ranged from simple things like cleaning an entire room with their own toothbrush, running laps back and forth across a room a hundred times until someone melted down to their kneecaps, to being forced to miss dinner for the night and breakfast before the next training regime. And those were all the easy penalties one could receive around here.

The unlucky ones were never heard from again. The really unlucky ones came back with the inability to recall what they went through without breaking down.

But these sort of things were to be expected for those serving for the greatness of the Horde. To bring absolute peace and rule under all of Eternia under one banner, the followers of Hordak followed these rules and tough schedules without hesitation. They were all too proud to give their life for the Horde, some of them owing them as a form of debt for saving their lives, other out of fear of what would happen if they opposed the Horde.

Thankfully, like many others, Catra found herself on the former end of things. Brought in as an infant like many others, Catra found herself indebted to the great Hordak. Granted, there were times she found it hard to muster any energy to support the Horde, due to the constant abuse she suffered throughout this place, but as long as there was one person who treated her as a person within these grounds, there was hope that anyone else would turn around.

"Catra!" The familiar sound of an overseer shouting at her appearance said otherwise. "You're-

"Late, tardy, run laps after, blah blah blah." Catra shrugged, having heard these words hundreds of times in the past.

"Actually they just went in." Well that was a first. "Now hurry on up or you  **will**  be running laps afterwards!"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it." This kind of conversation was about as polite as it got between Catra and anyone else other than her friend.

She wasted no time leaping into the obstacle course of the training room, using her literal cat-like reflexes to help leap herself from the ground to several of the nearby pillars, jumping from place to place till she managed to reach the top of one of the many pillars. From ahead she could already hear the sound of gunfire, the flashing of lights, and the sounds of blasters going off, assuring her that the rest of the team was already partway through the course. That left things generally easier on her end to manage since it meant they took the liberty of destroying several of the training bots throughout the room, provided any of them could reach her from her vantage point.

Still not wanting to find herself behind any of the other four, especially someone like Kyle, Catra leapt her way between each of the individual pillars, being careful to watch her surroundings of any of the nearby droids. While these roly poly robots were nothing more than training dummies, they were still equipped with blasters capable of paralyzing a rookie trainee or disabling a heavy piece of machinery like a tank. The troubling part to this is that those paralyzed were wearing protective vests, ones that would let them know if they were shot and failed the training session. She had yet to see what would happened if she wasn't protected and got shot by one of these massive blasters, and that's how she intended to keep it.

After a mere thirty seconds she finally came to the end of the training session, having easily avoided the other robots that were too distracted by her dimwitted teammates to pay any attention to her. Below her she could see the only other person she could expect to make it this far into the course, and the only person she considered the closest thing to a friend within this abysmal place.

Adora. The one person that treated Catra with respect. They grew up together since they were infants, they got into trouble even though most of the consequences were forced on Catra rather than shared between the both of them, and she was the only person who saw Catra as one of their own, not some freak with a tail that deserved to be shunned by society or casted aside like a rat. She was her only friend, her only ally in this bleak place.

And she wasn't about to see her friend fail just because her other teammates were too pathetic to keep up with her.

Before Adora could act, Catra brought it upon herself to strike first. Right before the massive droid could fire upon her, she leapt through the air over to the massive construct, catching Adora's surprise and distracting the droid for just a split second, long enough for it to bring a sudden halt to it's cannons as Catra landed on back of the robotic spider-like bot. If there was one feature Catra adored about herself it was her feline traits. They were useful, subtle, and gave her claws sharp enough to dig her hand straight into the control panels of the massive construct's back.

"This looks important." Catra joked aloud as she ripped several wires from the giant mech. Not wanting to waste any opportunity, or take the chance of pulling the wrong wire, Catra continued to scrape and tear out anything and everything she could dig out of the machine. No matter how many sparks, wires, or computer chips she tore from the machine, she didn't relent until she the machine started to rumble with a low-pitched hum ringing out.

Smoke and the sound of it's legs scraping against metal could be heard as the machine slowly started to tumble in upon itself, it's legs folding in place as it began to descend slowly into the hole from whence it came. Grinning to herself, Catra quickly climbed over the giant droid, flipping briefly through the air before landing perfectly ahead of the robot itself, her back turned to it as she simply grinned to the massive wreck. Nothing but broken sheets of metal and wires could be seen strewn about, cables flailing with electrical sparks as the machine collapsed into it's dark pit.

With a smile she turned her attention back to her fellow comrade, Adora looking at her with a small grin and her arms crossed. "Did you seriously just wait all this time for us to do all the work?" Adora asked, earning a chuckle from the cat. "That's low, even for you.

"Oh come on, someone has to know how make an entra-AHHHHHHHH!" Catra's reply was cut short by the time she took a single step forward. If she had paid any attention to her surroundings, specifically the robot behind her, she would've seen one of the cables accidentally lash around her legs just as she began to walk away. The suddenness of the event was enough to catch her off guard and send her tumbling to the ground, almost immediately getting pulled along into the hole with the robot as it descended into darkness.

If there was anything to be thankful of, it was that the cable just as quickly unwrapped around her leg just as the robot fell further below, otherwise she would've been living the rest of her life on a crutch, provided the Horde even kept her in the state she would've been in. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time to react to the event, having been distracted by her friend, to grasp any of the surrounding walls or side of the hole as she found herself plunging into darkness, her reflexes failing her the one time she most needed them.

It was only at times like these, those moments that lasted a split second, that she truly envied having a friend. By the time her head just passed the opening of the hole she felt a strong firm grip grasp her hand, saving her from whatever painful fall she would've suffered. Unsurprisingly she was greeted with the smirking expression of her only friend, Adora finding it all too fitting that the cocky cat nearly fell to her fate simply from trying to show off.

"So what joke works here? See you next fall or something? Thanks for hanging around? Let me know, I can do this all day." Adora teased, earning nothing more than a sarcastic chuckle from the cat.

"Ha. Ha. Ha..."

...

...

"Ghhhh." Catra grunted to herself as she straightened out her hair. The locker rooms were empty save for the two friends who continued to settle in for the day, with Catra working on her hair she messed up with the fall and Adora unequipping her training armor. "I seriously can't believe I only got one robot before failing the course."

"You didn't fail the course, you just fell for one trap. Besides, if it makes you feel any better, you got one more robot than Kyle did." Adora commented still in a slightly joking manner.

"Wow, what a surprise! It doesn't."

"Aw come on, you're always so cheerful. I thought you'd be happy that we're both senior cadets now. This means we'll be going out in the field soon, fighting alongside the rest of the Horde!"

"And still taking orders like lapdogs." Catra retorted. "Don't you ever get tired of all the work, all the orders? The higher our ranks climb, the less fun we're going to be able to have around here and the more grunt work we're going to be forced to do."

"Fun? What are you talking about? There's plenty of fun to be had around- HUH!" Adora let out a startled gasp as she pointed away. "Is that a mouse?!"

"What? Where?!" It took several seconds of Adora's snickering and follow up laughter before Catra realized she had been played again for the hundredth time by the exact same trick.

"Hahaha," Adora laughed holding her sides, "are you ever not going to fall for that?"

"I don't know, are you ever going to LET IT GO? It was one time." The humanoid cat muttered with a small pout.

"I know, but for some reason it's always funny."

This. This is exactly what Catra was referring to earlier. These little moments of just the two of them chuckling and joking back and forth were the things they were never going to have once they moved on out in the field. For all Catra knew, they might even be assigned to different sections of Eternia! It's not a thought she wanted to think of, but with all that was going around here, she wouldn't put the possibility past her, especially when they had to follow orders from someone like-

"Adora." A voice greeted as it stepped out of the shadows, catching the two teens by surprise as Catra leaned off the lockers.

"Shadow Weaver." Adora greeted back with a respectful salute. To this, Catra mentally rolled her eyes rather than physically, knowing how easy Shadow Weaver was to anger whenever anyone other than Adora addressed her.

"You have done well." She complimented with a pleasant tone. "You've completed your training course in record time."

"Uh, well that wasn't just me. You know, Catra did, too." Adora gestured to her friend, trying to share the praise.

"Ah, yes." Like every other time Catra was involved with a conversation with Shadow Weaver and Adora, her tone shifted from a friendly and polite demeanor to one of utter annoyance and displeasure. How someone as unmotivated as you completed the course in that time, I'll never know. Personally I would've seen you demoted after your little stunt nearly cost both of your exams. You're quite fortunate someone as dependable as Adora was there to save you."

"Always serving up those pep talks, huh, Shadow Weaver?" Catra tried to joke, only earning the sternful voice and Shadow Weaver's ire.

"Silence!" She barked as her hair blended in to an ever growing darkness behind her. Even something as minimal as a joke with Shadow Weaver was enough to earn the dark witch's wrath. Already Catra could feel the soft coils of Shadow Weaver's magic crawling upon her skin, slowly rising up her body. "Do not be flippant with me, cadet."

Shadow Weaver was the best and worst part of a mother and father put into one. When she addressed Adora, she acted like a mother should be; polite, sincere, only raising her voice only so often if needing to discipline her, which she never did. She was always soft and patient with the young blonde. Then She was the worst part of every abusive father whenever she addressed Catra. Whether it was a joke, or simply crossing her path, almost everything Catra did earned Shadow Weaver's scorn. It was almost as if she had a target on her back that only Shadow Weaver could see.

Not wishing to prolong whatever anger she incurred from Shadow Weaver, Catra pushed aside from pride as her eyes shifted away. "Sorry, Shadow Weaver." With that simple apology, the shadows that crept up her face and the rest of her body immediately receded, vanishing to who knows where.

"Adora," She addressed again in a pleasant tone, "walk with me." She ordered as she slithered away. Unsure of what she wanted or why she wanted only her, Adora gave a puzzled and slightly concerned look to her friend. Being the friend that she was, Catra could only shrug as she crossed her arms, giving her a small smile as Shadow Weaver called her again. "Adora." Shadow Weaver barked again, Adora quickly following behind before she had to be told a third time.

Catra just smiled for a bit as she watched her friend leave, her expression slowly changing to a scowl when the two were finally out of sight. This was her life. This was their life. Every day came down to just training, yelling, training, yelling, and if they were  _lucky_ , training and yelling. The only difference between her and Adora was that half the time Adora had the joy of not being the one yelled at, not that she expressed this glee audibly.

As she walked out of the locker rooms Catra found herself wondering to herself. Why did she continue to follow orders around here? Why on Eternia did life have to throw her into a lifestyle like this? Being seen as nothing more than a runt who was destined to follow orders for the rest of her life? Always working while someone else took the credit for their hard work while they continued to boss them around without worry or care? This garbage?!

She was meant for something greater than this, her and Adora! And why shouldn't they? They earned it! At least that's the conclusion Catra thought to herself. Both being orphans as infants and being raised in the horrid place that was the Horde? That was a fate some would consider worse than death, and whether or not Catra grew used to that sort of life, it didn't mean she came to find it comforting or happy. Everything about this place screamed oppression for people like her, people others saw as "freaks" just because they were part animal in some nature.

The Fright Zone was the furthest thing from a home. The Horde were the last thing she would call family. Even her so-called allies were the furthest things she had from friends, Adora excluded. Speaking of which...

* _thud_ *

"Ah-!" Barely registering what she collided into in the first place, Catra just gave an unamused look as she noticed the two guards she bumped into in the hallway. She barely gave them a shrug as she continued walking past them, an evident lack of care coming off from the wildcat. "Watch where you're going, freak!" One of the guards huffed before continuing their patrol.

That was the word that caused Catra's ears to twitch. "What'd you call me?" She growled silently as she walked back to the duo. It'd be easier to look into their eyes if they weren't wearing helmets.

"What? Got cotton in your ears, freak?" The left guard replied.

"This freak happens to be a Senior Cadet now thank you very much." She pointed out. "So show some respect!"

"Oh, a thousand pardons your majesty!" The right guard mockingly bowed as he spoke in a sarcastic tone. "I had no idea I was speaking to such royalty!"

"Do you want us to shine your helmet after we dust your royal throne, your highness? Pffft hahaha!" The guards both broke into laughter as they walked away again from this mockery.

Catra squeezed her claws in anger. She knew getting fed up with guards like these was pointless, and knew attacking them would be a bigger mistake. Senior Cadet or not, they still held seniority over her by several more ranks. Guards such as these would be several ranks higher than her, those trusted to guard the Fright Zone being picked out by lord Hordak himself. Attacking them was a sure way to find herself in a jail cell, regardless if they started a fight or not. Even if she did attack them, that would give someone like Shadow Weaver too much of an excuse to personally destroy Catra herself no matter how much Adora tried to protect her.

All she could do was grit her teeth as she stormed off in the opposite direction as she made a simple vow to herself.

"Those fools will be the first one to pay when I rule all of this..."

...

...

It was only a few minutes later of marching down the hallways Catra picked up the familiar scent of her friend. With a mischievous grin, she leapt to the pipes towards the ceiling, leaping from each of the pipes as she followed along the scent to the outside balcony of the base. Sure enough there was Adora, leaning against the rails overlooking the Fright Zone. Surely she had to have some fun bit of news if Shadow Weaver wanted to talk to her in private. With a grin she waited till Adora turned in her direction before leaping in to strike, tackling her to the ground

"Ah-!" Adora let out a startled yelp.

"What'd she say?" Catra asked curiously as her attention shifted to the badge. "Hey what's this?" She examined the strange badge as she leapt onto the side rail. It had a strange green batwing-like design stretching out from the center of the emblem.

"Hey! Give that back!" Adora's attempt to swipe the badge back from the cat was futile as she leapt to a higher pipe above the balcony. It took Catra a short while to determine what the strange badge was, longer to believe it was real.

"No way! You've been promoted?" The slightly embarrassed look on her friends face told her all she needed to know.

"Well... kind of." She replied humbled. "I mean, yeah, I guess. Heh." Catra's eyes widened at this. This was all too good to be true! It didn't matter to her if she herself got promoted or Adora did, all this meant to her was that there was so much fun to be had! "But it's not that big of a deal." Catra jumped down from the pipe as she stood alongside Adora.

"Are you kidding? This is awesome!" She beamed. "We're gonna see the world and conquer it! Adora, I need to blow something up!" She couldn't hold back the pur that escaped her throat as her eyes light up with the sparkling stars of the night sky.

"Um..." It was only with that mumble that Catra snapped back from her hyperness.

"What?"

"Shadow Weaver says... you're not coming." The minute she used the words "Shadow Weaver" Catra instantly knew she wasn't going to like what came after before Adora finished her sentence. And what do you know, she lost every bit of excitement she had building up when she processed what she fully said.

"What?!" Catra stammered with a high screech. "But my time was just as good as yours today! Is this because of that stupid pitfall thing or whatever? Because I still finished it within the record time, we both did! What is Shadow Weaver's problem with me?" She hissed again leaping onto the balcony.

"It doesn't have anything to do with that, I think at least." She struggled to find the right words to say, anything that sounded the least insulting to her best friend. "I mean you are kind of disrespectful."

"Why should I respect her? She's just bitter that she doesn't have any real power that doesn't come from Hordak and everyone knows it!" She pointed out walking across the rail. "I'm sure it must be easy being a people pleaser like you."

"I'm not a pe-" Catra didn't even give her the decency of finishing her sentence, completely ignoring Adora's following plea to come back. With a sigh, the newly deemed Force Captain chased after her feline friend, knowing the usual spot where she could find her.

...

Life wasn't fair.

That was the one simple rule most people had growing up anywhere in Eternia. For Catra though? She envied those who complained about their own lives being unfair. Those people were nothing more than selfish little pests in the world. She knew they were completely unaware of how potentially good they really had it wherever they were. They had the opportunity to complain about how things weren't given to them, yet for a place like the Fright Zone getting anything at all from someone else was nothing short of a miracle.

All she had around here was this nice little spot at the top of the Fright Zone that could overlook the entire Zone, sitting with her legs curled up on a balcony as she just stared into the distance with her thoughts.

And now, here was Adora's new badge, given to her by the one person in this world who hated Catra's guts to no end. Of course she would get something from Shadow Weaver, she would get anything from Shadow Weaver, she would get everything from Shadow Weaver! Sure she was jealous, but for far more than just a stupid badge.

Adora had someone that cared about her deeply, deeper than she could possibly understand. The same Adora she could hear approaching from behind her.

"Huff... Look, I'm sorry," she apologized as Catra shifted her eyes, "I didn't even think you wanted to be Force Captain."

"I don't." Catra replied in a huff as she handed the badge back to her. "Here, take your stupid badge." It pained Adora to see her friend like this, curled up upon the railings in a pout with her tail strewn across her bare feet. She could understand everything bothering her, she just didn't know the best way to truly cheer her up.

"Come on, Catra. This is what I've been working for my entire life." Adora commented as she leaned over the railings, Catra shifting her eyes back to her. "I was hoping you could, I don't know, be happy for me."

These were the moments she hated Adora. Not when she was complaining, not when she was pouting about something, in fact she found that kinda cute and funny. What she hated was when she was pouting or bothered by something Catra herself did, and usually she always had the right reason to be bothered by whatever she did.

"Ugh, whatever." She grunted. "It's not like I even care. I just want to get out of this place before I die of boredom." She moaned lying back on the rails. "I wonder what's even outside of the Fright Zone anyway."

If there was ever a single thing Adora could do to turn Catra's mood into a full 180*, it was dangling the keys to a skiff over Catra's face.

"Why don't we find out?"

...

...

"I take it all back! You're officially awesome!" Whooooooo!" Catra cheered as they soared through the land at top speeds. Not once since they've been taught how to use these Skiffs have they ever been allowed to ride them, much less drive them, across the Fright Zone, or anywhere for that matter. This was the first time Catra actually had actual fun within the last several months, and more importantly, a sense of freedom. "I can't believe you actually stole a skiff!"

"Borrowed," Adora corrected as she piloted the skiff, "please don't make me regret this."

What was there to regret? They were two friends out in the open world, away from the horrid Fright Zone, and, at least to Catra, they were having the time of their lives! "What's there to regret? This is awesome! I've always wanted to drive one of these things. Here, gimme!" Catra insisted, wasting no time to swipe the control from Adora.

"Whoa there, save us enough fuel to make our way back!" Adora warned. She loved hanging out with her best friend, but even she was aware of how reckless the cat could be when she got too excited.

"That is a problem for future Adora and Catra." She stated. No sooner had she sped up the skiff to twice it's speed were the two already wrangling with the controls from each other like little kids fighting over a shared toy.

"I'm driving."

"I want it!"

"Can't have it!"

"Let me!"

"Give it! I'm doing it!"

The argument went back and forth endlessly as the friends fought over the skiff. All the time as they fought they were completely unaware of the change in speeds, directions they were turning, and just how far from the Fright Zone they were venturing from. They weren't even aware they were nearing a strange forest as the two had tackled each other to the ground of the skiff. By the time either of them got back up, the scenery changed from it's decrepit wasteland appearance to a more tranquil and peaceful-looking forestry, bluish green grass highlighting the trees with numerous and strange plants growing around the surrounding forest.

"Whoa! Catra!" Adora's yelp loosened Catra's grip on the skiff, giving the blond soldier enough time to wrestle control from it and bring the vehicle down to a halt before they crashed.

This was nothing like the two had ever seen before, nor anything like the two knew exist. Was it the power of the evil princesses that gave these plants life or something else? They wouldn't put it past them if the former, often hearing stories of the evilness of the other princesses, being trained day in and day out through their upbringing to defeat these evil fiends.

Yet it did nothing to deter their curiosity of this place.

"Whoa... What is it?" Catra whispered as she looked around, speaking quietly as if something could attack them had she raised her voice.

"I think this must be the Whispering Woods." Adora guessed correctly. "They say there are strange, old monsters in there, and the trees move when you're not looking. Every Horde Squadron sent in there has never come out again."

Old creatures? Moving Trees? No Horde has ever come back alive from? This was awesome!

"Let's go in!" Catra's suggestion caught Adora off guard as she immediately sped up the skiff again.

"Wait, what-? Ahhhhh!" Adora's scream was drowned out by the loud humming of the skiff as Catra sped it straight ahead.

"Woo-hooooo!" Catra cheered having the time of her life.

This was perfect! Everything about this current situation was perfect! Two simple Senior Cadets minding their own business, skipping the fact they stole a skiff, accidentally wandering into the dreaded and dangerous Whispering Woods where no Horde soldier has ever returned where evil monsters and who-knows-what roam? This was promotion material for sure!

All Catra would have to do is venture the skiff a little further into the forest, a simple plan as long as they stayed on board. The deeper they went into the forest, the more likely they would get the respect they deserved when they returned, the respect SHE deserved when they finally returned. Why, if she even ad libs a little by saying she saved Adora from one of those old monster things, she might finally get respect from Shadow Weaver of all people, or at least enough for the old witch to stop pestering her anymore!

Not only that, but if they could do something like find a trophy off a dead animal, some ancient remains, or anything that looked important around here, there's no way Hordak could possibly pass her up on a promotion to Force Captain! Then nothing would be able to keep the two of them separated!

It was perfect! It was simple! It was-

"Catra! Tree!" Adora quickly yelled as she took control of the skiff again. Apparently Catra had been so caught up in her thoughts she didn't even register the tree they nearly crashed into. Luckily thanks to Adora's quick reaction she managed to divert the direction directly upwards, just seconds away from crashing head on into the large tree itself.

Despite preventing the crash, and possibly saving their lives, Catra still found herself a little irritated at the idea of Adora messing up her plan. "I got it, I got it. Just give me back the-"

* ** _Whack_**!*

"Ahhhhhh-!" The few feet of space Catra traveled to shove Adora out of the way was the only few feet necessary to place Catra on the receiving end of a heavily large branch that smacked into her face, bashing her straight in the head and throwing her off the skiff from nearly a hundred feet in the air. There wasn't enough time for Adora to grab for her friend by the time she processed what just happened,

"Catra!" Adora cried out in fear, doing whatever she could to pilot the skiff again. Unfortunately she found her controls hampered by the increased wind resistance against the skiff's sails, a process that became more troubling as Adora was forced to change directions several times to avoid any oncoming collisions. There was no time to make a quick U-turn.

Back on Catra's end of things, the cat found herself thankful for the helmet she always wore from keeping the branch from knocking her out cold. That did little to protect her from the fall as she didn't even have anything close to grab onto. The only thing that came within arm's length of her was another large tree branch that managed to break her fall, crashing straight through it before finally hitting the ground with a large thud.

Following a large flat bushy bed, the last thing Catra registered was a loud crashing noise before everything went black.

...

"Ngggh..." She groaned a bit to herself as she rubbed her head. Now she was slightly regretting the stupid helmet. It was useful for taking small blows directly to the forehead, but it sure left a ringing sensation all throughout her head when something hard slammed against her whole body - like the ground. If there was any bright side to anything that just happened, it was the fact this bush was here at all to break her fall, even if it didn't lessen the soreness through her whole body. "Huh? Adoraaaa?" Catra called out.

So much for her big idea. Now, if Adora felt like tattling, she was going to find herself on the receiving end of whatever backlash this genius plan had for her. She didn't know which direction she came from thanks to the fall, which meant there was a 50/50 chance of either getting lost in the woods and possibly eaten by something, or, if she was lucky, finding her way back to the Fright Zone, after she found Adora of course.

That was when a strange glow suddenly caught her attention.

"Huh?" Of the many things she thought she would see within this place, a mysterious sword tangled in roots was the very last thing on her mind. She felt like her body was reacting on it's own as she approached the mysterious blade, being mesmerized by it's brilliant light. "Whoa... Awesome."

She didn't know what it was. She didn't know where she was. All she did know was that this was possibly the biggest thing she needed to get her promotion. Sure, falling out of the skiff and crashing to the ground put a damper on things, but as long as she came back with something that looked important, a mysterious glowing sword growing out of some roots seeming like a good start, then this all would've been worth it.

"This is so worth a promotion!" Catra declared as she reached for the sword. The moment she touched the tip of the hilt though, she let out a gasp as everything around her began to be engulfed in a blinding light.

All at once, numerous images began to flash within her head. Strange symbols, various planets, mysteriously large gems, the cosmos themselves, all began flashing within her mind. All of this played on as a strange voice began echoing in her mind.

"Balance must be restored." It stated. "Etheria must seek a hero." The next two things Catra saw were very confusing to her. The first one was an ancient-looking temple, one she was sure were within these very woods given the scenery surrounding it.

As for the latter image however, it was not only confusing, but harder to make out given the blinding light that surrounded it. All she could see here was a mysterious swordsman, possibly a knight, with flowing long hair and a cape, standing on what appeared to be a cliffside. Whether she was willing herself closer or the strange voice was controlling her imagery, she found herself being drawn closer to the mysterious figure, followed by what sounded like a baby's cry.

That was when everything began to distort in front of her.

"A...ra...Ra..." Just as the figure itself turned it's head, it's piercing white eyes looking at Catra herself, she felt everything becoming blurry. The strange sound of static began to hiss around her as the images themselves began to distort. Everything began to distort like a television breaking down. The previous images coming back to her were now distorted messes of what they once were, some of them filled with a reg pigment, others distorting like a screen cracking before her very eyes.

"Err... Or... Inv...Er..." The source of the mysterious figure finally revealed itself to her briefly, appearing as a mysteriously tall purple woman, who became just as distorted as the previous images did, all while everything around her was swallowed in a surrounding darkness. "Err... Y-Y-You are n-n-not-"

* _bzzzt_ *

"-n-n-not the-"

* _bzzzt_ *

"-tore bal-al-al-al-al-ance-"

* _zzzt_ *

"What are you talking about?" Catra finally found her voice as she asked the strange figure. "Not what? You're not making any sense!"

"Y-Yo-Yo-You must-"

* _bzzzt_ *

Normally this kind of conversation would've annoyed Catra to no end, feeling like she was speaking to someone over a broken radio. But for the first time, she found herself more curious and confused on a situation, and slightly afraid. "Must what? What do I have to do?!"

"Y-Y-You-"

* _zzzt_ *

"-Ra-"

* _bzt_ *

The voice began to fade as darkness slowly filled her vision.

"Ca-"

* _zzzt_ *

"Catra... Catra..." Were the last recognizable words she could gather before everything went dark, almost immediately being filled again as the voice changed to one of familiarity.

...

"Catra? Catra!" Adora screamed again as Catra's vision returned, finding her right on top of herself with worry in her eyes.

"WHOAREYOU-!" Catra herself screamed as she shot up, paying little mind as she accidentally collided her helmet into Adora's forehead as she did, pushing her off her body.

"Ow!" Adora whined rubbing her poor innocent forehead.

"Huh? Huh? Huh?" Catra couldn't explain to herself why she was freaking out. Every ounce of wonder and need for information was slowly replaced by confusion as she looked around. Everything looked the same as it did when she looked up the first time, almost down to the exact detail in every way. She was back in the forest, sitting up like she did before, and still in the flat bush that broke her fall! Annoyingly enough even her soreness was back to the same way like when she woke up the first time.

The only key differences now was that Adora was here, rubbing her head for reasons Catra hadn't picked up on, and the strange sword that took her on a hallucinatory trip was nowhere to be seen. Not the sword, not the roots that entangled it, nothing! It was like neither of the two ever existed in the first place.

"What are you talking about?" Adora asked, finally getting through to her delirious friend.

"Adora?" Catra blinked as she looked to kneeling friend. It was thanks to her presence that the anxiety of her confusion finally washed away, still doing little to remove her confusion. "W-Where... where's the sword?"

"The sword?" Adora questioned as the two got up.

"T-T-The sword!" Catra explained as she walked a few yards ahead. "I-It was right here, there were roots everywhere, I touched it, a-a-and then this big purple lady or whoever showed me all these really weird images!"

"A lady?"

"Yeah!" Catra's tail shot up for a moment in glee, feeling as if Adora knew what she meant. "I-I never got her name, but she was so mysterious! Then, I saw like a dozen different pictures in my head, then I saw another person, or at least I think she was a person cause her eye was seriously glowy, then everything started to get scary, and weird, and it was like this person was on a radio or something, and then-!'

"Catra, Catra, slow down, you're not making any sense!" Adora said, frantically shaking her friend by the shoulders. "None of this could've happened, you were only gone for a minute!"

"I-? A minute?" That revelation finally snapped Catra back to reality, despite not getting rid of the sirens of panic going off in the back of her mind. "That's... No, no, no, that's not possible. I mean that person, she was-"

"There was no person!" Adora stated as a matter of fact. "You were lying here for maybe thirty seconds before I finally found you, it took a dozen more just to wake you up."

"But that's..." Catra shook and rubbed her own head as she paced back and forth. "N-No... No that can't be right... I was awake for probably several minutes before I woke up again- I mean..." She managed to catch the last line of confusing dialogue herself. "I mean that' can't be right I can't just wake up and then wake up again... I don't think... unless...! Oh my gosh, I finally understand now!"

"You do?"

"Yes!... I must've gotten brain damage." It was the only detail that made sense to her! She fell from incredible heights, was so focused on finding something that could get her a promotion, and then after she hit her head hard enough with either the branch from earlier or the ground the bush barely cushioned her fall from, she hallucinated the events that felt like minutes had passed despite the fact only seconds had. "I mean what else could it be?"

"Brain damage?" Adora couldn't help but smirk slightly as she raised a brow. As worried as she was for her friend, it was rather humorous hearing her suddenly declare that she induced brain damage from her fall. "I'm pretty sure you weren't brain damaged, Catra."

"But it has to be brain damage! Wait, would I even know if I was brain damaged? Can I be aware of I'm brain damaged?" All of this confusion was adding on to an already-growing headache, making it harder to determine if she was brain damaged or not. The fact of the matter is, she knew the sword was nowhere to be seen, yet she felt like there had to be a sword beyond all reasonable doubt. She was almost certain the imaginary sword was real, yet at the same time wasn't sure if it was real.

It was such a headache!

"Well like I said, there was nothing here except you when I found you." Adora said trying to sound calming. "Whatever you thought you saw it must've been in your dream. Now come on, we've wasted enough time here. We better get back before Shadow Weaver finds out we're gone." She said, walking back over to the parked skiff.

"Y-Yeah.. Yeah you're right." Catra found little point in arguing. Amongst the alternatives, wasting time wondering "what if" was a lot worse than angering Shadow Weaver. Here they were, in the middle of a forest they had no permission from Shadow Weaver or Hordak to be in, after stealing a skiff, and nearly crashing in the middle of the Whispering Woods and getting stranded in the middle of nowhere.

With a heavy sigh to herself, Catra followed behind as the two cadets hopped back into the skiff, wasting no time to get a move on and out of these woods. Today had been a rather tiring day for the young catgirl, one she wasn't sure if she wanted an explanation for. In less than a day she became a Senior Cadet, found her friend getting promoted without her, stole a skiff Adora insisted they just borrowed, got thrown off a skiff from nearly a hundred feet in the air, and took a hallucinatory trip after touching a sword, which was most likely the result of severe brain damage she was suffering.

Despite all of this however, something was nagging at her. Something was telling her from the back of her mind that she needed to go back. Something told Catra she needed to do all of this, like it would help her accomplish one of her biggest dreams. Whatever the case was, there was one deepening concern that continued to cross her mind.

What was her dream trying to warn her about?

...

...

...

_**A/N: And with that, that concludes Part 1 of part 1 of The Sword ^^. I gotta say I really do love this series despite how recently i got into it! I know this episode seems fairly similar to the original version with only a few key differences, and the future ones will be based on the episodes too, but i promise there will be some good/big changes between this series and the official series, so you guys can expect some fun differences here and there. While I will still keep to the series as best as possible, i promise to throw in a few sun surprises and scenes here and there.** _

_**Be sure to leave your thoughts and reviews too if you enjoyed it! The faster I get feedback, the more positive energy i receive and the sooner the updates come so I know people want more of this ^^!** _


	2. Episode 1: The Sword Part 1 P2

_**A/N: Hooftah, another lengthy chapter to my new and old fans! Gotta say i'm actually having a blast writing these (how quickly I updated this being proof of that)! It's like I said before, while this will try to stick somewhat to the show, you can be assured of key differences here and there when needed. Thanks to those already reading and following the story, I hope not to disappoint!** _

_**Now onto the show!** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

"Ngh..." Catra mumbled in her sleep as she tossed in the corner of Adora's bed.

The last few hours, both awake and asleep, had been a relatively big headache for the young teen. For the last several hours, her head has been filled with brief flashes and images of the distorted scenes the mysterious voice showed her. They would appear for a millisecond every couple of minutes, just enough times for her to comprehend what she was seeing after awhile. What made them so troubling were the echoing voices calling her name every now and then, as if asking for her directly.

At least, she assumed it was for her. What bothered her the most out of it was how it never sounded complete. Whether the images distorted themselves inside her head or the voice did, she never got a complete vision of one or the other. It's like the visions themselves were living and struggling to actually tell her everything she needed, like it was actually suffocating to call out whatever she needed to hear.

All of this played in her head for the last several hours, and what she was hoping would be a few hours of relative peace only ended up being a colossal nightmare. As opposed to a peaceful slumber of either a happier dream or nothing at all, her dreams were filled with never-ending visions of these strange happenings, going back and forth repeatedly without end. It was actually worse in this case because of how frequently it repeated.

Eventually it reached it's climax when she finally awoke on the bed. While the images began to end, the voice kept calling to her louder and more vocal no matter how hard she squeezed her ears. "Catra... Catra... CATRA!"

"SHUTUP-!" Catra nearly yelped as she sprang from bed. It took her a moment to realize no one but the voice was talking to her at this time, Adora still sound asleep in her bed by the looks of it. And yet while the voices appeared to have ceased, there was still a ringing sensation going on throughout Catra's head, an irritation that wouldn't stop until she obeyed whatever was calling her. "Alright, alright, I'll go, whatever." She muttered to herself quietly as she walked out of the room.

She didn't know if the voice could hear her or not and she was already aware of how crazy it was that she was physically responding to some strange voice only she could hear in her head. If this was some form of brain damage, then at least she knew she was going crazy, which was a much better alternative than the annoyance that built up her headache.

All the while she was completely unaware of Adora suspiciously opening her eyes.

...

"Shut up, shut up, shut up..." Catra continued to mutter to herself as she banged her head softly, quietly exiting the door as the other cadets slept.

The good news was that the images had finally stopped entirely and the voice no longer echoed throughout her head! The bad news was that literally every instant that she so much as decided against going back to the woods, they instantly came back again. It was like having an annoying dog that kept barking outside your home every time you tried to sleep! Whatever this thing was about she hoped it was worth it because at the rate it was going, if it was brain damage, she was willing to jump another hundred feet from the air and plummet to the ground if it meant turning it off!

"Hey, where are you going?" She heard Adora whisper to her as the door opened again.

"Wha- Nowhere! Just go back to sleep." Catra whispered quickly as she tried to move on.

"Not until you tell me where you're going!" Adora demanded as she grabbed Catra's wrist.

"Ugh!" She growled rolling her eyes." If you must know I'm- Ah!" She quickly yelped as she covered Adora's mouth and pulled her behind several pipes protruding from the ground to the ceiling. She had to wait until one of the scouting droids patrolling the halls left before she could continue. "-going back to the woods."

"The Whispering Woods? What for?"

"How should I know? But ever since I came back from that place I've had this stupid voice inside my head that I can't turn off!"

It pained Adora to admit something so crazy, but there was a good chance Catra was right about earlier. "Maybe you really are brain damaged? Come on, I'll take you to the infirmary-" She suggested as she tried pulling Catra along, only for the feline herself to swipe her hand away.

"Wha- No way!" She tried her best not to sound too insensitive, knowing Adora was trying to help. "If we go to the infirmary, they'll want to know how I got like this in the first place, and then they'll find out about the skiff we stole and we'll all be in trouble!"

"No we won't," Adora insisted, "we'll just make something up, like you banged your head in a sparring match or something."

"That's even worse! I just got promoted to Senior Cadet this morning. If we tell them I got brain damaged from a stupid sparring match or something, I'll be demoted for sure at best!"

"Then we'll just come up with something else or-"

"Ngh..." Catra moaned as she rubbed her head again. The longer she paused like this, the stronger the ringing sensation became, and the longer the two remained in the hallway like this, the better chance they both had of being caught. "Look, I really can't explain it, but I need to go back to the forest and figure out what's going on, okay?"

"Then I'll come with you." It was moments like these Catra really hated. Her friend always insisting on doing whatever it took to help without realizing how much trouble it would cause the both of them eventually.

"Absolutely not! If Shadow Weaver finds out you left because of me, she'll skin me alive!" She stammered.

"But Catra-"

"Look, if I go to the forest and don't find anything, I promise to come all the way back and we can go to the infirmary together. If I do find something, I'll bring it back and that'll be my proof about everything. Okay?" That was the only agreement Catra could think of at that moment, the increasing ringing becoming harder and harder to concentrate and plan out with each passing seconds.

Sadly, Adora was still having a problem processing this. It was her fault in the first place that any of this happened after  _borrowing_  a skiff. If she hadn't done that in the first place, they never would've gone on a wild ride through the Fright Zone, entered the Whispering Woods, get Catra knocked out of it from a hundred feet in the air, and finally end up with what appeared to be brain damage. There was too much of a guilt factor on her end of things. "I don't know... Do you absolutely promise to come back if you don't find anything?"

"Just give me two hours, three tops." Catra smiled, relieved that she was finally reaching some common ground with her only friend.

Perhaps a little too relieved as she didn't bother waiting for Adora to finish her reply. "Well... I don't-"

"Great, knew you'd understand. Gotta go!" Catra quickly sputtered as she quickly and quietly rushed down the hallway.

"Catra? Catra! Ugh..." This day kept getting more worrying for the young girl.

Now she was ending up with a headache...

...

...

"You're not crazy, you're just traveling into the woods because a disembodied voice told you to... You're not crazy, you're just traveling into the woods because a disembodied voice told you to... " This is what Catra had to repeat to herself for what she felt like the last half hour.

She couldn't really process how long she had been in the woods for, nor did she care anymore. Every time she started doubting herself the ringing sensation came back to her, just like it did every time she, as she assumed, took a wrong turn, because whenever she did the ringing instantly grew twice as loudly which was followed by a distorted image in her head. No matter how many times she tried to tell herself all of this, the reality of the matter came back to haunt her.

She was crazy. There was no disembodied voice. There couldn't be! She didn't know if she'd been out here for minutes or hours anymore as her ability to process time dwindled with each individual ringing. What could've been a few hours already felt like mere minutes while what could've been a few seconds felt like hours to her. Nothing about this day was going out right!

Was she crazy? Was there no disembodied voice? Thinking back on it, she remembered Adora mentioning something about strange old creatures right before she fell out of the skiff. Maybe one of these creatures bit her or stung her after she passed out, or maybe she landed right on top of one? Maybe they were poisonous in some way that affected her mind, or maybe the bush itself was poisonous and gave off some poisonous pollen or something that caused her to hallucinate all this! This would be a lot easier if her crazy side didn't ring louder as if to tell her she was wrong!

Every time she tried to make sense of it, this whole sword dilemma came back to haunt her. First there was a distorted image, then a disembodied voice, then she finally had a ringing going off in her head when her vision returned to normal. She had no idea if seconds were passing during these distortions or minutes, just that the sooner she figured out what was going on, the sooner this problem would be resolved and she could finally get some sleep for crying out loud! Especially since going to the infirmary started to sound like a good idea regardless of consequences.

"What the heck am I even doing out here? Adora has to be right." Catra muttered to herself as she pushed her way through the foliage. "A stupid sword covered in stupid vines in the stupid woods? She has to be right, there's no way any of that stuff could really happen! If I'm lucky, this is all a hallucination or a really bad dream. Either I wake up any moment, or I go home, forget all of this happened, get to the infirmary, and-" That's when it happened.

There, through the thickness of the forest, she saw a familiar glow of light emanating. There was no way it couldn't be from the same thing in her hallucination, that brilliant, mesmerizing glow being an exact replica of what she once saw.

"No way..." Catra found herself in disbelief as she neared it, not realizing that the ringing had finally come to a complete end as she did.

Sure enough, as she pushed her way through some of the large leafy bushes of the Woods, there it stood; a tranquil, almost angelic light, shining through the forest, all coming from a mysterious, possibly powerful, sword that was trapped in a tangle of sturdy looking vines. The very same sword from her vision, the very same thing the voice kept calling for her to vine.

The very thing she needed to get everything she wanted.

"JACKPOT!" She couldn't help but cheer. After all, how couldn't she when everything was so perfectly lined up?!

Everything she set out to since they stole the skiff finally came in full circle! They explored the woods, found a mysterious object that was bound to be full of power if the light it shined was any indication. Oh man this was too good to be true!

She could see it now, bringing the sword to Lord Hordak himself, everyone bowing before her as he makes her his second in command, or maybe even his right hand! And there at the bottom of the steps would be a pitiful looking Shadow Weaver, forced to bow before her so that even her head was planted firmly on the ground, which Catra would happily step onto just so she would know her place.

And then, the scene would instantly shift to an unspecified amount of time later on where everything is made out of Catra's perfect image of her own Kingdom. After getting rid of Hordak through whatever means necessary, there Catra would be, sitting on her own kind of throne, with Adora rightfully placed as the head of her entire army! And like before, she could picture the perfect spot for Shadow Weaver: at the bottom of everything as a measly janitor mobbing and sweeping up everything around her, if she was lucky.

Heck, why stop there? After that, her armies would set out to conquer all the surrounding kingdoms of Eternia, commanding all of them to submit to her rule and power! She wouldn't just stop at one kingdom, she would continue on to the next, and the next, until the entire world itself was within her grasp! And then and only then would everything be hers, right down to the very last bit of dirt across this planet.

And nothing, absolutely nothing, was going to ruin that opportunity... at least that was the mindset she had before she heard two other voices coming into the clearing.

"Bow, just let me lead the way, okay?" A feminine voice said as a mysterious figure appeared from the forest.

"The light came from the edge of the forest." The other voice spoke out, sounding similar to that of a young teen boy.

"Yes, you saw the light. It's this way."

"The tracker pad says otherwise."

"It's this way-"

"Huh!" The two figures gasped simultaneously at the sight. Their eyes instantly locked on to Catra's very own, all three of them going wide-eyed at the sight of each other, each of them taking several seconds to so much as respond.

"Horde Soldier!"

"I see her!"

"Ahhhh!" They both let out a warcry. Catra eyed the two briefly before shifting her gaze back to the sword. She came all this way to claim it and knew that ultimate victory was within her grasp.

Paying no mind to the duo, she gritted her teeth as she charged head first at the sword, claws stretching out just in case she had to get violent. After the major headache she's had to endure for the last several hours she was not about to lose the only thing that annoyed her up till now! Surprise still came to her as a purplish light blinded her temporarily, quickly taking the form of the young girl from earlier who suddenly appeared beside the sword. She didn't care how young the kid was, the sword was hers and she was willing to fight for it!

Looking back to Catra herself, the young girl wasted no time as Catra reached for her, quickly teleporting out of the way before Catra grabbed her and reappearing several yards behind her with the sword in hand. Such magical ability was strange to Catra, but it did little to stall her as she quickly chased after her. Thanks to her feline qualities, she took the opportunity to leap straight into the air, ready to pounce on the poor princess like the little mouse she was.

* ** _WHAM_** *

That was before she was suddenly in the side by an oncoming arrow with a fairly large bulbous design on the end, almost in the same appearance as a boxing glove itself. While it was somewhat fortunate it wasn't more barbed and deadly, Catra refused to let any gratitude be known from her as she quickly sprang back to her feet, resuming the chase once more.

"Bow, catch!" Glimmer quickly called out, throwing the large sword at the bowman. Bow found himself in a startle as he quickly dropped his precious weapon, being forced to grab the sword with both arms before he dropped it and without cutting himself, and quickly took off on foot thereafter. Catra didn't even get the chance to catch the purple girl herself, who she could've used as a potential hostage, as she quickly teleported again, this time reappearing at Bow's side.

"Grrrr I'm getting really annoyed with this game!" Catra growled as she gave chase. From what she could gather, she was faster than the two, and from what she could observe from the purple girl's powers, she could only teleport a short distance away while she was in a hurry, meaning she had the terrain advantage as long as she didn't slow down. "If you drop the sword now, I promise not to hurt either of you!"

To her surprise, the purple girl appeared to have the same train of thought as she glared back at the supposed spy, reappearing several feet in front of her with a strange glow in her hands, halting Catra where she stood. "Since when do Horde Soldiers  _not_  hurt anyone?"

* **boom** *

"Agh!" Catra screamed covering her eyes. This was one of those few times she hated her animal-like qualities. Despite the increased senses they gave her, they also came back to bite her when the increased senses worked against her, such as her increased sense of sight giving her a near-blinding flash from the Glimmer's purple explosion. If it wasn't for the fact the explosion itself was very minor, the blast could've dazed Catra for several seconds at least.

Still she was not discouraged, powering through the haziness as best she could as she saw the two running again. She came so close to getting everything she's ever wanted and she would sooner let Shadow Weaver skin her alive before she'd ever let this opportunity slip.

Reacting quickly on her own, catching the princess off guard, she quickly leapt into the air onto her shoulders, just as quickly leaping off those and pushing her to the ground as she leapt into the air again. Bow found himself at a loss as he realized the catgirl was in the air again and was unable to escape her oncoming strike in time as she toppled right on top of him, knocking the sword out of his arms and straight on ahead.

Catra would've gladly scarred the guy as much as she could if she wasn't in a hurry, focusing her attention entirely on the blade as it slid forward and chasing after it. She couldn't allow these two to take her precious prize, she just couldn't! Without it she'd be going back to her miserable life for however long that was until the end of her days! She failed to realize the purple girl had materialized above her once again until she was right on top of her, tumbling the both of the several feet ahead, nearing the sword itself.

By the time Catra regained her focus, she suddenly found herself locked in the purple girl's arms, the girl holding her right arm as best she could. Before Catra could possibly swipe at the girl, she found her other arm captured by Bow, all three of them now grunting as they struggled to both grab the sword and keep the sword from each other.

"Nghhhh!" Catra growled as she inched her free right foot towards the sword. She didn't care what she had to grab it with, she would've used her tail if it was close enough at this point. She was willing to use everything, and give up anything, at this very moment, to get what she wanted. "The sword... is... MINE!" And with one scream, she managed to touch the sword with the tip of her toe's claw.

And just like when she found it the first time, the entire world around her was engulfed in a brilliantly bright light.

...

...

This time the light came in fashion, descending from an absolute world of darkness before Catra herself, who quickly realized the surrounding forest and the other two people she came upon had disappeared. This strange, ominous, light was giving off a dazzling array of sparkles as it grew in front of her, illuminating the scenery that had so drastically changed around her. There was no more greenery, no more forest. All that surrounded her were strange runes and symbols upon what appeared to be mystical enchanted crystals.

"What...?" Catra whispered to herself in disbelief. At least everything was less distorted than last time. She could even see and feel the scenery around her now, including herself. For some reason she felt both calmness and fear from the bizarre happenings around her, something screaming at her that everything was alright and wrong all at the same time.

That is when she appeared. The strange, mysterious, oracle who Catra only glimpsed of the first time she had these visions, now whole and in person, looking straight at her.

"Hello." And now it was speaking to her... unless she was hallucinating again which she found just as likely at this point. "I am Light Hope. I have been waiting a very long time for this moment."

"Y-You can see me?" Catra questioned still in disbelief as she got to her feet.

"Yes." Light Hope responded with an almost robotic tone. "I could not reach you before until you had forged a bond with the sword."

"Forged a bond with the sword... right..." Catra scratched her head in confusion. "Look, before we continue on with this, are we going to get some static thing going on like last time? Because I'm going to ram my head against the tree if I get stuck with another headache of visions in my mind again."

"I apologize for the discomfort previously, but there was an malfunction created when you first came into contact with the blade." Light Hope explained, adding on to Catra's confused state.

"Malfunction? What, was the sword broken or something?"

"I can not comply in my current state. This message is broadcasted in the event of an unforeseen circumstance such as this. I can only respond to certain statements."

"You're kidding... right?" Catra asked in somewhat hopeful disbelief.

"I can not comply in my current state. This message is broadcasted in the event of an unforeseen circumstance such as this. I can only respond to certain statements."

That was a yes. It became more infuriating when Catra realized this person before her was also slightly distorted, though not as much as her previous incarnation.

"Ugh... fine, just give me a minute." Catra scratched at her head as she thought, pacing back and forth. She didn't know where she was at this moment or what was going on. All she wanted at this point were answers to everything within the last few hours, and she was only going to get them to very specific and related questions. "Ok... first question! What is going on- no wait. What is this sword?"

"This sword is a powerful weapon forged by-"

* _bzzzt_ *

"DATA CORRUPTED." Light Hope suddenly distorted entirely for a moment.

"Oh come on!" This was getting really annoying! First she couldn't ask non-specific questions, now she couldn't ask specific questions without a chance of the data either missing or being corrupted for whatever reason! Now she was actually wishing she was brain damaged so she wouldn't have to put up with so much annoyance! "Just tell me what you can then!"

"Affirmative. This sword was created in ages past for the one who was chosen to wield it."

"Chosen to wield it?" Catra pondered the statement for a few seconds. "You mean... me?"

"DATA CORRUPTED. Etheria has need of you, Catra." Catra nearly shouted in anger when she heard the annoying "DATA CORRUPTION" line again, finding herself thankful that it had more to say after. "Will you answer it's call? Will you help fight for the honor of Grayskull?"

"A  _Gray-Skull_? It's honor? What are you talking about? You're not making any sense!" Much to her dismay, much like it had when she previously saw this strange vision, she was met with distortions building up all around here, all flickering between a blueish-to-reddish hue, this time save for Light Hope Herself.

"If you wish for all the answers you must find me..." Light Hope stated as she began to slowly back into the blinding light, her form dissipating along with the scenery around her.

"Wait, no! Don't disappear yet! I'm so confused!" Catra herself began to disappear, her voice fading in and out in waves, presumably coming back to reality as the vision slowly faded. All she had left by the end of this strange meeting were more questions than answers, and Light Hope's last two fading words echoing in her head.

"FIND... ME..."

...

...

"Mmh..." Catra moaned as she slowly came to. Much like before, the vision ended with her waking up again upon the grounds of the Whispering Woods. The only difference this time is that she could feel herself sitting up. That and the unmistakable scent of that she wasn't alone this time.

"Hey! She's awake!" She suddenly heard bow screaming on her left.

"My hearing's FINE! You don't have to yell!" Catra snapped back in his face, her sensitive ears twitching from the recent yelling. A second later she realized Glimmer was kneeling on her right, still glaring daggers at her like she had been all throughout their previous scuffle. "What?" As she tried to move from her spot, her attention shifted to her newly bound hands, finding them tightly pinned together by the wrist. "Okay. No." She grumbled trying to pry them away from each other. She needed just a small bit of slack to get her claws to cut their way through, noting how efficiently the two must've tied them to prevent her from using such an escape.

Sadly for her, they took every precaution for that as their knot tying proved quite effective. Seeing how her current captors were two teens that appeared to be within the same general age as herself, she tried starting up a seemingly-pointless conversation with the two as she tried to think of a plan. "What happened?"

"Quiet, Horde spy, I ask the questions!" The princess shouted. Much to Catra's annoyance, along with the fact she was now taking orders from some wannabe pixie girl, she also had the sword in her hands. Now she was going to have to think of a plan to get out while also not getting cut up into ribbons by the girl who think she owned it. "How did you get into the Whispering Woods?"

"I rode a magical dragon that can shoot fireballs from it's eyes, what do you think?" Catra sneered. "I walked in, duh! And I'm not a spy!" She stated looking back to Bow.

"Sure, sure. You just happened to find yourself in the Whispering Woods, like you just so happened to try and steal our sword." Glimmer pointed out in a sarcastic tone.

"Ok first off, I know it's not yours or it wouldn't be in the middle of nowhere in the first place. Second, I found it first. It's  _mine_!" She exclaimed as Bow stood.

"The Whispering Woods is under the Rebellion's protection. You were lucky to make it as far as you did." She commented walking around the supposedly-helpless captive. "Come on Bow. Let's get this spy back to Bright Moon where she can be interrogated properly.

Ok, so Catra officially had to admit. Out of the many things the supposed princess wannabe had to show, she was rather surprised they had the gull to use interrogation techniques, not that they would've had any effect on herself of course. They probably had no idea what real interrogation was like. Heck, if they wanted to truly interrogate her, they should just force her to live in the Fright Zone for the rest of her life! She watched as Glimmer pulled Bow to the side a few yards away, flicking her ears up as her tail flicked curiously to eavesdrop.

"This is perfect!" She squealed. "Not only do we have the First Ones tech for the Rebellion, we've also captured a Horde spy! My mom is gonna be so impressed!"

"Mama's girl!" Catra insulted shouting over.

"Hey! This is a private conversation, criminal!" Glimmer grumbled as she marched over. "Now come on, on your feet!"

This was going to be a long day...

...

Ok. Step one, Catra had to find a way to get away from these two numbskulls, which was easier said than done since one of them had a bow and arrow, and the other one could teleport in the blink of an eye. Step two, she had to escape after getting the sword back. That alone was going to make the hassle of escaping even more tiresome since it required lugging around the heavy sword while also keeping these two off her back. It wasn't enough that they knew the terrain, but they also had that stupid gadget tracker thing that could show them where she was, or at least the sword, at all times.

Step three, finally find a way out of this place along with all of the aforementioned stuff up above. As much as she hated to admit it, she had no idea where she was at this point in the forest. Her entire sense of direction coming to this place was based solely on the sword itself practically telling her where to go. She might've been able to find her way back to the sword's previous location and find her way out from there, but with tweedle dee and tweedle annoying following her she would've been forced to lose them somewhere else in the forest, and that would've ensured she get lost.

All of these problems piled on atop of each other as each one made the situation worse than the last. If she wanted to do one of these things, she needed to do all of these things at the same time. And seeing how these two had the home advantage of knowing the Whispering Woods, at least compared to Catra herself, she found herself at a severe disadvantage before the two.

Except for one small problem.

"You're positive you're going the right way, Glimmer?" Bow asked after walking for the last twenty minutes.

"I know what I'm doing Bow." Glimmer insisted. "Can you please just trust me for once?"

"You know I always trust you, but I'm starting to get a little freaked out." Bow glanced around their unfamiliar surroundings. "I mean I pretty much grew up in these woods, and I've never seen this part of them. I've heard stories about weird stuff out here."

"It's fine, okay? Just let me figure this out." Glimmer said fidgeting with the tracker pad as she teleported away.

Well this was definitely a new way to die Catra didn't see coming. If the two didn't kill her themselves, get eaten by a giant monster, fall from another hundred foot height to her death, she could now add getting lost for the rest of her life in these woods by these two idiots. Boy, what a  _fun_ day this was turning out to be...

"Okay, touchy." Bow commented as he pushed away from drooping plants from Catra's face. "Sorry about her. Usually she's really nice." He waited a few moments for a response. "Not much for talking, huh?"

"What was your first clue?" Catra snarled. "It's not exactly comforting talking to the people taking me as their prisoner you know."

"There." Catra was startled a little as he quickly helped her over a protruding branch she nearly tripped over. "Suit yourself."

Up a short ways away the two came to a stop as they watched Glimmer teleporting from place to place several feet around them. It still baffled Catra that she was the prisoner to these two numbskulls, shaking her head in disgust at everything. "If she's what your princesses are like, I'm surprised the Horde didn't take over everything years ago. Isn't she supposed to be some 'all powerful empress capable of razing cities with her bare hands' or something?"

"Is that what Hordak told you?" Bow asked curiously.

"Meh, just bits and pieces. Honestly, I know which parts of them are lies and which parts are the truth unlike most of my... well..."

"Family? Friends?"

"Allies! I was going to say allies." She mumbled looking off to the side. "Most of them would stab me in the back if given the chance..." She glanced back to the princess who still didn't seem to know right from left. "Anyway, what is she to you? You her servant? Butler? Personal Guard or something?"

"What? No, we're just friends." Bow's smiling demeanor gave Catra little room for doubt.

"Grrrrr," The two turned their attention as they heard the princess grumble, frantically poking away at the tracker pad, "come on you stupid thing, WORK!"

...Well almost no room for doubt.

"No, seriously, why are you with her? Does your family owe her money or something?"

"Look, I know she might seem a little rough around the edges, but she's really nice and considerate. You couldn't ask for a better friend than her."

"Yeah, sure you couldn't..." It was during this time Catra kept him distracted that she continued to saw slowly at her bindings. A few minutes prior to this conversation she managed to get her pinky loose enough to reach one of her claws towards her wrist. It was still going to take awhile as she had barely a centimeter of room to move her pinky, but it was better than nothing at this point. All she had to hope for for now was the princess boy over here would be distracted long enough with their conversation.

"Hey," Catra nearly flinched as he called back to her, startled momentarily thinking he caught her, "have you ever actually met a princess?"

"I've heard of at least one at the Fright Zone, I think, otherwise no. It's not like I have much interest in them anyway."

"...Mind if I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"What exactly are you doing all of this for?"

For the first time since this conversation began, she found herself surprised by his unexpected question."What do you mean?"

"I mean why are you working for the Horde and all that? No offense, but you don't seem all that interested in a lot of things related to all this. So you have to have some reason for wanting to work for the Horde, right?"

Between the two she officially decided Bow was the least annoying of the two. Withguarding the fact he's the only one she's had to actually talk to for the last several minutes, he did at least seem genuinely interested about her in these last few minutes compared to any of her allies she's know for the last dozen or so years.

She still hated them equally of course.

"I-"

"Ahh..." The sound of Glimmer whimpering up ahead caught their attention again. Wasting no time to figure out what was going on, Bow quickly ran in her direction, dragging Catra along by her arm as he did.

Pushing their way into a clearing, they came upon the source of Glimmer's discomfort, the same look of terror and dread filling Bow's expression shortly after. This wasn't just a simple clearing Catra had entered or the ruins of some civilization, these were the desecrated remains of what used to be a city. All around her was nothing but wreckage and mayhem from the aftermath of a Horde attack, the very side Catra fought for.

Despite being inflicted with the same feeling of discord and sorrow, Bow's expression hardened as he looked around, reminding himself of every reason he fought against the Horde. This is what they were truly like. Savages who only wanted destruction and mayhem wherever they went, not caring who got hurt or what the reason should be. People just like this Catra prisoner here, which he quickly reminded himself of. There was no point delving into her personal story for now, all he did was continue dragging her towards a despairing Glimmer.

Glimmer herself did her best to maintain a strong expression as well. She was a princess, and no matter how hardening or sad things got, a princess must always put on a strong face for her people no matter the pain. Even though there was no one else around save for the prisoner they captured, she still couldn't bring herself to ignore her princessly duty. She held back the tears as she picked up one of the remains off the ground, displaying a crude drawing of a child and parent holding hands.

"This. This is what the Horde fight for. Destroying lives and homes everywhere they go. Are you happy now?!" She snapped at Catra.

"Tch..." Catra scoffed shifting her eyes away annoyingly. "I wasn't here when it happened,  _princess_. They probably deserved it for one reason or another anyway."

"What is your problem!?" Glimmer shouted, shocking Catra slightly as she pulled her closer by her shirt. "Don't you care about anyone other than yourself!? Don't you care about all the lives and families that potentially died here?"

"It's called war, princess!" Catra yelled back. "Bad things happen all the time in war! There was never a good thing that happened in a war!"

"How can you be so...Ugh!" Glimmer grunted loudly as she stepped away. "Why do you have to be so selfish?! Can't you care for once about someone other than yourself?!" She asked angrily gesturing to the surroundings.

The environment didn't have much of an effect on Catra, the young catgirl just looking almost bored at her surroundings. There were ruined pieces of rubble here, a busted droid that definitely came from the Fright Zone there. There was nothing to be gained or used by standing around this place. She even thought Bow making a small memorial off to the side using the scattered belongings of this place's inhabitants, yet Catra was unaffected by that all the same. Everything about this place screamed depressing and not one thing here got to Catra.

Except for that. Over off to the side she saw what appeared to be the burnt remains of a small woolen doll. If there was a woolen doll like that, that definitely meant there must've been children here when the attacked happened. For just a moment, a tinge of guilt pang through Catra's chest that was just as quickly replaced with calmness. It was a child, for all she knew the Horde must've picked it up and orphaned it in the Fright Zone. In fact maybe the Horde never attacked this place to begin with? Maybe something else did and the Horde found this place like the rest.

It was the closest thing to sympathy Catra had for the possible child, provided there was one to begin with at all.

"Ever since the Horde got here they've been poisoning our land, burning our cities, destroying everything in their path." Glimmer continued to rant as she marched up to Catra. "And you're a part of it! Why do you have to be so self centered? Why can't you have an ounce of respect for the people here? Is it too much to ask you to just pretend you care about someone else's misfortune other than your own?! What makes you so above everyone else that you can't even acknowledge someone else's sadness-"

"BECAUSE NO ONE EVER ASKED WHAT I WANTED EVEN ONCE, PRINCESS!" Catra exploded. She could only put up with so much ranting and mad raving about herself for so long. And she was completely oblivious to how much it showed that it bothered her, her cat eyes narrowing as they focused on the previously-angry princess.

"You think I'm selfish," she went on, stepping forward as Glimmer backsteped, "you think I only care about myself? Well guess what princess, you're right! I am selfish. Not once since I learned to so much as walk did anyone ever ask 'hey what do you want Catra', 'hey Catra, do you want this?' or anything of the sort. Everything I was given in my life was something I had to work for. Everyone I've met in my life wanted nothing to do with me. Anyone I ever helped in my life never repaid the favor. And anyone that seemed interested in my life was only out to get me!"

"So you know what? You're right, princess, I don't care about anything! I don't care about these people, I don't care about the Horde, and I certainly don't care about-!"

* ** _rumble-rumble-rumble_** *

"Huh?" If there was a single thing in this Universe that could've distracted Catra from her incessant ranting just now, it was the overpowering earthquake that caused the ground to rumble violently.

"What is that?" Glimmer asked looking around. As far as she knew, Catra wasn't capable of something like this, and Catra was pretty sure of the same for her.

It was then that the ground between the surrounding trees started to violently ripple as a large streak of devastated earth ascended from the scenery near them. The rumbling became more violent and vicious as a hideous grey insect-like creature of unknown origin suddenly protruded from Etheria's mantle, pulling itself out of the massive quake in the ground as it towered over the trio of roamers, raising it's mandible to crush the collapsed princess Glimmer immediately upon exiting the hole it pulled itself out of.

"Watch out!" Bow quickly warned, relieved as Glimmer hastily teleported before being crushed by the great insectoid. Glimmer quickly reappeared on a nearby outgrown root of the tree, leaping back onto the face of the giant creature as she let out a giant blast of her magic at point blank, possibly blinding the giant creature along with attacking it. Unfortunately, both plans seemed to be a waste as the creature didn't seem the least bit fazed by the attack, instead seeming angrier by the inferior strike.

This was just the distraction Catra found herself needing as she finally finished sawing through her bindings enough to pull her ropes apart and free herself. She wasted no time heading straight for the sword that was dropped at the creature's appearance. She gazed at the sword in excitement, seeing her reflection coming off of the shining blade and relishing all that was going to happen once she brought this back, all while being unaware as the creature itself prepared to strike at her until she saw it in the sword's reflection.

"Look out!" Bow quickly leapt to her side as he shot an exploding arrow at the creature, covering it's mouth with a strange sticky green substance and halting it's attack. Catra grinned with a mental sigh of relief at this, fortunate the bowman made himself useful in distracting the creature for herself.

"Thanks!" She sputtered as she quickly ran away into the woods again with the large sword in hand, leaving a baffled Bow to look back, somewhat discouraged.

"Hey!" He yelled back.

"Look out!" Glimmer quickly shouted as she tackled him out of the way of another of the creature's giant mandibles. The two found themselves too preoccupied to worry about the sword now with the massive creature on their tail. There was no way they were getting it back, provided they lived long enough to realize that.

At the same time, Catra grinned to herself as she peeked around the tree she was hiding, taking a moment to enjoy the usefulness of the Whispering Wood's creatures. They gave her everything she needed to perform the perfect escape, and a way to dispose of the two delinquents without causing her further discord. Now she just had to be on her way, find her way back to the clearing that she found her sword, and make her way home from there!

"See ya later guys, thanks for the assist." She joked to herself as she began to walk away.

That was when another of the unexpected list of things happened. Before she could take her third step away from the tree, the blade glowed with a blindingly fluorescent light, one that blinded her for merely a full second, before disappearing again all the same. The timing of it along with her actions helped Catra put two and two together, though she was incredibly skeptical of what she was thinking.

"What?" She asked it as if it could speak. She stared at the blade as if expecting an answer, growing irritated by the second. "What? You want me to go back there and help them?" Once again nothing, yet something told her that's exactly what it wanted. "Are you kidding? Forget it!" She grumbled looking back behind the tree. "I mean look, they're doing fine, I'm sure they can handle it anyway."

The line of certainty quickly dwindled as she saw the twos' bodies being thrown against a tree with Glimmer landing on top of Bow before falling to the ground. Despite the injury, Bow seemed to be the least injured of the two as he quickly got back to his feet, frantically firing several ineffective exploding arrows at the creature while protecting a temporarily out-cold Glimmer.

"Well... they're still doing fine... sorta..." She mumbled growing increasingly unsure. She looked back to the blade in annoyance as if expecting an answer, never getting one no matter how hard she stared. "Look, it's not like I owe them anything anyway, remember? They're the enemies, we're not on the same side, and your my ticket to a better life!" Once again, nothing. That's when her attention was caught by the frantic shoutings of Bow again.

"Glimmer! Glimmer! Wake up!" He yelled shaking her worriedly. He grumbled as he stared back to the giant monster itself. The last stand he was prepared to make for himself was using the study bow as a weapon, the other arrows most likely having little to no effect that could delay the creature any longer.

"Mmmmmmh..."

"Come on you giant freak, I'm right here!" Bow yelled swinging his bow against one of the approaching mandibles. The best he could hope for at this rate was for Glimmer to wake up and teleport the two away to safety, or hope he distracted it long enough, through whatever means, until Glimmer awoke and escaped by herself. It was a worrying case scenario but it was the only alternative he had. The only other thing left that could've saved the two of them was some sort of miracle, and that was never going to happen!

"Hey bugzy!" Or maybe it was, because to his surprise on the other side of the clearing, he saw Catra again with the sword in hand, waving over to the massive bug and catching it's attention. Step one of her brilliant plan was working. Now she just needed to think of and execute a plan two. She moaned to herself as she looked over the sword again, shaking it violently to get anything to happen. "Come on you stupid magic sword, do something! Create a laser beam, shoot fireballs, anything!" The ground shook more and more violently by the second as the creature neared Catra.

Whatever she decided to do she needed to do it fast. She knew her claws were too weak to pierce it's hard outer shell if exploding arrows didn't so much as leave a scratch on it, and she wouldn't be able to jump in and dive the blade head first into the giant creature thanks to the annoying weight of the blade. That's when another idea rose from the recesses of her mind. It wasn't like an idea she herself was forming, it felt like something else was creating the idea she needed most at that time.

"Umm...How do I use this thing?" Catra asked herself quickly. "Do I need a password? Is there an on switch or something? I could use a hand here you stupid sword!" Typical, the one time she actually wanted the sword to say something to her throughout the entire day and it was silent. The answer was on the tip of her tongue, she knew she was close to it but she couldn't piece together what! That's when she saw the creature towering over her again, surprised by how quickly it rushed over, and raised it's giant mandible over her head to strike. "Ah!" She yelped, using all her might to lift the heavy blade over her head.

It was then, all at once, that an emanating, glowing, light ascended from the blade just after the creature's massive claw struck it. Like all the previous times, each and every time Catra tried to connect to the blade through some physical means, did she see the various visions play out in her mind along with a familiar voice.

"Catra..." Light Hope's familiar voice echoed as the images played out. The ranged to more varied and vivid locations, from a tranquil castle surrounding a giant gem, to the rocky plains with a mysterious black hole in the center, to an asteroid crash landing on a planet, closing in with a mysterious ruin she had never seen before, and finally to an image of the sword itself shining in the darkness. "Catra... will you serve for the Honor of Grayskull?"

That was it.

"For the Honor of Grayskullll!" Catra shouted at the top of her lungs. Immediately, light expanding from the sword across the surrounding clearing, just as Bow was helping Glimmer back to her feet. The two were shocked by the massive energy they felt radiating from the Horde spy, watching in amazement as light enveloped her entire body, causing the massive creature itself to seemingly recede a little.

It was then, just as the light dissipated again, that they witnessed someone they had never seen before. A mysterious young knight who was enveloped in the light's benevolence, appearing out of thin air. There stood the same person who was once before, now changed by the sword's magic. Her clothes at changed drastically fo pure white, as golden shoulderplates formed from her shoulders, and another pair of golden bracelets appeared on her wrists. Even her helmet had changed ever so slightly, the tips of it now slightly larger with a small ruby gem focused on it's center.

Within the center of white chestpiece was a symbol. A symbol of hope and light, one with a great brightness over the middle, protruding from a blue gem, stretching out across the chest on all sides, and connecting from the top to the bottom of the chest piece. All along with her pants which had shortened drastically, now just barely a few inches below her waist. Despite that, the figure that stood before them was the image of a proud warrior, one who was ready to battle and defend those who needed it.

This, was Catra. This, was She-Ra...

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**A/N: You know the hardest part about being a writer while being mildly autistic? It's not using the same words repeatedly. You might think that's easy but when you write as much as I do, the challenge is not saying things like "They thought this", "They thought this", "They thought this" over and over again while still making it apparent what I'm trying to say.** _

_**Anyway thanks to those who have messaged me with their support and interest in the series! Be sure to leave your thoughts and review of what you think! And if you notice some subtle things here and there that dont make sense, have no worries! I guarantee all of those parts that don't make sense WILL make sense later on in the volume as I happen to have an underlying reason for all of that... *cough* *cough*** _

_**Anyway-! Leave a like fave and be sure to review if you liked it! Tell your friends too if you can, the more support the better! Stay tuned!** _


	3. Episode 2: The Sword Part 2 P1

_**A/N: Idk if I said it before, but I'm having a lot of fun with this series ^^ I think the quick lengthy updates are proof of that (then again I had a day off of work due to snow so that really helped XP). As always, these episodes will come in two parts per episode. While it might seem like some parts are rushed here and there, always keep in mind that, aside from always having an idea, these are nice and lengthy ^^.** _

_**So with that, onto the show!** _

_**And yes people, this is a show. So I will be doing THAT at the beginning of ever episode/when posted X)...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**~ We're on the edge of greatness ~** _

_**~ turning darkness into light ~** _

_**~ We're right beside you ~** _

_**~ Ready to Fight! ~** _

_**~ (fight, fight, fight fight) ~** _

_**~ We're gonna win in the end! ~** _

_**~ We must be strong, And we must be brave ~** _

_**~(we must be brave) ~** _

_**~ We're gonna find every bit of strength** _ _**that we have ~** _

_**~ and never let go ~** _

_**~ (Oh ah Oh) ~** _

_**~ We must be STRONG! ~** _

* * *

There was a small radiant glow coming off of the transformed warrior. Catra herself had apparently changed in various ways, right down from her wardrobe to her demeanor. There stood the same person who was once before, now changed by the sword's magic. Her clothes at changed drastically fo pure white, as golden shoulderplates formed from her shoulders, and another pair of golden bracelets appeared on her wrists. Even her helmet had changed ever so slightly, the tips of it now slightly larger with a small ruby gem focused on it's center.

Within the center of white chestpiece was a symbol. A symbol of hope and light, one with a great brightness over the middle, protruding from a blue gem, stretching out across the chest on all sides, and connecting from the top to the bottom of the chest piece. All along with her pants which had shortened drastically, now just barely a few inches below her waist. Despite that, the figure that stood before them was the image of a proud warrior, one who was ready to battle and defend those who needed it.

This, was Catra. This, was She-Ra.

Catra herself felt a strange mixed variety of things she had never felt before. For one, for whatever reason, she felt... lighter. Both physically and emotionally. Half the things that used to plague her mind on a constant basis had seemingly vanished and had been replaced with a strange calmness she never knew of.

Physically speaking, her whole body felt like it was barely touching the ground. With her feline characteristics, she commonly felt and was capable of leaping to great heights and distances far more than the average person. This time, however, she felt like her feet themselves were barely magnetized to the ground, like she could blast off into the air at a moment's notice. She barely registered the weight of the sword itself, now feeling no heavier than a common tree branch.

Everything about her felt completely different, and for some reason she actually liked this.

Even the massive creature seemed to settle down from her brilliance, though it still had a strange air of neutrality to it.

At the same time, both Bow and Glimmer on the other side of the clearing were at a loss for words. First this crazy Horde Spy snooped into the Whispering Woods, Rebellion territory, bent on taking a sword they believed rightfully belonged to them. Then, after a scuffle followed by dragging the spy along to a desecrated town, they were suddenly attacked by one of the vicious creatures inhabiting the forest. That's when the catgirl herself attempted to swipe the sword again and made a getaway, leaving the two of them to whatever cruel fate would have befallen the duo.

That's when Catra surprised them once more with something none of them, Catra included, thought she would do - she came back! Definitely not with a plan in mind as she seemed clueless on what to do with the sword or how to use it, but their salvation came to them all the same when the mighty beast struck Catra's sword and enveloped everything in a gloriously bright light.

The end result of all this is what brought them to where they were today.

"Glimmer?" Bow asked completely baffled.

"Yeah, I see her Bow." Glimmer replied as if reading his mind.

"Okay. I wanted to make sure it wasn't just me." The disbelief on both their expressions were understandable. After all, not many people can say they witnessed a strange Horde Spy come out of nowhere, come and save them at the last minute, then transformed into some bizarre looking white knight. Catra herself wouldn't have believed it either if anyone told her this story, and she was the center of it all!

And she was all unaware of these details until she looked down herself.

"What the- Ahhh!" She screeched drooping her ears and shooting her tail out, collapsing on herself as she fell back trying desperately to cover her legs. "Where are my pants?!" She screamed, noticing a slight draft between her legs, seeing her long-length pants replaced with new shorter white ones that practically looked like boxers to her.

Just as quickly as the transformation had occur did the transformation come to an end. Upon falling to the ground, there was another near-blinding flash of light, one much smaller in size as it appeared to personally cover over the entirety of Catra herself. Once the light dissipated again, she found her outfit changed back to normal, her previous fashion wear returning to the way they once were.

This still left a bewildered expression on Catra's face as she saw the sword gleam one more time.

What was going on here? Who was this mysterious Light Hope person she met when she touched the sword? Why was any and all visions she had distorted whenever she attempted communication with this person? What was the deal with this sword? And most importantly, why on Etheria did the sword's only magical power seem to give her a wardrobe change?

Everything was so confusing!

Meanwhile, Glimmer saw her opportunity as she teleported, reappearing before Catra as she tried to take the sword again. "Nghhh gimme that!" She grumbled as she tried to take the sword.

"Hey!" Catra grumbled back as she pulled in turn, rising to her feet.

"Stay where you are!"

"What the heck did your stupid sword do to me?! Did I catch your princess-ness or something?"

"Being a princess isn't something you can catch, fur ball! I had nothing to do with it!"

"The heck it isn't, Pinkie! Your stupid sword stole my clothes for a minute!"

"Your clothes just changed, they weren't stolen!"

"Okay, okay, everyone calm down!" Bow finally said as he tried to pull the sword in his direction. The three of them were now in the midst of a game of tug-of-war, pulling the sword closer to each other with more confusion on their mind than their desire for the sword. "Wanna tell us how you did that?"

"How the heck should I know?" Catra yelled, still a little fluster by the brief change in appearance she had. "Why the heck would you guys have some magic sword whose only power is to steal your clothes? That's the stupidest power ever!"

"We don't have weapons like that!" Glimmer yelled back as she pulled. "And your clothes weren't missing, your entire outfit changed! And it's not... happening... again!" Glimmer finally screamed as she won the game of tug-of-war, knocking Catra off her back.

Immediately after taking the sword, the mighty creature's eyes lit up again, as if awakening from the mere misuse of the sword itself or the transfer of it's ownership. There was a deathly silence amongst the three as they heard the creature growling again, rising itself off it's feet slowly as it growled hungrily at the teens. With a mighty roar, it crashed it's front mandibles before itself, narrowly missing the trio as they jumped out of the way in their own separate directions.

Looking back herself, Catra was rather surprised when she realized the creature was less focused on her and more focused on the duo who hid themselves within the tree. It was almost like something was drawing the creature towards them, though in a much angrier manner than before.

* **WHAM** *

* **WHAM** *

The entire ground shook as the creature collided into the tree repeatedly, trying it's hardest to either topple the mighty oak over, or break through it enough to reach Glimmer and Bow who were hiding inside. At this point, the two were stuck between a literal hard place and a giant monster that seemed more interested in destroying them rather than eating them, a factor that didn't really make the pair feel any better.

There was only one idea that acme to Bow's mind as he looked over to the sword in Glimmer's arms again. "Do it again! Do it again!" He begged as he rushed out, narrowly avoiding the next collision between the insect and the tree.

"Bow!" Glimmer cried out, frantically teleporting out of the way and back to Bow's side before the creature finally managed to crash through the tree.

"Do what you did before!" Bow continued to plead as he handed the sword over to Catra.

"I don't know what I did before!" Catra yelped, looking over the entire sword. There weren't any options that seemed wise to the young teen. How was she supposed to know what to do when she was barely aware the first time? All she remembered was the creature hitting the edge of the sword and then a great white light went off, and she wasn't tempted to try the same tactic twice, especially when the creature seemed more intent on charging the group rather than crushing them this time!

"No time. We have to go!" Glimmer instructed as she ran past Catra, the other two quickly following behind. Like it had been before, the great creature roared angrily as it gave chase.

How the heck were any of them supposed to lose this thing? It's husk was too sturdy to penetrate with anything they had as a weapon, it's hulking size gave it a vast amount of strength that could easily let it crash through trees, like the several the three just passed seconds ago, and despite it's hulking size the giant creature had formidable speed, keeping up with the runaways just mere yards behind them.

The thought of possibly ditching the two did cross Catra's mind for a brief moment. She could leap great distances and find a good spot to duck out of the way while the monster continued chasing the other two, but two key details kept crossing her mind on this line of thinking.

One, she didn't know if the monster was more focused on them or the sword itself. If the monster was more focused on the latter, then that meant it would continue it's chase for Catra itself, and there was no way Catra could afford to lose the sword after all the time she spent trying to get it in the first place.

Secondly, she still didn't know where she was in the woods. Misdirection aside, she also had no idea what else could be inhabiting these woods. For all she knew she could end up falling into a nest of these giant bug monsters and she would be forced to fend for herself in that scenario. As much as she hated to admit it, she needed the help of these two until they came upon a viable solution.

* _thud_ *

"Wha-Ahhhhhhhh!" Catra screamed as she crashed into bow and Glimmer, too preoccupied on her thoughts to notice them stopping, and crashing down the small cliffside the duo stopped in front of. The group came tumbling down one by one until they came into contact with the hard, strangely metallic, floor. Annoyingly to Catra herself, while she did manage to react in time to land kneeling upright, she was toppled by the other two delinquents who were starting to pester her, landing right on top of her back.

The group moaned in soreness at the heavy fall, Catra more due to the heavy objects that landed on top of her, but her own soreness was quickly replaced with curiosity and surprise as she noticed the strange surface of the ground she landed on, with it's intricate markings and design, all leading up to a path with a very mysterious triangle against a a wall.

"What is this place?" She asked aloud, hoping from a response from either of the two. Any chance they had of answering was interrupted as the familiar growl of the monster approached as well as the thunderous quake it caused when it moved.

"No idea," Bow replied as he helped Glimmer to her feet, "but in there's gotta be better than out here." They barely had a second before they scrambled back to their feet, Glimmer picking up the sword as the three ran from the monster sliding down the slope. Luckily for them, as the monster crashed to the ground, several broken pillars collapsed atop of it, buying them a few precious seconds until the monster dug itself out.

Bow took the initiative as he attempted to crash through the triangle-shaped entrance itself, only to find his charge as effective as crashing through a wall. He refused to allow that to stop him as he attempted to pry the door open with his bare hands, trying anything that could save them from the monster.

"Everyone, grab on," Glimmer instructed as she reached out a hand, "I can get us in there!"

"Glimmer, no!" Bow quickly dismissed. "You've never teleported three people before."

"Well now's a good time to try, isn't it?" Catra retorted, slowly backing away towards them as she saw the monster slowly pull itself from the rubble. Looking back to the door itself, she noticed the strange symbols on the door, having another moment of de sha vue here. "What's with the writing on the door? Is it a password or something?"

"Y-You can read that?" Bow asked surprised.

"Yeah, why? Can't you?" Catra replied raising her brow. Their attention was brought back behind them as the giant monster crashed through the rubble, finally free of it's imprisonment and roaring madly at the others.

"What's it say?"

"Hang I'm, I'm trying to figure it out!" Catra grumbled. She was more irritated by the speed she was reading these symbols than the rush the others were obviously in. She couldn't exactly see it all at first glance, the words unrecognizable entirely to her. Yet for some reason the longer she stared at it, words slowly translated in her mind. "E... Ter... Ni...A..." Then, as if a lightbulb had gone off, the entirety of the word made itself known to her. "Eternia!"

Suddenly the runes and symbols on the door began to glow, coming to life as if on command by the mysterious password. The three watched in amazement as the door split apart from all sides rather than one way or the other, providing the sanctuary the three finally needed.

"Oh come on!" Glimmer grumbled as if jealous of Catra's ability to read the mysterious dialect. Any and all feelings they had for their situation was put on immediate hold as the three rushed inside, Bow pulling Glimmer along with him, retreating into the inner sanctum just as the monster was about to assault them. Just as quickly as the door opened, it immediately shut upon their entering, the last thing the three heard from the creature being a mighty ram as it shut itself, swallowing the room in darkness.

...

After a brief pause to gather their bearings and catch their breath, the next thing any of them saw was Glimmer's magic as she illuminated a small space of the pitch black room, allowing the others to see her and eventually the rest of the great room in a dim light.

Just like her vision, the room matched the mysterious nature of all the things Catra had seen since touching the sword. There were crystals strewn across the room here and there, and there were more mysterious writings along the wall and floors, though it was too dark to get an accurate view of what the words actually were. All she knew was that this place was somehow connected to the sword and the mysterious things that have happened to her within the last day.

"So, Horde soldier, have you always been able to read the First One's writing?" Bow finally asked, breaking the silence.

"The  _First Ones_?" Catra repeated with confusion. The two were temporarily blinded as Glimmer approached with her with her enlightening magic, having the same look confusion as Bow as well as anger.

"Wanna tell us exactly what is going on here?" She questioned Catra in an interrogation-like manner. Catra just sneered at this as she rose to her feet, brushing off a thin layer of dust from her pants she collected after the long chase.

"I already told you guys, I don't know." She replied. "I just looked at the writing on the door and the word just came to me."

"Riiiiight... You just read a word in a language no one's spoken in a thousand years, and the door just opened into a mysterious ancient ruin. Sure." The sense of doubt in Glimmer's tone was almost too obvious to her.

"It's the truth!" She insisted. "I didn't exactly ask to catch your princess-ness you know! No one slapped a label on it saying "Warning, maybe turn you into a pantsless Princess", Pinky!"

"Pinky?" Glimmer blinked at the comment, unable to tell if she was being serious or insulting. "My name is Glimmer, Princess Glimmer to Horde ruffians like you thank you very much!"

"Whoa, whoa, Glimmer, calm down." Bow interrupted, trying to break the tension rising in here. "She did save us, remember?"

"I don't care!" The princess pulled away a bit. "We can't trust her, Bow. Or have you forgotten all the horrible things the Horde's done to us? The people we've lost..." The mere mention of it built a small amount of tears from the corners of Glimmer's eyes. Cata just looked away with no comment, unwilling to continue an argument over something neither of them had control over. She waited until she finished sobbing to herself and wiped away her tears before facing her again.

"Look, I don't care much for what the Horde does and I don't have anything to the supposed people you've lost." Catra's eyes looked back to prize she came here for. "So why don't you just give me the sword and we'll never have to see each other aga-" Catra began as she tried to reach for the sword. Unfortunately (and annoyingly) for her, Glimmer simply held the sword an arm's length away from her, fully intent on keeping it away.

"You think I'd give this to you after all that's happened?!" The idea that Catra even thought it'd be okay fueled her anger further. "I wouldn't give this to you in a thousand years! I don't know what the sword can do but there is no way I'd ever allow a thug like you to have it either!"

"Well I'm not going anywhere without that sword!" Catra's tailed waved a little as she grumbled.

"Hmph, fine," Glimmer puffed as she walked passed her, "then you'll just have to follow us all the way back to Bright Moon if you want it so bad. I'm sure my mother would have quite a few choice words for you regarding the sword."

"Oh come ooooon!" Catra groaned rolling her eyes. She could potentially eliminate the two and take it by force, but even with her heightened sense of sight she wouldn't be able to find her way through the pitch-black darkness if Glimmer's magical light disappeared as a result. Not to mention if she came across the monster again or another one, the last thing she wanted while having the sword was for another one of her visions to kick in and leave her too helpless to fight or retreat.

She was stuck with these two no matter how much she hated them.

"Hey," Bow spoke up again while Catra refused to look back, "so, thanks for saving us from that bug thing back there when you could've escaped instead." Catra remained silent for a few seconds before scoffing in turn.

"Tch, I didn't do it to save you, the sword made me do it." Catra herself was almost just as skeptical as bow by her choice of reasoning.

"Are you sure it's not because you secretly like us?" He asked with a smug grin. All Catra had to do to prove her point was stretch out her already sharpened claws in front of his face. "Heh... point taken." That seemed to please Catra enough to drop the conversation because the next thing he knew she was casually walking down the hallway with her arms crossed, definitely peeved by how the recent events were unfolding.

Still, he wanted to make his gratefulness known even if she didn't want to hear it. "Thanks for saving us all the same." He repeated as he walked by her side. "I'm Bow by the way." It was hard to tell if she was ignoring him or simply didn't hear, an impossible detail given the large cat ears, given the lengthy silence and lack of physical reaction that came from her.

To Catra, if keeping everyone else quiet meant playing along, then she would play along as long as she possibly needed until she got her sword back. "...Catra..." She muttered.

"Catra, huh? Weird name for a-"

"Freak?" Catra assumed.

"I was going to say Horde soldier..." Bow corrected.

"O-Oh..." If there was ever an instant of surprise ever present on Catra's face at this, it lasted for less than a millisecond.

"Still, it is kind of an uncommon name for a Horde soldier and all."

"I don't know what my real name is, I guess they just gave it based on my appearance."

"Heh, guess they're not the most creative bunch, huh?"

Meanwhile, while trying to drown out the conversation the two behind her were spewing, Glimmer looked closely at the sword in her hands. A sword as powerful as this, possibly forged by the First Ones themselves, must've been of great importance and power. Bringing something like this to her mother was sure to gain her recognition, not to mention the fact she successfully captured a Horde soldier at the same time!

The only thing that could make this situation better was if she could unlock it's power. She saw the strange transformation Catra went through, the raw power glowing off the newly transformed warrior along with her sword, and how the creature seemed to practically submit to her will the very instant it laid eyes on her. That kind of power could be the very key she needed to turning this entire war around! All she needed to do was figure out how to acquire it.

Thinking back on it, overlooking the sword once more, she thought back to the very instant before Catra transformed. The creature struck the sword, a bright flash emanated from the sword, and then she spoke a certain phrase, possibly a password like the door. Viewing the bright gem itself, she whispered. "For the honor... of Grayskull."

"What are we doing?"

"Ah-!" Glimmer jumped at Bow's sudden question, realizing he was standing right behind her. "N-Nothing! I mean uhh... Look at these carvings! I think these might be a First One ruin." She stated trying to change the subject. She watched as Bow apparently took the bait, stepping ahead of her as he looked over the writing on the black-walled surface. Catra, on the other hand, just grew a cheeky grin as she leaned in over from behind the princess.

"Can't get the sword to work, Pinky?" She teased, earning nothing more than a small grumble from Glimmer herself. Insults aside, she was just as curious over the strange symbols displayed on the wall. "What's with this First Ones mumbo-jumbo you guys keep mentioning?"

"You've never heard of the First Ones?" Glimmer couldn't tell if she was feigning ignorance or serious, given the events that led up to this moment. She also didn't have the capacity to care for it either as she continued on ahead.

"The First Ones are the original settlers of Etheria." Bow explained in Glimmer's place. "They disappeared over a thousand years ago, but they left behind a lot of old ruins and technology. Like this place."

If the First Ones left technology like this sword or the other strange devices she's come across up till now, there was no telling what other sort of powerful objects laid hidden across Etheria. All of these details were the key to obtaining everything she could've dreamed of! All with one underlying detail she did need to ask about. "Whatever happened to them?" The cat was growing curious at this detail and she wasn't planning on getting killed over it.

"No one knows." Somehow she knew that would be his answer. "They just disappeared. The Horde didn't tell you about them?"

"If they did I didn't care much to listen to them." Catra shrugged. "They taught us the basics of basically everything, then drilled into our heads how we're all 'destined to bring unity and balance to Etheria' or some garbage. When it came to whatever they considered important matters, they always kept it to the higher ups."

"Ugh!" The two stopped as they heard Glimmer moan, standing up ahead. "How do we get out of here?"

"It'll take forever to find a way out at this rate." Bow replied looking around. Wow. Catra was joking when she thought to herself how she would die getting lost with these two earlier but that was going to be the case at the rate things were going. "Hey, you wanna turn on some light, Catra?"

"Huh?" Did he think she was magical too or something? "What? Do you want me to use the glow-in-the-dark powers I don't have or something?"

"Maybe there's a magic word..." He rubbed his chin trying to think. "Ooh! What's the First One's word 'lights'?"

"I don't know, 'Light's on' or something?" She had to resist the urge to facepalm when Bow took a second to look around to see if it worked.

"Mmh we're wasting time." Glimmer stepped between them as she handed the sword to Bow. "Everyone, stand back." She instructed as started to gather more magic.

"Uhh Glimmer? Maybe you should take it easy." Bow suggested sounding slightly worried. "We're a long way from Bright Moon. It'll be awhile before you can recharge."

"Bow!" Glimmer yelped at the small detail he just gave away.

"You have to recharge your powers?" Catra smirked for several reasons. That was an interesting detail Catra was unaware of. Who knows what other juicy bits he could give her before the day was over?

"Can we not talk about this in front of the Horde soldier? Now, stand back." The look Catra saw on his face seemed to be glossed over as he stepped near her and away from Glimmer.

With the distraction out of the way, she watched as the pixie-looking girl began to gather a larger amount of magic within the palms of her hand, a large shining pink sphere growing in size with each passing second. This too actually got Catra interested as she studied her every move. On top of the sword, every bit of detail she could return to the Horde could prove invaluable for her chance at a promotion.

On the off and incredibly unfortunate chance she failed to get the sword before returning to the Horde, as well as any other First One tech she could find, she needed something she could fall back on to make up for it, no matter how minor and inefficient it was. Knowledge was power after all, and it was the last thing Catra could bring back with her to prove all of this wasn't for nothing.

Her attention shifted back to the princess as she heard her groan slightly with unease and discomfort. A small piece of sweat dripped a little from her forehead as the orb continued to expand, growing wider and wider before Catra's very eyes.

Then, with one mighty roar, Glimmer threw the large sphere into the sky, as high as it could reach above these ruins, and expanded like a great shining sun.

"Whoa..." Catra's own eyes sparkled slightly in astonishment, finding herself actually surprised at the massive amount of magic this young princess had welling up inside of her the entire time. She was brought back to focus after hearing the Glimmer groan again, a little louder than before.

"Wow, are you okay?" Bow asked checking on her.

"I'm fine Bow, okay?" Glimmer insisted a little weakly. Her attempts to continue on with the trek was immediately stopped as she turned around again, the sight shocking her at what she saw.

Before all of them, stretching across the wall to nearly the ceiling itself, was a large glass picture, the frame itself embedded within a large sturdy stand keping the picture up. There was a myriad of colors that danced across the picture, depicting of what appeared to be a young warrior, a princess perhaps, standing what appeared to be a magnificent, majestic sword in front of her.

What made the picture so compelling was the similarity it had to recent events. This large beautiful image in front of them bared a striking resemblance to what Catra transformed into, with the large curved edges to her helmet and shoulder pads of her armor. Even the symbol while being partially covered by the sword itself, was too similar to Catra's outfit to not be a coincidence!

"Hey, that's you!" Bow exclaimed as Catra stepped forward. She couldn't help but find herself mesmerized by just how similar the mural was compared to her own image when she transformed.

"That... That can't be right." She shook her head at this. "That doesn't look anything like me!"

"No, I mean the other you." Bow said looking back to the mural. "The large sword, the whole Tiara thing, " Catra briefly checked to see if her helmet was either missing or different at this, "it's gotta be you."

There were a few striking differences, however, and not just with the person as a whole.

"Well minus the cape thing if you really want to look at it." Glimmer commented. "Do you know what the inscriptions say?" Catra took a look at the strange words that were slowly translating in her head like the door.

"It says... whoever found the sword first should get to keep it! Well, if the mural says-" Catra said with a grin.

"Nice try." Glimmer was already two steps ahead of her as she stretched it away at arms length.

"Eh, worth a shot." Catra continued to look over the inscriptions. Luckily it was only one word, thus the translation was over almost as quickly as it began. "It says... She-Ra."

All at once, light stretched across all the inscriptions as it ascended from the base of the picture to the mural itself. Just like with the door, the phrase appeared to bring the entirety of the room this time to life as light danced across the long hallways and the mural from whence it came. Everyone watched as the ruin of the First Ones practically sprang to life under these effects, all of them finding themselves in a practical trance as they watched with amazement at the wondrous light show displaying before them.

It didn't just end with the picture itself coming to life with light, the light stretched across the entire room and then some, illuminating the very floors they stood on and the walls to places they've yet to come to. It was like the First Ones' ruins themselves were alive, awakening after being called upon by one chosen to awaken it. Even the ambience in the air somehow felt more alive than it previously was, all of this culminating from just one word.

She-Ra.

"Greetings, administrator." A full-sized image of a person resembling Light Hope suddenly popped up from the ground, causing the group to jump with fright along with Catra's tail.

"W-What is this thing?"

"What is your query?" It asked.

"My... what?"

"I think it's some kind of ancient hologram." Bow stated as he looked at the transparent being.

"What is your query?" It repeated a third time.

"Um... hi. What is this place?" Bow tried to ask, expecting an answer that never came. "...How do we get out of here?" He asked again trying to sound as blatant and direct as possible.

It didn't help.

"What is your query?"

"Well she's broken." Bow concluded.

"She's just old." Glimmer pointed out. "I'm surprised any of this stuff works at all." She waved her hand through it as she said this. Whatever she did didn't seem to agree with the hologram because almost immediately the hologram glowed red as if angered.

"Administrator not detected. Lockdown initiated."

For a pile of what was supposed to be old junk and ruins, the three found themselves caught off guard at how quickly it reacted and initiated the lockdown. The entire room lit with an angry red as the floors began to rumble. One after the other the various entrances and exits to this place slammed shut and tightly with completely flattened, metal surfaces, leaving little to no means of prying the doors open or gripping the door no matter how hard they could try.

That wasn't including the doors and locks that came down from the older pieces of the ruin. The other areas that were locking down found themselves grinding to a harsh halt, the magic of time catching up to the structures, causing the doors to some sections to completely collapse on top of each other as well as the entranceways that housed them. The amount of force pushing on these structures were enough to shake the ground more as it caused bits of the ceiling to come falling out of the sky, glass murals from above falling one after the after around them.

The entire room would collapse atop of them at this rate, and none of them had the means to protect themselves from the ensuing rubble.

"Catra, you've got to stop it!" Bow finally stated.

"What makes you think I can?!" No amount of assurance could convince her when the world was literally falling down around them!

"Query not recognized."

"There's got to be a password or something," Bow suggested, "just like all the other times!"

Catra found herself on wits end, refusing to let her skepticism keep her from possibly saving their lives from a simple guessing game. "Uhh cut it out- er no I mean stop it. I order you to stop it!" Catra ordered assertively. It was met with the same results as Bow's attempt at stopping it, but she wouldn't give up. "Uhh S-She-Ra! Light Hope! Uhh Eternia? Come on, give us a break!" Catra shouted.

It was then that Catra looked back to the picture itself, the one displaying She-Ra, the person she resembled and the potential key to all of this. There was something about her that had to give them the answers they were looking for, and it all rested on the one thing she was holding in her hands.

"Give me the sword!" She quickly told Glimmer.

"What? No!" Glimmer pulled away.

"We need crazy lady in the cape!" Catra asserted. "If this place is as old as you said it was, then maybe it'll listen to someone close enough to resemble her. You can't deny it's worth a shot!"

"Mmmh." There was a strong urge to deny it but she knew better than not. If they didn't get out of this place it wouldn't matter who had the sword anyway, and that was worse than a soldier running off with the sword at all!

Almost at least.

"Ngh... She-Ra! Uhh Catra! Bow, Glimmer, First Ones?" Catra continued to list off as many potential words and names as possible, hoping any sort of miracle could get them out of their situation.

While she still had misgivings about the soldier, Glimmer wasn't about to leave her behind after realizing the only thing she could do at this moment. Quickly grabbing Bow by his arm and Catra by her tail, freaking the girl out for the very first time since meeting her.

"Hey, what are you grabbing-!" Catra tried to snap about the tail.

"Hold on!"

"Glimmer, no!" Bow tried to warn but it was too late. Perhaps it was good fortune that Glimmer used some of the last remaining fractions of her powers because no sooner had she finally teleported the three of them, a large slab of colored concrete landed where they previously stood.

She had little control though over where they ended up next as the next thing Catra knew they were well above the Whispering Woods, over hundreds of feet from what she fell from the first time that started all of this madness. Worse still, the one who threw them into this situation out of another situation didn't appear to be conscious, which would've explained the calming sleep she was under because there was nothing but panic filling Catra's mind.

"Uh Pinky? Hello? Wake up, we still need you!" Catra tried to shake awake to no avail. Whether or not half-human half-cats always landed on their feet gravity always proved to be the more dire detail to the statistic.

"Hold on!" Bow shouted as he pulled another arrow from his quiver. The boy managed to surprise Catra as he always seemed to have an answer to their troubles because if there was ever an exact thing they needed to save them at this moment, it was the net that grew out of his arrow the moment he shot it at the trees below them, hanging on for dear life as the group had landed straight in the center of the life-saving contraption.

It was a narrow escape for the group, but one that they had officially survived.

...

"Glimmer?" Glimmer heard an echoey voice as she slowly conscious. "Glimmer?"

"Ugh..." She moaned, slowly opening her eyes. She doesn't fully know where she ended up taking them or where they were at this moment, all she did know was that she, Bow, and even Catra were all safe, the last of them having a vague hint of worry in her incredibly annoyed look. "Did it work?"

"What do you think?" Catra huffed as she leaned over. "Word of advice if you don't want to lose your fingers; don't grab a cat by her tail anymore, got it?" Glimmer was so used to her method of speaking that she wasn't even fazed by her nonchalant threat.

"Are you alright?" Bow asked as he carefully helped her up.

"I'm fi-Ngh!" Glimmer clenched her teeth as she felt a sharp pain in her stomach. "I think I used up too much power back there..."

"I don't know who could've predicted that... oh right, me." He said with a slight tease. It didn't make Bow feel any easier knowing this was to be expected after the amount of power she's been using, but it did at least give him an excuse to be a little smug about it.

"Bow..."

"Like an hour ago..." He added.

"Bow!"

"I'm sorry, I'm just glad you're okay." He apologized as she picked up the sword. She was too relieved for words when she realized she was still holding the mighty sword in the palm of her hands.

And a little confused.

"You... didn't try to take the sword?" She asked looking back to Catra.

"Trust me, I wanted to," She crossed her arms as she puffed her cheeks, "but aside from Bowey over here, I... just wanted to make sure you woke up before I did. I hate owing people who help me so consider this making us even." While it was far more one-sided on how much Catra owed her, Glimmer decided to just accept the consideration without saying a word.

Although that didn't keep her from finding more things to question. "Can I ask you something?"

"What?" Catra replied with the typical roll of her eyes.

"Why are you doing all of this?"

"What do you think? I want that stupid sword so I-"

"No, not that." She interrupted. "I mean why are you fighting for the Horde? I mean you don't seem to be all buddy-buddy with them. You even said you didn't like anybody over there so what's the point of working for people you hate so much?"

"Because she's over-!" Catra quickly looked away as she caught herself. "I mean... I just feel like I owe them one, ok? No matter how much I hate their guts they did raise me since I was a baby. Least I can do is find some way to pay them back before I leave them entirely."

"Sounds rough." Bow commented scratching the back of his head. He couldn't even begin to know what it felt like working for a group of people you have absolutely no care for. "But if you really don't care that much for them, then why not just leave them? You could... fight for the Rebellion!"

"What?!" Both Catra and Glimmer stammered at the same time.

"Are you out of your mind?!" The Princess shouted. "There's no way we would-"

"You're still interested in the sword and what it can do, right?" He continued.

"Yeah...?" Catra nodded with a curious brow.

"Well Glimmer's mom knows more about First Ones' tech than anyone. She'll know what's going on with the sword and can probably show you how to use it!"

"You don't say..." She rubbed her chin as she thought to herself. She did have to admit, there was an appeal into knowing  _how_  to use the sword rather than just the sword itself. As it stood it was no more useful than a giant sharp paperweight the way it was now. But if she could unlock all the secrets it contained there was no telling how much power she could unleash on her enemies, especially Shadow Weaver of all people!

"So? What do you say?" He asked offering a hand.

Her options were either A: Accept the deal and get back at everyone she's hated for years now, or B: Decline the deal and find some other means of getting the sword back as well as an alternative solution for finding her way home, which became increasingly difficult since she didn't know where Glimmer just teleported them within these woods.

The choice was obvious.

"Come on, we're wasting time." Glimmer butted in before Catra could so much as offer a response, pulling Bow along with her. "There should be a village a few miles from here. They should be able to give us a ride back to Brightmoon." She didn't give either of the two a chance to continue this conversation as she sped her way up the path a little, looking sternly over to Bow as she whispered. "Are you out of your mind? She's a Horde soldier! She'd never work with us!"

"I know you're upset, but this could really help all of us!" He whispered back. "If she really hates the Horde as much as she says, she'll be willing to help us figure out how to defeat them! She must know loads of battle strategies and weaknesses of the Horde, she'd make a great ally!"

Unbeknownst to the two of them, Catra's superior hearing allowed them to eavesdrop on their whispering even when they were several yards away. She knew exactly what they were talking about even if a few words here and there were incoherent for her. She knew they wanted to use her to help them win the war and they wanted her to join them and fight on the Rebellion's side. All all throughout this there was only one thought on her mind that made her grow a sly grin.

_This... is too easy..._

It's a funny thing when you have time on your hands. Most people can enjoy activities or socialize with other people about various events in the world. During the near full hour they had to wait for Glimmer to wake up, there were quite a few thoughts running through Catra's mind. How was she going to get the sword, how was she going to get back home, and then a new thought occurred; how could she use this to her advantage.

When the idea finally came to her, she knew what she had to do. All she had to do was show a little caring and concern here, a little sympathy there, and find some way to get either of the two morons to sympathize with her. Top that all off with a bit of inner turmoil followed by a dash of possibly betraying her own allies, and she had them eating right out of her very palms.

Because at the rate things were going, she had the advantage over the two. And before this day was done, she was going to get far more than some maesily sword!

...

...

"Mmmh..." Adora mumbled holding herself worriedly as she walked back and forth within the halls of the great building. "Where is she..."

This was a disaster. A complete and utter disaster!

Here she was, newly promoted Force Captain fighting on behalf of the Horde who was currently worrying over a verily late friend of hers. She promised Adora two hours, three tops. She promised she'd return either with the supposed sword that she mentioned or she'd go with her to the infirmary to see if she was suffering some mental injury. And she trusted her friend to keep her word and would have returned within the day just like she promised.

That was all seven hours ago!

She was well over her deadline and incredibly late within the day! If she didn't show up soon, any of her other friends would've noticed her missing! They'd notice her missing, they'd gossip around the base, then one of the staff would've heard, and one way or another it would've eventually ended up with Hordak of all people finding out she was missing! Maybe he wouldn't have been bothered by the announcement of a single missing cadet, given the numerous soldiers he dealt with on a daily basis, but at the very least one of the other soldiers would've noticed, or even worse, Shadow Weav-

* _thud_ *

"Ah!" Adora yelped as she backed away from whatever she collided into. Her fears were intensified as she realized it was the very last person she wanted to literally bump into. "S-Shadow Weaver!" Adora quickly stood at attention, as always, as she saluted. "G-Good day!"

"Adora," Shadow Weaver greeted in her usual calm demeanor as she always did with her, "how pleasant it is to see you." If one thing that scared Adora, it was the fact Shadow Weaver was always nice to her. If there was one thing that terrified or scarred soldiers always recalled about Shadow Weaver, it was that things were always bad when she started a conversation seemingly nice. She was completely living on edge in her case as that's how Shadow Weaver always spoke to her. "I was wondering if you've seen that certain... soldier... friend of yours. Catra, was it?"

"Err n-nope, haven't seen her!" Adora replied with a nervous smile. While she was aware of how strange she was acting herself, she knew everything would be alright as long as there wasn't any proof of where she could be. "I mean I think I heard she was out running an errand or something, so I'm sure she'll be back in awhile."

"Oh... I see..." Outside from the eyes, the other impossible thing to tell about Shadow Weaver was what was on her mind. Without any shift in her tone or voice, there was no way to tell how she was feeling or what she was feeling based on her lack of emotion. "In that case, could I borrow you for a moment? I need your help with something." She instructed as she gestured along with her.

"Oh, o-of course, Shadow Weaver." Thank goodness. For a moment there she really did think Shadow Weaver was on to her about her missing friend. But mundane tasks were nothing uncommon for anyone who Shadow Weaver instructed, so she didn't see any issue with the command.

"Wonderful, thank you dear." She replied as she lead Adora to one of the rooms down the hall. "I would like your help with this issue I came across."

"It's no problem, Shadow Weaver." Adora nodded as she entered the room, curiously approaching a strange waist-high fountain she found in the center. "What kind of help do you nee-" She was instantly cut off as her eyes widened.

Within the center of the fountain, she saw an image displaying everything she questioned, wondered, and feared in that order. Within the fountain she saw an image of her friend, Catra, traveling within the woods alongside two other stranger she's never met before. Whether or not she was being forced to tag along with them or followed them of her own free will wasn't the issue at this time.

The problem was, Shadow Weaver knew.

"You see, it's the strangest thing," Shadow Weaver said as she approached Adora from behind, "I was just told by a certain somebody that she had no idea where Catra was. Yet you seem more worried at the sight of the picture than confused. It's almost like you  _knew_  she was gone..."

This was beyond all sorts of bad. It wasn't surprising to see Shadow Weaver had caught Adora in her lie either, being a master manipulator in both emotions and mentality. What came off as troubling was not knowing the repercussions or who would incur the wrath of said repercussions. As much as she respected Shadow Weaver, she also knew how soft she was to her at times compared to others, and that's what worried her most.

"Ok, look, Shadow Weaver? I'm sorry I lied," Adora apologized with pleading hands, "but you can't blame her either! I promised her I would wait for her to get back so if you're going to be angry, I take full responsibility for this! Just please don't punish Catra for-"

"Who said I was ever angry about this?"

"-leaving, I should've just taken her to the-" Adora paused as she just processed what Shadow Weaver had said. "Wait you're... not... mad?"

"Of course not," she said in a soothing tone, stepping over to Adora's side as she gazed in the water, "I'm actually quite worried."

"You... are?" Was she really? She's known Shadow Weaver to have an angry side with others but not once were those situations of anything dire. Maybe she really did care when the situation truly called for it?

"Yes, Adora. That happens to be a Princess with her, you know." With the wave of her hands, the image in the bowl suddenly shifted to a closer look of Princess Glimmer herself, her spiteful, anger-filled demeanor still covering her face.

"So what's what a princess looks like." Adora muttered gazing in. This was her first legitimate time ever seeing a princess that wasn't a hologram from a simulation. "But then... what is Catra doing with her?"

"No doubt she and her lackey have somehow brainwashed your dear friend. If we don't react quickly enough, they'll take her to the closest facility where they'll interrogate her. And I guarantee they'll force her through the most barbaric of means to tell her what they want to know before disposing of her."

"D-disposing of her? You don't mean..." Adora caught a lump in her throat as she saw Shadow Weaver narrow her eyes. That one look within her wholly white eyes told her exactly what she was thinking, and every detail of how they would proceed with that creeping up in the back of her mind. "We have to do something- I have to do something!"

"Of course, Adora." She soothed, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Now would be a very good time to begin."

"Begin?" She repeated questionably. "Begin what?"

"Why, your very first mission, of course..."

...

...

...

**_A/N: Well nothing gets cheesier than writing a freaking intro to a series, right XP? Lol... oooohhh god i have no life X*(..._ **

**_With the intro series I'd like to request help from anyone who can provide it! If someone writes scenes to go with the lyrics for this version of she-ra, their intro will be posted at the beginning of every episode as a prize, as well as have the opportunity for a non-canon episode they would like to see of in this version of she-ra ^^!_ **

**_As always, leave a like fave review and follow if you enjoyed! Especially review, as I'm doing what I did for Danganronpa and requiring at least 3 reviews for my next post- i like reviews a lot because I feel people get more attention for their fics the more reviews they have. That and I just like hearing feedback for my series XP_ **

**_Lol.. anyway, hope you all enjoyed it! Can't wait for part 2, and I'm the one who's writing it ^^!_ **


	4. Episode 2: The Sword Part 2 P2

_**A/N: Hey guys, bit of a shorter post this time around but for good reason. Specifically: I had a lot of fun with the 30-1 minutes worth of show I put into this one XP. I kid you not I probably added 30 seconds worth of story from the episode in this one, kinda give you guys an easier read and a break for a change compared to the other chapters. On top of that, I posted this piece early because as it stood, the episode would've been extremely long if I posted the rest of the episode along with this 30 seconds of footage XP.** _

_**So with that said, i hope everyone enjoys this "brief", albeit fun little episode. Apologies if anythings rushed, was having a bit of a wonky day so writing might not be 100% today. Either way enjoy!** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No..."

"Are we there yet?"

"No!"

"Are we there yet?"

"NO!"

Glimmer was just about ready to tear her hair out at a moment's notice. For the last half hour, the trio that consisted of Princess Glimmer, her friend Bow, and the Horde soldier they met named Catra had been walking through the Whispering Woods on their way to one of the nearby villages to help transport them to Brightmoon Castle.

To say the day was full of "interesting" events would've been an understatement. In less than a day, her mother grounded her, she snuck out in search of lost First Ones' technology, came upon a magic sword, captured a Horde soldier, discovered a saddening sight of a desecrated village, got attacked by a giant bug monster, watched the sword transform Catra into some sort of magical warrior, escaped into a Great Ones' Ruins, almost collapsed the entire ruin after somehow activating it, using all her remaining magic to teleport the three of them out of there,

And none of it was as bad as what came after.

After noticing Catra's demeanor when it came to the Horde, Bow came up with the interesting idea of possibly recruiting her to their side, which wasn't a bad idea in all fairness. The only thing better than a captured Horde soldier that wouldn't cooperate was one that would, knowing all the ins and outs of the Horde and be willing to divulge as much information as she possibly could. Not to mention it was less likely she would lie about anything if she was willing to do it.

Unfortunately for Glimmer, that meant putting up with Catra's annoyance for the last half hour as they tried to reach the village. Not once since they started this trek did Catra keep her mouth shut, the seemingly-former Horde soldier finding it far too amusing to annoy the Princess, knowing she couldn't do anything that would risk her changing her minds and ruining her chances of proving herself to her mother. Catra was fully aware of this little detail as well.

And man was she loving it!

She could do whatever she wanted, say whatever she wanted, and, as she fully intended, get anything she wanted out of this. She knew Pinky, her little nickname for Princess Glimmer, wouldn't try to pull anything as long as she was with them, and, knowing she was out of magic, she didn't have to worry about her casting some sort of silencing spell or teleporting Catra off a cliff or anything.

The only one who seemed immune to Catra's annoyance was Bow himself, which was probably for the best for Catra. While he did know she was doing it intentionally, it was his idea in the first place to bring him, and Glimmer definitely would've been more irritated if he took back his offer just because things were starting to annoy him. As long as she just tried to annoy Glimmer he was alright with it, provided things didn't turn violent like it appeared it would soon.

"Are we there-"

"You can see we're obviously not there," Glimmer pointed out as she looked back, "so why do you keep asking?"

"Does it annoy you?" Catra asked with a cheeky grin and her arms crossed.

"Yes!"

"Well there you go." She laughed silently as she saw Glimmer squeeze her head. It was like being the passenger in the backseat of a car. She was bored as heck of walking through the woods for who knows how long by now, so she had to entertain herself. At this, she slowly leaned herself forward, head coming closer to Glimmer's ears, and took a deep, quiet, breath. "Haaaaaaah... arewethereyet?"

"NGGGGGGGH-!"

"Yes!" Bow answered smiling, catching their attention.

While it did ruin Catra's hope for any future fun, she did find herself curious and surprised by the sight ahead. This was the very first town she's seen since leaving the Fright Zone, and it was.. different. Very different. There wasn't steam anywhere from the machines, no guards patrolling the streets, there was a surprising array of color amongst the buildings and decorations around the town, and there weren't people harassing each other over the most minor of details. And it wasn't just filled with humans. It had a grand number of hybrid people around here too, many of them with twisted ears and horns on their head.

"Welcome to Thaymor." Bow introduced.

"So this is Thaymor, hu-Ahhhh!" Catra let out a startled yelp as she suddenly felt another yank by her tail, pulling her back behind the building. She hissed as she pulled back her sore tail, giving a glare to the pink princess. "Hey! What did I tell you about grabbing a person by their tail?!"

"What do you think you're doing?" There was no telling if that was a rhetorical question or not coming from a princess.

"Uhh... going into town?" Catra answered with a questionable tone.

"What? In that?" Glimmer gestured to the entirety Catra's outfit. "You're a Horde soldier! Everyone's going to know who you are at first glance!"

"Well what do you want me to do? It's not like I brought a change of clothes you know."

"Already got you covered." Bow stated as he removed Catra's helmet and tossing it in a nearby bush. Before she had a chance to growl back, she suddenly found herself covered with a strange bluish tunic that stretched to her left thigh. As if this wasn't enough, the final nail on the coffin was a small pink flower placed on the left side of her head. If Adora was here to see her, Catra would immediately use up eight of her nine lives after dying repeatedly from embarrassment.

It only gave Glimmer more satisfaction noticing the slightly pink blush growing on her face, feeling a small bit of justice being served for the previous annoyance. "It's not the best look, but I think it will do."

"Ok. The flower? Absolutely not." Catra stated as she shook it out of her hair, only for it to be replaced a second later. "Mmmmhhhh..."

"Come on Catra, just for a little while." Bow said as he led the way into town. "You need to blend in until we can get a ride to Brightmoon."

"And a low profile." Glimmer added. "We don't want to be attracting too much attention around here."

"I doubt that's gonna be a problem." She said as she watched the crowds of people set up decorations. "They're too busy doing something weird. Did someone die or something?"

"What? No, that's just a festival they're setting up." Bow replied. To his shock, Catra just raised a brow to this, revealing what he could hardly believe. "Haven't you ever been to a party before?"

"Par-tees? That some kind of food?"

"Oh my gosh, how have you never been to a party before?" Whatever confusion was on his face quickly changed to excitement because the next thing Catra knew, he was trying to pull her to one of the nearby stands. "Come on, you've got to experience one!"

"What? No!" Glimmer yelled quickly running up in front of him to block his path. "Bow, we don't have time for this! We have to get to Brightmoon right away!"

"Glimmer, please, this is serious!" He decreed holding her shoulders. "She's never been to a party before. EVER!" Glimmer just moaned as his eyes sparkled at this.

"Uhh if it's all the same, I think I'd rather sit out on this one. I don't do things with crowds."

"What? Catra come on, you don't know what you're missing! There's food, there games, there's a whole lot of people to meet-" He insisted.

"I said no! You already got me wearing Pinky's frufru outfit, I don't need anymore attention!" She insisted crossing her arms.

While she could've gone without that frufru comment Glimmer was at least glad Catra had the same level of discreteness as she did. "Then in that case, you won't mind waiting around here while we find someone to give us a ride to Brightmoon."

"And let you leave with the sword? Yeah right!" Catra grumbled back.

"We're not going to leave you if you really plan on joining the Rebellion. It's just that if you really don't do that well in crowds, you're better off waiting here by yourself. It's probably gonna take us awhile to find someone who can transport us." Glimmer explained.

"Mmmhhh fine, just make it quick." Catra ordered as she leaned against a wall with her arms still crossed, ears lowering in annoyance. As much as she hated to admit it, Glimmer did have a point. The more people she saw, the more they might want to talk to her. The more they might want to talk to her, the more she would have to talk back. And the more she would have to talk back, the closer she would be to clawing the next person to annoy her!

"Gladly. Come on, Bow."

"Awww but the festival..." Bow moaned audibly as Glimmer dragged him away. He didn't know if it was more depressing that Catra's never been to a party before or she had no interested in one.

"Hmph, what's the big deal about these stupid parties anyway..." Catra mumbled looking around.

In all honesty she was actually curious about these party things he mentioned, but at the same time she didn't want any part of it or the other people. The only person she's ever managed to get along with or even come to call something close to a friend was Adora, and not one of these people seemed to have the same head on their shoulders as she did. They just seemed too giddy, out of character, they acted like everything was alright with the world and there was nothing else to worry about.

Like the war going on for crying out loud!

In fact, she actually found it a bit insulting! Why on Etheria did these people get to go about their daily lives with stupid smiles on their faces while there was a war going on? What gave them the right to live free and jolly while everyone else either suffered or were suffering from this war? It didn't exactly look professional to pretend everything was right with the world while someone else suffered! At least in the Horde even young cadets knew what was going on and were preparing for their futures, they weren't holding hands, singing songs, or some annoying festival while everyone else worked.

She didn't even understand the appeal anyway. Why bother celebrating things for no rhyme or reason? They made people do stupid things, made them lazier and incompetent compared to how they already are, and they wasted so much money that could be used for resources and such. Instead they were all just running around like a bunch of morons laughing and dancing while someone else somewhere was fighting a war.

Like herself!

* _thud_ *

"Ah!" Catra yelped a little as something collided into her legs. Looking down, she saw several kids with goat horns, Satyrs as they're called, like the adults had that came up to her waist, presumably seven or eight years old, with the one in front of the group rubbing their head a little.

"Ow..." He mumbled.

"Hey, watch where you're going, brats!" Catra hissed, instantly sending shivers down the spine of the several children.

"S-Sorry!" The head one apologized quickly before the groupie of kids ran off in fear.

Oh yeah, that was the other thing that annoyed her. Kids. Painfully obnoxious,painfully stupid, and painfully annoying kids. If there wasn't one thing wrong with them there was another. If there was one mess they made, there was another mess to clean up. All they did was break everything they came across or hurt someone else from too much rough housing too much.

Sure, she was a kid too at one point, but at least she knew her place better than most of the kids she grew up with in the Horde. On top of that, she only ever hung around Adora through a majority of her life, and while she wasn't a stranger to pranks and such, at least they had the decency to clean the messes up after.

Usually because Adora insisted on it.

* _thunk_ *

"Ugh," and the annoyance just continues as someone else crashed into her leg, "what did I just tell you- Oh."

Well this was a bit different. This wasn't like the last several children she had to deal with that were rowdy and rambunctious. This one was rather... young. Real young. Like four-years-old by the looks of it since she barely came up to her knees. She was wearing a nice little light blue tunic with woolen brown sandals like many of the others had, and had tranquil blue eyes with short pink hair. And the most notable thing about her was what Catra detested most about kids.

She was a mess.

Here was a four-year-old girl who collapsed on her behind after bumping into Catra, and she was a mess. She had this strange colored purple smear over her tunic and her face, and upon closer inspection, Catra noticed she got some of that strange food stuff on her own tunic, though she wasn't too bothered by it since they weren't hers to begin with.

From what she could gather from all of this, the little kid must've been eating something when she bumped into Catra in a hurry, smushing whatever it was across herself and the bottom of Catra's tunic.

And she looked ready to cry.

"Mhmmmhhhh..." She whimpered, sniffling a little as her eyes watered.

"W-What... What are you doing?" She was too powerless to resist drooping her ears at this.

"Nghhhh..." She sniffled again. How was Catra supposed to resist frowning a little when she had a kid crying right in front of her.

"St... stop that. Come on, it wasn't that big of a deal right?" Her hopes that her orders were somehow listened to were ignored as the kid continued to whine. "Come on, stop it. It... it was just food, ok?" Shockingly this was only met with more crying, "Mmmmh..." Catra took a brief glance at her surroundings, remembering she was supposed to keep a low profile, then crouched in front of the little girl.. "Come on, it's not that bad. Here, look." She gave a small lick to her own thumb before helping to wipe off whatever she could of the girl's face, then wiped off any food chunks she could from the girl's tunic.

"There, you see? No biggie. Now run along and go do whatever, ok?"

"Mmmhhh..." Catra groaned internally as the whimpering continued.

"What's wrong now?"

* _gurgle_ *

As if to answer Catra's question itself, the next thing she heard was a small gurgling hunger emanating from the girl's stomach. "Let me guess, you're hungry?" For the first time the little girl replied with something other than more whimpering as she nodded. With a roll of her eyes and a quick look around she spotted a stand that was selling, what she believed to be despite the weird appearance, food. "All right, come on." She directed as she took the girl's hand and walked over to it.

She presumed whatever they were selling was some sort of food thing after watching another couple take something from the stand eating it, though the look of the strange fruit things left. "Um... hello?

"Hello, how can I help you?" The Stand's owner greeted.

"Uhh could I get some of that fruit or something for her? I don't have any money but-"

"Oh, nonsense, the food is free for the festival." The owner informed her as she handed her a pink-colored piece of food. "Here, hope you enjoy!"

"Um... thanks, I guess?" It felt so weird for her to be given something by someone she's never met before, but she quickly shook it off as she walked over to the little girl again. "Here, will this make you happy?" She watched as the girl took the strange food, her sniffling and whining being replaced with a more curious look as she switched glances between the food and Catra. After waiting several seconds for any sort of response, Catra finally sighed as she rose back to her feet. "Well... there you go. Hope you're happy kid, later."

Well that was an interesting way to waste a few minutes. Hopefully she could go through the rest of the day without any more unwanted attention, especially from a little kid.

Sadly fate wasn't so kind when she felt a tugging on her tunic exactly three seconds later after walking away. Doing whatever she could to surprise a moan she turned her head back as she looked down to the curious goat girl. "What?" She really did not want to spend the entirety of the day with her. It wasn't anything towards her specifically of course, she just didn't trust kids enough to be alone with them. One moment you could be holding ones hand and the next one they could be starting a fire in the middle of the night of all things!

That was a very brief pyromaniac phase she went through...

Watching the kid closely, she was a bit surprised as the kid broke off a small piece of the food and tried to hand it to her, a wide and excited smile on her face. "What?" She stared at the girl for a few seconds, the concept of what she was doing completely new to her. "What do you want?" Regret started to build up again as the happy face on the kid's expression slowly changed to a small whimpering frown. Seeing her options limited, Catra gave another silent sigh as she took the small piece of food offered to her.

She examined the bizarre thing as if it was poisonous, looking back to the other kid as she happily ate her piece of the food. Shrugging to herself, Catra gave a silent gulp as she squeezed the gushy thing one more time before eating it. "Well, bottoms up..."

"...!" Catra's eyes widened as she tasted the strange food. What the heck was this thing? It had the strangest texture yet the best taste to anything she's ever tasted! It was like a jelly filled pastry but with a fruity skin to it instead of bread, and a soft texture that made it easy to eat! "D'ish ish..." She paused momentarily as she swallowed her mouthful. "Good!" To her embarrassment, the little girl was looking up at her with excitement in her eyes. "I-I mean you know for some...Par-tees kind of thing..." If this kid was an evil mastermind then she knew perfectly well Catra was trying to play it cool because the moment she said that the kid's face brightened up.

What happened next was beyond her control, unless she tried in the least bit to resist, because the next thing she knew the little girl was pulling her with both her hands as she dragged Catra towards the festival. "H-Hey wait where are you going?"

Well, it was just a little girl. Knowing her she was just going to take a few minutes, right?

...

...

Oh how wrong she ended up being.

Three hours.

Three long and grueling hours.

That's how long the girl dragged her around for. And in all honesty... it wasn't completely abysmal! Sure, it's not a process that she would ever want to repeat in a million years, but throughout it all, she could say it was... peaceful, compared to the last eight hours of her day.

The first thing she got dragged over to was a banquet table where she found several of the adults dancing on the table while those seated around them watched and ate in peace. The little girl seemed to be having a heck of a fun time finding as many different foods as she could find and bringing them back to the "new best friend" she met several minutes ago. Not wanting to upset the kid or cause her to cry in front of all these people, she found herself forced to take bite after bite of the various foods, and to her shock, not one of these foods were disgusting to her! Sure, some foods tasted better to her than others, but still.

There was one moment where she found herself waiting awhile for the girl to come back and bring more food for her when another couple tried sitting at the spot reserved for the four-year-old, forcing Catra to calmly and patiently explain to them how that seat was reserved for another person.

At least what she considered calm and patient the couple who ran screaming considered it hissing and threatening to claw their eyes out with her literal bare claws.

The next thing the girl excitedly dragged her over to was a rather strange event. She couldn't exactly tell what it was but for some reason the children surrounding it seemed intent on bashing the brains out of the stuffed paper mache toy. Watching for another minute, she grew surprised to see what appeared to be some form of candy bursting from the broken toy, just enough for the kid hitting the toy to get a few pieces of candy.

Feeling the girl tug on her again, she looked down to see the little girl giving her the bashing stick, looking at her expectantly as she pointed to the toy for her to break, and finally pulling her over to it. Honestly, it did feel a little weird, and embarrassing of course, to be standing in the middle of a crowd of children who were watching her questionable expression with smiles on her faces. Not wanting to get the kid into another crying fit though, she took a deep breath as she pushed her embarrassment down, taking a quick battle stance as she focused on the toy.

She needed to do this perfectly, without hesitation, and in one shot. She observed the paper contraption from head to toe, trying to pinpoint where the best spot to strike would be for the biggest impact and best results. Then she just needed to focus, trying to imagine the paper mache toy as someone she should hate, someone she would be all to eager to smack with all her might...

It only took two seconds for her to visualize Shadow Weaver's covered face over the toy before obliterating it in one strike. As opposed to the many distraught and depressed faces she expected to see upon the children's' faces, she instead found herself surrounded by the cheers of the numerous children as they all gathered the numerous pieces of candy, including the little girl herself who started this whole tour with Catra.

Catra was too proud of herself, evident by the cheeky grin on her face, to be bothered by the splattered remains of the toy that covered her face and hair.

The last stop on their numerous adventures was probably the most boring of the several dozen places they visited and took all of Catra's willpower to stay awake, and even more to keep herself from walking away from it. It appeared to be a simple story area where an elder was telling a story to the kids in in front of him, all watching intently and with excitement as he delved into his story, making numerous different hand signs of animals and other creatures in the world as he did.

The biggest (and only) thing keeping her here was the four-year-old girl, and in a more literal sense in this case. Unlike the previous times where she was out on the sidelines, this time Catra found the little girl in her own lap, forcing herself to sit cross-legged as the kid watched with awe at the storyteller's show. All Catra could do was force herself to sit right up, resting her hand on her chin as she propped her arm up against herself with the most bored expression she's had on her face since this misadventure began.

Surprisingly to her, however, the look of boredom on her face didn't last indefinitely. While watching the storyteller with half-opened eyelids, her ears perked up as the storyteller took a strange looking bag out of his pockets, sprinkling around the glittering dust around himself and creating a rain of sparkles for everyone watching to see. Then, all at once, the storyteller threw the entire bag in front of himself, creating a short flashbang in front of the children and everything everything from his chest down.

When the dust dissipated, the crowd was left in oohs and awes as nearly a dozen white birds flew from the ground, ascending to the sky as the children all clapped in applause as the man bowed. While she failed to get as invested in it herself, even Catra found herself smiling from the small performance she just witnessed. A part of her almost regretted not listening to whatever story the man was telling just now.

Emphasis on almost.

By the end of this long endeavor, Catra found herself walking alongside the small kid again, the both of them holding their own serving of cotton candy. If someone ever accused Catra of trying to have fun with somebody else before today she would've happily left them with a few scars to remind them of their mistakes. But after the day she's had, and everything she's gone through in the last several hours, she could admit at least one thing.

It was... a little fun!

"Ok, so what do you wanna do next, squirt?" Catra asked, trying to hide her eagerness.

"Kimberly!" A female voice suddenly called out catching their attention. Looking ahead Catra saw another one of the Satyrs, a female one, quickly rush up to them in a panic, hastily scooping up the four year old in her arms and hugging her for dear life. "Oh thank the queen you're alright! I was worried sick!"

"Huh, so you must be her mom, right?" Catra greeted with a hand. "Hey, my name's-"

"What were you thinking!" The mother snapped angrily.

"E-Excuse me?"

"Do you just go around taking children away from their families without their permission?!" She shouted as she set her daughter down by her legs. "I've been looking all over for her for the last two hours now when the other kids found her missing!" That would explain to Catra how the little girl stumbled upon her on her own. "You're lucky I didn't call the guards on you young lady! Where are your parents anyway?"

"Ok first off, she bumped into me and dragged me around, I didn't kidnap her or anything." Catra grumbled as she squeezed the stem of her cotton candy. "Secondly, I don't have any parents, so back off!"

"Typical, another delinquent in the midst of a festival. If that was the case why didn't you bother to just look around for her parents since the moment you found her?"

"Because I-!" Catra suddenly paused as she thought to herself. Why didn't she just go around and find her parents? She didn't want anything to do with the kid yet she ended up getting side tracked for several hours because the kid was so insistent on bringing her around. "I don't know..."

"Well hopefully next time you'll think for a few seconds before acting on instinct, young lady! Come sweetie, we're going home." The mother stated as she lifted her daughter and carried her away. The last thing Catra saw of the young girl's face was her looking over her mother's shoulder, frowning slightly as she gave a small wave goodbye, before they both disappeared into the crowd.

This.

This is what Catra hated about people. There were too many different types of people in the world. Strong, weak, brave, scared, smart, stupid, fun, boring, the list was never ending. In every day of her life she's only ever met the worst kinds of people, people who were either quick to judge or quick to act, who were always against her. They wanted nothing to do with her, nothing to say to her, and had no interest in being around her. This is what she always had to deal with, and these people were no exceptions.

The little girl was a brief exception to this list. Just for a moment, the girl seemed to be the only other person in the world she knew that actually liked Catra for no reason. She liked hanging around her, she liked playing with her, and she liked showing her all the cool and interesting things around the festival. It almost made Catra feel like she herself was wanted for a change, for possibly the first time in her very life!

Sadly, that had to come to a close when she met the strictest and painful of mothers apparently. If Kimberly was everything right with the world, then her mother was everything wrong with the world. She was quick to jump to conclusions and not even take a moment to try and understand someone different from themselves, not once taking a moment to themselves in trying to understand the "why" to everything to themselves.

They were just people who didn't bother to take the time to spend a second or two to understand something. Lazy people at it's finest. The absolute worst kinds of people that Catra loathed. This is what made up everyone around her.

"It was a stupid party anyway..." She hissed to herself, throwing the cotton candy to the ground before walking back into the forest.

Unaware of a certain princess having witnessed the whole event.

...

"Catra?" Glimmer called out as she looked around the edge of the town. "Catra? I know you can hear me, I just want to-" She froze as she discovered the state of the tree before her.

It was scratched up.

Badly.

There were numerous dozens scars from scratch marks located all over the tree from top to bottom, stretching up half the tree to at least ten feet. It wasn't just around the side Glimmer was facing, there were scratch marks across the entirety of the tree on all sides. Wherever there was an amount of open space, there were scratch marks, and wherever there weren't scratch marks, there were large chunks of tree bark missing.

Either Catra had been here or termites had gotten very specific with their eating habits.

"Catra?" Glimmer called again. "Where are you-"

"I'm up here." Glimmer looked up as she spotted the feline halfway up the tree, knees curled up to her chest with her tail wrapped around her feet with her back turned to Glimmer. She appeared to be wearing her old outfit again, helmet included, with her previous outfit torn to shreds and laid right next to her. "What do you want, Pinky?"

"Catra, I just want to talk. I saw what happened back in town. I just wanted to know if you wanted to talk about it-"

"I'm fine!" She hissed. Glimmer tried to find a branch or way she could climb up to Catra's level to no avail. Apparently Catra made sure there was no means for anyone else other than her to reach her. "Just leave me alone. Where's that Bowey guy anyway? Shouldn't you be bothering him?"

"He's playing with the children setting up another pinata. You know, the thing you broke apart in one swing?" Her reminder was the first line to get a physical response out of Catra as she turned her head back.

"If you were watching the whole time then why didn't you say anything?"

"Because you looked like you were having fun, and you were playing with the kids so we didn't want to bother you."

"Yeah well thanks for that heads up, I'm glad you had my back when Kim's mother went insane on me."

"Look, I'm sorry I didn't step in, I didn't know what was going on at first. But you shouldn't let her influence what you think of people, they're really not all that bad-"

"You think I CARE what you stupid people think of me?" Catra growled as she leapt back to the ground. Glimmer started growing a little nervous as she backed away from the approaching Horde soldier, the same one stretching the claws out of her right hand. "Well let me tell you something princess; I DON'T care what people think of me, got it?" She nearly made Glimmer flinch as she swiped any and all plants that came near her claws. "I don't care what you stupid people think of me, I don't care about how your stupid people feel about me, and I definitely don't care about how your stupid people see me!"

The princess panicked a little as she realized she backed up into a tree, only thankful Catra finally stopped moving forward at this. "Because when I join your little Rebellion thing," she continued, "your mom is going to make it worth my while. Got it?"

"W-Worth your while?" Glimmer repeated. "I promise you if you help us win this war, money isn't going to be an issu-"

"Pffft, keep your stupid money, I want something bigger!" She stated, leaving Glimmer a little confused.

"Bigger than money? What could you possibly want?"

At this, Catra gave another sly grin as she placed her claws at her hips.

"Simple Pinky: I want a Kingdom!"

...

...

...

_**A/N: So now we see Catra's motives behind everything including what she wants! Personally given how she is in the show, I think this is the most likely thing she would ask for if she wanted anything ^^** _

_**Anyway thanks to the major fans I've gotten recently who left a review! The reviews really help and make the writing even more fun! So with that said, please leave a review on your thoughts of the latest chapter which I hoped you all enjoyed. As expected, this is most likely going to be a 3-parter now unless the next one takes like 8k words for only 4 minutes of scenery or something, otherwise next part should be the last ^^** _

_**Leave a like, fave, and review if you enjoyed! As always, 3 reviews for the next chapter, and if the last one was given great feedback, then I feel the next chapter should be here in no time!** _


	5. Episode 2: The Sword Part 2 End

**A/N: Hooftah, another grand finale to a grand episode! Now I'm really glad I spaced this and the last one out or we would've been looking at like 15k words to read, and even I wouldn't want to read that much :/ I think I also am going to leave an END whenever I reach the end of any episode, in the event anything takes more than 2 parts to write out.**

**Huge thanks to the numerous fans coming to this series and all the feedback! I have a tradition where I do a freebie chapter of choice to anyone who reviews when I've reached a certain amount, so if you guys have a request or idea for a non-canon episode involving Catra's time in Bright Moon, please let me know!**

**Should point out this might be a bit rushed in some parts and confusing in others cause when I wrote this i was on sleeping medication for like the first half of this in the middle of night, so no telling how rushed or how badly something I wrote came out X/.**

**With that said, enjoy!**

**...**

**...**

**...**

"Alright kids, now watch closely." Bow instructed as he spun the whacking stick playfully.

Festivals were the best, weren't they? There was so much to do at these events and so many fun things to do that one could forget their troubles of everyday life and just enjoy themselves, just like Bow was displaying before the dozen giggling kids. He knew he was acting goofily in front of them but it was purely intentional.

As a supporter of the Rebellion, he knew what kids needed was a good laugh, and displaying such over-the-top behavior was the best way to draw out those smiles. "This is a technique I used to take down one hundred Horde soldiers single handedly! Hooowahhhh!" He screeched, once again gaining the support and laughter of the kids.

"Did you really take out a hundred soldiers with one attack?" One of the curious five-year-old girls asked.

"Oh, you bet!" He eagerly demonstrated the events of that day by himself. "There I was, surrounded in the Whispering Woods, when all of a sudden a massive Horde army crashed through the trees, heavily armed with massive tanks and weaponry the likes of which you've never seen before!"

"Are tanks really big?" Another girl asked.

"Oh yeah, bigger than big! They're heavily equipped with massive thick metal plates and weigh a ton! In fact, whenever they were on the move, you could feel the ground beneath your feet beginning to rum-"

_*rumble-rum **ble-rumble** *_

"Is this what it feels like?"

The group of children and Bow were interrupted by the vibrations of the very ground before them shaking. They had no idea Bow was so good at storytelling, believing for a moment that he was the one putting on this giant ground-shaking display. As for Bow himself, the bowman found himself confused at the shaking he felt underneath his heals, questioning what was going on and realizing too little too late what it was.

"Oh no..."

...

...

"You what?"

"You heard me right, Pinky. I want a Kingdom." Catra declared proudly. It had been a rather harsh day for the cat girl, and after what happened through the last half hour, she didn't care how she came off. If anything, the events she experienced a short while ago only fueled her desire for her own Kingdom.

She actually thought for a moment she could fit in here, for the first time in her life! After arriving in town with the other two and being forced to participate in some strange festival "par-tee" thing, she actually found herself having something close to a good time! There was plenty of new and tasty food she got to try out, various events around the town she had to participate in, granted she rather enjoyed them after awhile, and she met a rather sweet four-year-old, the very same who dragged her along in the first place, who seemed interested in her!

The very first person she's ever met that wasn't scared of her or suspicious of her since Adora, and she seemed interested in her. It was the first time in Catra's life she found herself possibly making a new friend, finding something to actually smile about, and how did it end? The same way it always does whenever these situations revolved around her.

Badly.

After exploring the festival with her quiet friend did they come across the kid's mother who had been frantically looking for her young child during the several hours Catra had been playing with her, and just like everyone else, she only saw Catra as a monster. Sure, she admitted she probably should've tried to find her parents instead when she literally bumped into her, but she was having too much fun! She's never met someone who warmed up to her so quickly before, and instead of understanding that, the mother just snapped at her before taking her daughter away, an event Glimmer herself happened to notice.

It was at that time Catra reminded herself of every reason she was doing this, every reason she hated people in the first place. They were all the same arrogant, snobby, good for nothings that judged first and asked questions later, never the kind who just took a moment to understand something different than themselves. They were all the same to her, no exceptions.

They were nothing but garbage.

"But why do you want a Kingdom?" Glimmer asked with mixed shocked and confusion. "What would you even do with that in the first place?"

"That's for me to know and anyone I feel like who needs to know. And no, you don't fall under that category." Catra snarled crossing her arms. "But I do know your mother can make that happen, and I expect it to happen when this is all over!"

"Look even if I did tell her there's no guarantee she would even agree to it!"

"Then I guess you can find yourself someone else to help your stupid little Rebellion." She stated turning her back to her.

She was kidding, right? She had to be kidding. Up till now Glimmer's known her to be snarky, blunt, insulting, and many other selfish-related terms, but this was a new low. "Can't you just do this out of decency though?"

"Decency?"

"Yeah, decency! Kindness, selflessness, whatever you want to call it! I know there's good in you Catra, you showed it when you were with that little girl."

"...Pffft...Tch, hahahaha! Oh gosh, that's what you think that was?" Catra cackled as she looked back. "You've got to be kidding me! If you thought for a second I cared about that stupid kid or her mother, you're sorely mistaken!"

"What do you-"

"I never liked that kid!" She continued to interrupt. "I was just with her because the whiny brat kept crying her eyes out whenever I didn't listen to her! You said it yourself I had to keep a low profile around here and that's all I was doing. Keeping a low profile. That's all it was. That's all it ever was! I was just mad about having to deal with a bossy mother, I didn't care about that little pipsqueak in the slightest! I don't care about anybody!"

"...I see..." Catra watched as Glimmer's expression hardened into the stern glare she usually had when addressing Catra. "I guess I was wrong about you. You really are just like the Horde."

Catra just stared at her eyes for a brief few seconds to this. "...Like I said at the other village, Pinky. I don't care. All I care about is myself and that stupid sword."

"...Of course. That's all you ever cared about." With a final huff, Glimmer began to walk away.

There was no end to the irritation Catra had building up inside of her. How many times did she have to say it out loud to her? As long as she got the sword, nothing else mattered in the world! The sword was her ticket to fame, respect, and a stupid promotion! And at this point, with Bowey preoccupied, now seemed better than ever to take that sword by for-

* **BOOM** *

Both Glimmer and Catra were caught off guard as the sound of an explosion rang throughout the entire village, a small vibration trembling through their feet.

"What was tha-"

"Glimmer!" Bow suddenly shouted out as he ran up to them in a rush. He was already panting and breathing heavily as he finally reached the two.

"Bow? What happened? What was that?" Glimmer asked worriedly. With her enhanced hearing, Catra's eyes widened as she could hear the sounds of smaller explosions and crashes through the other end of the village, realizing what it was.

"I-It's the Horde! They're attacking!"

"What?!" Glimmer stammered. Her mind was already putting all the possibilities and all the explanations as to why this could possibly be happening, taking no more than three seconds before she returned the harshest glare Catra had ever seen her give to her. "You!" Catra was so surprised by the sudden expression on her face that she failed to react as Glimmer tackled her to the ground, pinning her by her shoulders. "You did this, didn't you!"

"What?" Catra's skepticism didn't register to the angry princess.

"Glimmer, what are you talking-" Bow tried to ask.

"Just think about it, Bow!" She yelled. "The Horde just happen to attack after we bring her to the very first town we go to? This entire meet-up was all part of an ambush, wasn't it!"

"Ambush?" There would be no end to Catra's annoyance after this, she just knew it. "Would you just listen to yourself for a second? Why on Etheria would I ask the Horde to attack the same town I come to? I'd just get caught in any crossfire!"

"Glimmer, Catra's right." Bow placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down. "Plus she wouldn't still be here if all she had to do was find the town. She would've taken off by now."

"Nngggghh..." Glimmer grumbled for a bit as she processed this, then grunted to herself as she finally helped Catra back to her feet. "Fine! Then what are the Horde doing here?"

"I don't know." That was the one detail that worried Catra the most. "But I know how to stop them. I just need to find whoever's leading this operation and force them to stop."

"And what about us?"

"What do you think? Hide? Help the townspeople? Do whatever you want, I don't care! Just don't get in my way when I'm going in!" And with that, Catra leapt to one of the nearest buildings she could, hopping to the closest building with each leap.

There wasn't any way to find comfort in the present situation. Was Catra on their side? Was this all a trick? There were too many questions throughout the entire day and not enough answers, and that's what infuriated Glimmer the most! "Come on, we need to help everyone we can find." She didn't even look back as Bow replied with a nod, taking off into the warzone that would determine who was on who's side...

...

...

Madness. Chaos. And plenty of fire and smoke. That's all that filled Catra's view since she ventured into the crumbling city around her. She knew that wars were supposed to be violent and all, but... this? This was just a stupid town in the middle of nowhere that were trying to have some sort of boring party thing.

Was that really worth attacking them over?

Looking back towards the streets and walls surrounding the city, she took notice of several droids who were followed by soldiers, all flooding into the town while the townspeople ran away screaming in fear. That was when she took special notice to the large rumbling that came from the wall as a massive tank crashed through it. "There!" Catra determined for herself as she quickly leapt to the ground. If there was a tank, there was bound to be a commander, or at least someone in charge of this entire operation.

Waiting till she found a path up ahead, she quickly leapt back to the ground, holding her arms out to grab the Tank's driver's attention as she cut it off. "Wait!" She watched, slightly nervous, as the tank steaded to a halt, just inches away from the barrel of the massive cannon touching her. "Come out here, whoever you are! We need to talk!"

There was no way to tell who could possibly be driving this dangerous weapon, and the uncertainty of it is what left Catra most nervous. It could be any number of people to someone she knew, one of the higher ups, to possibly Lord Hordak himself if the army was large enough. She could've been unfortunate enough to even come face to face with Shadow Weaver herself, though if it was the latter chances are they wouldn't have stopped the tank.

At last, the tank's hatch popped open, finally revealing the very last person Catra expected to see here. "Adora?" The brimming brightness on Adora's face completely confirmed it was her.

"Catra!"

"What are you doing he-ahh!" This was the second time Catra found herself tackled to the ground within the last 5 minutes, Adora squeezing her arms around her as she helped her to her feet.

"Phew, thank goodness you're alright, I was so worried! You were gone for over eight hours and ...What is this?" She tilted her head as she pulled a strange flower out of Catra's hair, reminding Catra of the one thing she forgot to remove.

"Oh, it's nothing forget about that. What are you doing here anyway?"

"What do you think I'm doing here? I'm here to rescue you!" She wasted no time grabbing Catra's hand as she pulled her towards the tank she considered salvation. "We got to get out of here as soon as possible.."

"Wait- what? Leave?" Adora was surprised as Catra shook her free all of a sudden. "I'm not leaving Adora, you gotta get everyone else out of here yourself!"

"You're not coming? Catra don't you understand what's going on here? They're going to interrogate you, you're their prisoner here!"

"I'm not anyone's prisoner here, Adora, I want to be here!"

"Want to..." A look of terror began to fill Adora's face. "No... they really did brainwash you didn't they?" She grabbed Catra's hand again, squeezing it comfortingly with both her hands. "Catra, I know it might be hard for you to understand right now, but you're here against your will. You need to come home with me right now, we can fix whatever spell they casted on you!"

"I'm not- ugh..." Catra rubbed her eyes as she tried to explain. "Look, Adora, you're the one who needs to understand. I'm not here against my will, I'm not here after being tricked by anything, and I'm doing all of this because I want to! Do you understand?"

There was no way to tell what Adora was thinking at that moment. She had a vacant look in her eyes and her face keeping Catra from telling what was being processed out of all of this. She didn't like the town itself or anything like that, but that didn't mean she found it fitting to just attack a random town out of nowhere regardless of what their reason was. On top of that, if they really were just here for Catra herself, they could've just come in disguise or something!

"...I understand..." It brought moments of pure relief to the founder of the sword.

"Huff, thank you!" Catra sighed turning around. "Look, I know it doesn't look like it but this town's harmle-"

* _BZZZZZZZZZZT_ *

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Catra screamed in pain as she collapsed to the ground. In her place just a foot behind her was Adora, her best friend, looking over her friend with regret and a stun baton in her hands.

"They really did brainwash you, didn't they..."

...

...

* **BOOM** *

"Get to safety!" Bow shouted to the fleeing civilians as he fired another arrow, destroying another of the round droids in a large explosion.

Glimmer found herself questioning if everything up till now was going to be worth it in the end. All around her she saw the remains of ruined buildings and the poor people who were still running for their lives from the invading Horde. All this destruction, all the fear she was watching fill the faces of the townspeople as their lives became hectic.

Was it really all worth? Just for one Horde soldier who may or may not be able to use the sword to help the Rebellion? She wouldn't find out until they got out of this place alive, and only  _if_  they got out of here alive.

"That's the last of the droids in this place." Bow stated turning to Glimmer.

"I think the civilians in this part escaped too. We should regroup with Catra and see if she needs any- LOOK OUT!" Glimmer quickly yelled, teleporting him and herself nearly a dozen yards away before a building crumbled atop them. When they rematerialized seconds later, Bow could instantly see the color of life drain from Glimmer's face, knowing the massive toll she just took on herself.

"Glimmer!" Bow cried worriedly, catching her as she fell. It was then that he heard the sound of oncoming droids, knowing their fight was far from over. The only thing standing between the droids and Glimmer's capture was him and the dozen arrows he had left in his quiver.

"Come on Catra, where are you?"

...

"Ngggh!" Catra grumbled as she pushed herself a little off the ground, nerves still suffering from the immense physical shock she just experienced. "What the heck, Adora?!"

"Eep! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, that was reflex, honest!" She quickly apologized. "But I need to bring you back, you're not well!"

"I'm not well? You're not well!" The fire in Catra's eyes left Adora in a questionable doubt.

And slightly too nervous for Catra's own good.

* _BZZZZZZZZZZT_!*

'Ahhhhh!" Catra cried out in pain again, little streaks of lightning coursing around her body. "Stop that!"

"I'm sorry, you just..." It was hard to explain everything wrong with a person who didn't know there was something wrong with them! "I'm trying to help you! You need to open your eyes, Catra! They did something to you-"

"Open MY eyes?!" Catra groaned and stammered as she slowly rose back to her feet, still weakly as she tried to shake off the shocks going through her body. "Look around Adora, they lied to you!" As she insisted, Adora took the moment to look around her, noticing how strange this place looked for what was supposed to be a facility. "Do any of these people look like soldiers or guards? They're just stupid people running for their lives because you attacked them!"

"This... This doesn't make any sense..." Still in denial of the situation Adora took the opportunity to dig through her coat pocket, pulling out a digital tracker pad that displayed all the information provided for this mission. Nothing about the info matched up with the information she was given! She was told this was a facility yet, like Catra said, there were nothing but innocent people running for their lives! "Why... why did they lie to me about the mission?"

"Because that's what they've always been doing, Adora!" The soldier's shouting recaptured her attention, and distress. "They've been lying to us since the day we've been found. Are you just now realizing this or what?"

"..." The quivering in Adora's eyes showed the inner struggle going through her mind. How was she supposed to be able to comprehend this? Just to go on her first mission at random and find out everything she's known was a complete lie since the beginning? On a mission to save her brainwashed friend? Was she becoming brainwashed?! "I... Don't... This isn't..."

"Adora," Catra spoke again grabbing her hand, "call off the attack. Now."

"But... But how am I supposed to know you're telling the truth? How do I know this isn't some elaborate trick? I mean why would you even work for them willingly to begin with?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Catra's face brightened as she said this. "Adora, this is our chance to get everything we wanted! The Rebellion's queen is going to give me a Kingdom, they won't have a choice. We can have our own land where we call the shots, we can do whatever we want, rule whoever we want!"

"..." Her voice was silent as she stared into Catra's face. All she did was pull her hand back from Catra's grip, a sense of unease coming from the blond Force Captain. "You.. you just left because you wanted something? You sold us out just for your own gain?"

"What? No, Adora it's not like that!" Worry began to build up in her mind, feeling like she was losing her. "I did this for the both of us! That's how it's always been, just us!"

"And what about our friends, Catra? What about Kyle? What about Lonnie? What about Rogelio? Where do they fit in in all of this?"

"Who cares, they can come too if they want." The fact Catra could shrug off some of her friends so easily distressed Adora. Did they really mean so little to her? "It doesn't matter. What matters is what we can get out of this if we team up!"

"...Do they really mean nothing to you?" Catra watched as Adora's face slowly twisted to anger. "The people we grew up with, the family we knew? You'd just throw that away for a few shiny trinkets or some stupid piece of land?"

"I-It's not stupid!" Worry and fear began to infect Catra's tone. "Look, just take a second to think about it-"

"I don't need to think about it!" Adora swatted Catra's hand away as she tried to hold it again. "From where I'm standing, you just decided to betray us because you couldn't stand living with the Horde, and the only thing keeping me from fighting you right now is the possibility you have been brainwashed by these evil Princesses!"

"A-Adora... that's not it at all-"

"Then tell me Catra!" Catra took a step back at the rage building up in Adora. "Tell me exactly what this is because I am begging you to help me understand!"

"Kiiiim!" A familiar shout cried out, catching Catra's and Adora's attention. "Sweetie, where are you?"

"You've gotta be kidding me..." There was no control over her actions as Catra ran over to the sound of the mother.

"Catra wait-!"

The woman looked more terrified at the sight of the familiar face, as well as the addition of the Horde outfit said face was wearing. "You... You're with the-"

"Where's Kimberly? What happened?" The woman continued to look stunned at the young teen.

"You were the one who took my daughter, and you're with the Horde..."

"Listen Lady!" Catra shouted shaking the woman's shoulders to snap her out of it. "Just tell me where your daughter is. Now!"

"I..." The lady shook a little from fright, both from the Horde before her and the worry she had for her daughter. "I don't know... When you invaded, we got separated in the chaos."

"Do you have any idea where she could've gone?"

"H... Home..." The woman struggled to maintain her composure as she answered. "I always told her to head straight home if she ever got lost or in an emergency." Catra followed the lady's hand as she pointed to one of the rundown buildings. To both their dismay, there was a large chunk of the house destroyed on the second floor, a sizeable hole in it along with the rubble that fell around it.

"No..." For the first time, Catra's pupils shrank for someone other than herself, somehow finding her feet moving on their own as they ran past Adora yet again.

"Catra, what are you-"

There was so much going on, too much in fact! First she doesn't want to go home, then Adora found out the information she was given was falsified, and now Catra is going out of her way for someone else Catra had no way of knowing for more than a few hours! She didn't apparently consider the friends back in the Fright Zone she's known till now family and yet here she was, leaping up to the second floor of a small dome building, looking for someone she had no way of knowing for longer than several hours compared to the literal years she spent with her allies!

During Adora's confusing mental episode, Catra hastily ascended the partially ruined building as she looked over the second floor. From the looks of it, this entire smaller upper floor was for the four-year-old's own use, noticing a crumbled bed, a toy chest with several toys scattered around the floor, and several giant stuffed animals in the corner of the room covered in dust from the debris.

The same dust that messed with Catra's sense of smell as she examined the room. She couldn't get a good lock on the kid's scent or where the strongest scent of it was coming from, everything the girl touched mixing with the air and masking it. She already found herself on a deadline to stop the attack before more people got hurt around here, and every second she spent searching in here could potentially waste the time she had to find her if the kid was somewhere else entirely.

"Kim?" Catra called out, checking around the bed and the toy chests for possible hiding spots. "Hey squirt, where are ya? I really need you to say something if you're here!"

* _rumble_ *

Catra tilted her head up as small bits of debris and dust rained from the ceiling following the most recent rumble. "This whole place is going to fall apart..." Why was she doing this in the first place? Why did she care about some brat she's only known for several hours anyway? She kept asking herself this and more as she searched top to bottom of the room. She knew as a kid she must've had some sort of hiding space around here, but she's overlooked every possible spot imaginable! Well, everything except for the-

* _Creeeeak_ *

As if to answer her line of thinking, she instantly looked back to spot a lone wardrobe at the other end of the room, a wooden door still creaking ever so quietly and still opening just slightly. "Kid?" A small shuffle could be heard scraping from the inside, confirming her suspicions. Hastily running to the door, she felt a rush of relief overcome her at the sight of the lone four-year-old looking back at her huddled in the corner of the wardrobe."Hey there, squirt..."

"Ehhhehehhhh!" She cried, tears flowing down her face, like any child would in the present situation.

"Hey... nice hiding spot kid. Come on, your mommy's waiting for you. She's just outside-"

"Ehhhhhhehehhh!" The kid cried again as she tried to push herself further into the small corner.

It took a moment for Catra to realize what she was crying about. She wasn't fearful of the monsters outside, she wasn't terrified of the explosions she was hearing, or at least not in comparison. She was terrified of Catra, the person currently dressed like a Horde soldier in an outfit anyone would recognize. "I keep forgetting I'm wearing this... Look kid," she did her best to put on the kindest smile she possibly could, "I'm not with them, all right? Your mommy's waiting outside, she's here waiting for you!"

"Mmmmhhmmmm..." She girl continued to sniffle.

"Come on, I mean it. Come look, she's right down there, I can bring you to her and you two can get out of here." Looking back on everything, Catra found herself in a bit of amazement. For one of the few times in her life, she actually found herself needing someone to trust her like their life depended on it.

Mostly because it really did!

At the same time, both, Adora and Kim's mother, continued to look at the hole in the wall with anticipation and worry. Nothing about today was going the way Adora expected. She expected to break into a high tech facility heavily armed and guarded, find Catra and hopefully break her out of whatever illusion or brainwashing was influencing her, and bring her back to base where she could be healed and rested after the long day they both had. And what did they do instead?

She found herself not attacking a facility but a seemingly-harmless little village, finding out she's been lied to about hundreds of different things in the matter of seven minutes, found out her orders were complete hogwash, found Catra, who might not have been brainwashed after all, unwilling to return to the Fright Zone, discovered Catra might have done all this for her own gain, and now found herself risking her life to save someone she deemed more important than the closest thing she's known to family. This day could not get any worse.

Except it did.

* _clank-clank-clank-clank-_ *

Both the women waiting outside turned their attention to the sound of mechanical gears clanking across the surface of one of the few non-destroyed buildings, finding themselves face-to-face with one of the few round mechanical droids that were invading the city. Noticing the two, the droid turned it's immediate attention to the mother as the center of it's core began to brighten, charging it's laser to attack.

"S-Stop!" Adora ordered, quickly placing herself between the droid's line of fire and the mother. Analyzing the person who stepped forward, the droid immediately powered down it's laser as it registered the Force Captain, much to Adora's relief.

Said relief quickly came back into full panic however as the droid's scan detected directed it to two other living signatures; specifically, Catra and Kimberly who were still on the second floor of the crumbling building, charging up it's laser once more. Adora's eyes filled with fear and concern at this, realizing there was no way to call off the attack without the radio or placing herself between her friend and the child she was trying to save. "Catra!"

"Huh?" The rescuer only had enough time to notice the droid for a few seconds, realizing too late what it was about to do. "No-"

* _pew_ *

* _ **BOOM**_!*

"Oh my gosh!" The mother cried out with tears flowing down her eyes. Adora herself was in just as much shock as the two watched the entire building collapse. The droid didn't fire directly at Catra herself, not that she could tell from her vantage point, but that mattered little as the attack targeted the building itself, causing a minor explosion that managed to knock down the entire building, reducing everything to pure rubble as the droid returned to patrol the rest of the city.

"N-No..." What was Adora supposed to feel at this point?! Every minute she spent outside here was causing her life to go from bad to worse with each passing second! The building was destroyed, the very one her friend was scavenging in order to save the life of an innocent little girl. Now, not only did she inadvertently cause the death of a little child by a mission she was tasked with leading, as well as possibly many others throughout the city, but now she just lost her best friend in the entire world.

This... was a nightmare. No, scratch that. Nightmares usually ended no matter how badly they got. This... this was what Nightmares had nightmares of. This was... pure terror. Dreadful, absolute, terror-

* _rumble_ *

"Huh?" The two's moment of complete despair was interrupted as a pile of rubble started to shake amongst the debris. Was Adora supposed to get her hopes up again at the unlikely possibility? Was there a remote possibility that the impossible had occurred? She didn't know. She couldn't tell if it was worth getting her hopes up. After everything that transpired this mission she realized each and every one of her hopes and dreams were dashed in an instant. It couldn't have been worth it!

But... fate decided to show leniency, just this once. With a large mound of rubble beginning to shake, both witnesses to this tragic event found their hope replenished and certified as right there, pushing a large flat mound of wooden rubble with one of her arms, was Catra, the former Horde soldier, coughing her lungs out at the smoke and dust that flew around, while in her other arm, was the innocent little life she went to rescue.

Both covered in dirt, both with several scrapes across their body, but alive and well.

And coughing.

"Hack-ough..." Catra groaned as she wobbled a bit with the explosion still fresh and ringing in her ears. She shook off what little dust she could while pulling her feet out of the rubble, walking out of the rubble as best she could. "That was one sturdy wardrobe kid..." She was more than thankful that she was on the second floor of the building when she popped into the wardrobe before the collapse. There was no way the wardrobe would've been able to withstand two entire floors worth of debris without being crushed. "You okay, squirt?"

"Ough!" The little girl coughed a bit looking up at her, a big bright smile brightening on her face as well as her eyes. "D'ank you." She lisped, speaking for the first time since meeting the girl.

Never in Catra's life had she felt such embarrassment. She was incapable of keeping the small pink blush off her cheeks as she turned her eyes away from the bundle bursting with joy in her arms. "Um... yeah, it was nothing. Just consider us even for the festival..."

"Kimberly!" Kim's mother cried screaming with pure happiness and joy as she quickly scooped Kim into her arms, hugging onto her for dear life so she could never leave her side again. While Catra still hadn't forgiven the woman for snapping at her earlier, she did at least acknowledge that the mother was legitimately caring for the young girl in her arms the way all mothers' should. She found her attention turning to Catra herself, Catra preparing for whatever yelling the mother had in store for her now. "Thank you so much!"

"Yeah... Uh..." Well that was unexpected, along with everything else today. She was preparing to make some witty retort to anything she had to say but a "thank you" was the last thing she expected. She didn't want to make a habit of saving people like this but something told her if she wanted to claim her own kingdom, she was gonna have to get used to it.

Alot. "W...Whatever... Just get out of here while you still can." The mother wasted no time with arguing with her instructions, quickly sprinting off in the opposite direction as she went to find safety. Just like before, the little girl was waving back to Catra, fading into the distance like the blush that had been on Catra's cheeks. That just left one thing to do now. "So Ado- Adora?" What was she doing?

Adora had her back to her as she casually walked over to the tank. Was she preparing to leave again? Was she going to continue going through with her mission after everything that had been going on? Was she crazy?!

Climbing up on the tank, for a short second, Catra feared she really was going to go through with her mission as she climbed into the hatch. Instead of taking off like she thought though, she pulled out a small radio, along with the most stern and assured expressions Catra had ever seen from her friend.

...

"Ugh... Bow?" Glimmer mumbled waking up again. As much as Bow wanted to smile back, he was too preoccupied with the soldiers and droids approaching their location.

The last ten minutes have been hectic for the young warrior. He was down to just several arrows left, found himself running from cover to cover, and carrying Glimmer along with him as he tried to outrun the invading soldiers that patrolled the city. There was no end to them, or they were just really good at tracking their location, because no matter how many droids he shot down and how many soldiers he trapped with his numerous arrows, another one was there to take their place.

They were definitely focused on Glimmer herself, the best bargaining chip the Horde could possibly get their hands on. Get the princess and there was nothing the Horde couldn't ask for that her mother wouldn't be forced to comply to, if only to assure her daughter's safety.

By now, Bow found himself stuck between a pile of rubble he used as cover and the walls of the city. There was no way he could carry Glimmer and himself over it, and he wouldn't even think of abandoning her, and he was out of explosive arrows that could've cleared a path through the walls for the two of them to escape. Much like his encounter with the giant bug several hours ago, he found himself stuck protecting the princess and trying to find the solution to their problems.

At least he had a few more arrows he could count on.

"Glimmer," he spoke turning his attention to her, "can you teleport yourself out of here?" In the state she was now, there was no way he could possibly expect her to teleport the two of them at the same time, not with her lack of energy. Unfortunately, her answer came with the shake of her head, eyes still filled with exhaustion and tiredness that the day had taken out of her.

"No... I don't think so..." Eyes were filling with fear as she saw over the debris. They were about to get captured, at best if Glimmer was staying hopeful. "Mom was right... I don't know what I'm doing anymore... I really am too reckless..."

"Are you crazy?" The smile on Bow's face alone was enough to give her a small ounce of confidence. "Glimmer, within the day you found a sword belonging to the First Ones, found a First Ones' ruin, and we recruited a Horde soldier! Maybe you are a little reckless but that's always been your best quality!"

"Hmm..." It was comforting to find such kind words from her friend despite the situation the two were in. Although she was already taxed, maybe she could pull off one last teleport? The situation looked grim, but even if she passed out immediately after, he could carry her away with him somewhere safer. At least, assuming it didn't cost her her li-

"Hold your fire!" The two cornered teens looked back as they heard one of the helmet-wearing soldiers shout. The soldier placed his hand on the side of his helmet, trying to make sure he heard exactly what he thought he heard. "What did you just say, Captain?"

"I repeat: all soldiers are to stop what they're doing and return to the dropzone immediately!" Adora ordered assertively.

"You want us to retreat?" The soldier turned his head to the other surrounding soldiers, unable to believe what he was hearing. "B-B-But mam- Sir! We surrounded the-"

"Are you disobeying a direct order from your superior, Cadet?!" Adora shouted. "Do you want to be held for treason once this is over? Or maybe you wouldn't mind a chat with Shadow Weaver herself after this!" That was the one bargaining tool Shadow Weaver told her to use in the event of insubordination, or the off chance someone with a death wish wanted to disobey Force Captain Adora's orders directly. And while Adora herself might have been against such threats, she wasn't against using them in a time of crisis like she found herself in.

"I... I understand, Captain." With that, the two watched as the soldier gestured to all the other soldiers before walking away, the robotic droids following in suit. The two were baffled at the sight of this miracle of wonders, unable to comprehend how or why the soldiers had retreated, until Glimmer smiled widely.

There was only one person who could've brought this miracle about.

"Catra..."

...

"Phew... thank's Adora." Catra sighed with relief, catching herself on her knees. The battle here was finally over which meant Catra no longer had to be concerned with anybody in this stupid village... much. Her optimism and hope for the future were dashed, however, when she saw her friend descend into the tank, the large vehicle humming with life as it was started up again. "Adora?" Her legs were too numb from the earlier shock she sustained along with everything she had to endure immediately after. All she could do was cry out again as her friend turned the tank around, leaving her and the village behind her. "Adora!"

She didn't know what to believe in anymore. The look of anger and betrayal was still on Adora's face as she drove the tank out of the city, ignoring the numerous monitors showing the city around her, including the view of Catra. What was she fighting for anymore? Who was telling her the truth here? Everything she fought for up to this point came crashing down upon her after her very first mission, and she had no idea who she could trust.

What made it hurt the most was just that. She didn't know who she could trust. Could she trust the family she knew since she was a baby that raised her and taught her how to fight for the unity and peace of Etheria? Or, what she found herself painfully asking, could she trust the friend who betrayed them for personal gain? She didn't bother asking Adora what she wanted like a friend would, she didn't bother trying to bring Adora with her on this adventure no matter how much Adora pleaded.

All she knew is that she felt betrayal from her greatest of friends, and that didn't change the expression on her face even as a single tear rolled down it, wiping it away with her thumb without hesitation or distraction.

She couldn't trust the Horde. She couldn't trust her best friend. And she's never felt more alone in her life than she does now.

And Shadow Weaver had a lot to answer for upon her return.

At the same time Catra's ears and mood drooped as she watched her friend leave. This wasn't how things were supposed to go if Catra ever caught up with Adora again, especially this soon! She thought she'd be overjoyed and welcoming in joining Catra in on her plan. With everything they could get out of it there was no reason for her to possibly turn down Catra's offer! They could've had virtually anything they ever dreamed of!

So why did she? Why did she consider the few people she knew in the Horde more important than Catra herself? Did she find herself wrong about Adora? Did she not care about her at all? Maybe she didn't know Adora as well as she thought she did. If they ever met again though, she would need to get some answers.

"Catra!" She heard her name called, slowly rising back to her feet as she saw Glimmer sluggishly approaching.

"Oh, hey Pinky." She was surprised to find Pinky in a state as sorry looking as herself. Then again at least she could flaunt how she had a building collapse on her to get to her sorry state. Then again, she'd rather avoid a conversation about her little rescue attempt after her repeated denial about caring about anyone else. Glimmer never would've let her live it down if she did. "You still hanging in there? It'd be a shame if you killed over before your mommy got me my kingdom."

At this point Glimmer was so used to Catra's snarkiness that she didn't even care anymore. "Heh, I'm sure you'd be crying your eyes over it if you lost your chance at a kingdom."

"Oh, I don't know," Catra rubbed her fist against her own chest with pride, "when you're as talented as me, you can get anyone to listen to you. I mean I did get them to call off their attack after all, right?"

"Yeah... you sure did..." She didn't want play into Catra's ego. She didn't want to agree with anything she had to say at the moment knowing Catra would continue to brag on and on about how  _amazing_  she was. Yet at the same time, she found her deserving of the praise.

Despite everything they've been through, all the chaos this day had brought about, she deserved some praise for saving their lives twice in one day, no matter how much she didn't trust them. On top of that, Catra had risked her own life and credibility by confronting whoever was in charge of all this and getting them to stop what was going on. How couldn't she trust someone after saving a whole town?

During her moment of thought however, she noticed a slight pained look in Catra's eyes, noticing how she looked out into distance that the Horde retreated to. "Hey, you okay?"

"Huh?" Snapping back to reality, Catra quickly shook the concern out of her mind. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I just... ran in to some familiar faces and all..."

That's right. How could Glimmer forget?

Catra was a defector now. She's betrayed her own people and who knows how many of her friends. She still had no idea why someone would demand a kingdom as payment, nor what one would do with a kingdom if it was placed into someone else's hand. All she did know is that Catra might've been hurting a little, no matter how much she tried to hide it.

While she might not have been an actual animal, in some sense, she did deserve some form of "treat", and something she didn't expect to give away until she returned home. "Here." Catching Catra's attention again, her eyes widened at the sight of what was in Glimmer's hands.

"Y... You're seriously giving this to me?" She took it without hesitation of course, but she didn't think it would be this easy. Within her grasp was the very sword that started this entire adventure, her entire reason for being out here in the first place. It was FINALLY hers!

"I still don't know if I can trust you completely, but-"

"Geez, about time!" That reaction was expectant to Glimmer after the long time they've been out here. Catra wasted no time taking a few practice swings with the massive sword, trying to get a feel for it's unusual weight. "You know if you had just given me the sword in the first place, we probably could've avoided all this mess."

"Yeah, but then you couldn't have saved a town then, could you?" Glimmer asked cheekily.

Catra sneered back at this, grinning. "Heh, don't think this lets you off the hook, Pinky. I'm still expecting a full-fledged Kingdom after this is all over."

"Yeah, yeah, I heard it like a dozen times."

"By the way, where's Bowey? Is he dead or...?" Catra looked around noticing the one absent member of their group.

"Yeah, he's fine. He's just getting something to help me ride in. I don't think I'll be able to walk all the way back on my own," she looked back with a playful grin, "unless you plan on carrying me all day."

"Well as fun as the idea is of having princess sweat drip from my arms, I prefer not getting any more of your princessness." She looked over the sword again, seeing a smaller reflection from the gem in it's center. "I still don't know how that happened in the first place.

"Well you should probably find a way out before we meet my mother. If you're going to have any chance of convincing her to let her join you, much less get a kingdom, you're going to need to-"

"Hey guys!" Bow calle from the distance.

"Oh, hey Bow! You're back!" Glimmer smiled to him as he approached with her ride.

"Hey Bow, you doing ok- WHAT THE FREAKING FRESH HECK IS THAT THING?!" Fear and absolute panic filled Catra's mind at the sight of the strange creature.

Whatever this ride was it was the strangest creature Catra had ever laid eyes on. It had four legs, an incredibly long face, least compared to other creatures she knew, a strange mohawk-like mane for it's hairdo, and caused it's feet to clack with every step as it approached. Glimmer couldn't help but look back to her newest ally with a tilted head, curiously looking over her frightened face, noticing her body shaking with chills.

"What? It's just a horse, Catra." Glimmer replied. "Don't you have them around the Fright Zone?"

"I think I'd remember having something this freaky looking." She muttered, tail flailing about as her ears tilted. Glimmer looked back and forth between the horse and cat, growing a mischievous grin at what she was seeing.

"What's wrong, Catra? Is the itty-bitty-kitty all scawed of the big mean horsie?" She taunted.

"N-No! I just think it looks freaky looking!" She stuttered.

"It's really nothing to be scared of Catra, really." Bow assured as he stepped off. "Here, look." He displayed how gentle and affectionate the horse was as he stroked it's mane, the horse calmly tilting it's head to get a better scratching spot. "Come on, give it a pet."

"I-I will! I just... Y-You know, don't want to catch fleas or something!" Her excuses were starting to become too obvious to the two, one of whom were enjoying the sight.

"It doesn't have fleas, Catra. It gets groomed and taken care of every day."

"Oh, just leave her be, Bow." Glimmer continued to taunt. "She can't help being scared of da big bad howsie, can she?"

"I-I'm not scared, alright! I can pet it without any hesitation!" She wished she was as confident as the words coming out of her mouth sounded.

"Alright then, go ahead and pet it." Glimmer gestured to the horse, the animal continuing to stare at the trembling cat in front of him.

"I-I will!"

"Then do it!"

"F-F-Fine!" Catra gulped as she slowly raised her hand to the strange creature. She couldn't figure out why she herself was so terrified of the creature, just that if any creature looked as strange as this horse did that it had to be bad news. It had strong sturdy legs, a look of any commanding officer in the Horde, and enough of a temperament to stare down Shadow Weaver herself!

Ok maybe not that last one but the point remained the same.

_***Neeeeiiiiigh!*** _

"Ahhhh-!" Faster than they could blink, Catra instantly disappeared from the spot, leaving a large trail of dust in her wake, and reappeared hanging from the top branch of a tree when the two next saw her, her eyes completely white and body shaking with fear.

She could not believe she was seeing it for herself, but Glimmer had finally found Catra's weakness, something that finally scared the previously terrifying member of the Horde. She was going to have to get used to the horse eventually, she didn't have a choice if she was planning on meeting the queen and getting everything she wanted. She was going to have to follow along with them whether she liked it or not, and Glimmer was fully aware of that one little detail, all the way home.

Payback never felt so good.

"Oh, this is going to be a very fun trip."

While today might've been the start of many victories for them, one thing did cross Catra's mind. In just a few short hours, she left the Horde, lost her placement naturally in said Horde, and lost the only friend she's ever had. A terrifying fear sprouted in the back of Catra's mind, no matter how much she tried to ignore it.

How much would she end up losing by the time this was all over?

...

...

...

**A/N: I know it might seem weird for Catra to be scared of the horse, but has she even met the horse yet? I don't remember. Even if she's not scared of it in the show, that's what makes fanfics so enjoyable XP.**

**Anyway hope to get massive feedback for this finale of episode 2 as i'll be gone most of the day working all day (UGGGH). Same rules as always, 3 reviews for next chapter and such. If you want to request a freebie/non-canon episode of any sort involving catra, you must include it WITH A REVIEW of the episode first. Otherwise if you want to just review to review, feel free to do that too ^^!**

**With that said, hope to see you guys next episode! Leave a like, fave, and review and see you guys later!**


	6. Episode 3: Razz Part 1

 

_**A/N: Another fun-full episode for our Cat-Ra fic ^^ (maybe i should call this Cat-Ra from now on? Nah XP).** _

 

_**Anyway, as another reminder I'm still looking for someone who can come up with scenes for the intro lyrics to this fic. Whoever does will get their scenes added to each of the episode first parts that have the intro in it!** _

 

_**With that said, onto the show!** _

 

_**...** _

 

_**...** _

 

_**...** _

 

 

Bright Moon Castle. The heart of the Rebellion. The single, unified resistance that made up the only force capable of opposing the Horde. 

 

After several long hours of travel, the trio of allies had finally made their way through the Whispering Woods. Like Bow expected, Glimmer was already warn out of it by the time they made it there, even though she was riding most of the entire way out there as he directed the steed. On the bright side, she did have a fun way to entertain herself, looking back to her newly recruited ally with a smirk. 

 

"You doing alright over there?" She called over.

 

She hated this. With sooooo much of her hate as possible. Here was Catra, a newly promoted Senior Cadet of the Horde who was now a newly defected member of the Horde who gave up her old life for her own personal gain. 

 

Up till now, she thought the worst was behind her. After the events that led her to this place, she wondered if she truly was brainwashed like Adora told her she was. It would make somewhat of sense after all when she thought about it. Yesterday she was happily working alongside her only friend and allies as they worked through their obstacle course to become Senior Cadets, and after finding a mysterious sword created by these First Ones in the Whispering Woods, she found herself now siding with the Rebellion of her own free will.

 

Well, technically free will would imply she wanted to out of "kindness" or anything Glimmer said people had in their hearts. Catra on the other hand had a much more personal objective out of all of this. Playing her cards right, and eventually find herself the ruler of her own kingdom gifted to her as a reward!

 

That and the sword she finally got after putting up with a day's worth of annoyances. And one regret.

 

Adora. 

 

She could not comprehend any reason that Adora turned her down. Having met each other not two hours ago, she offered Adora to come along with her to get anything she desired too. She could've had anything she wanted along with the kingdom like riches, resources, who knows what this queen would offer? And what did she do instead? She completely ditched her to return to the Horde! 

 

Why is the question Catra asked herself ever since. Didn't Catra herself mean anything to her compared to those other no-necks she called allies? Did she make Adora made before this whole thing started? She was insistent on not bringing her along to find the sword after that morning, so maybe she felt left out or something? 

 

Whatever the case was, it was the second biggest issue she had to deal with, the first one being... Glimmer's new horrifying monstrosity. 

 

"I-I'm fine! Really..." She shouted back, holding the sword firmly in both hands as she stood thirty feet behind the two.

 

She didn't trust that horrifying beast, and couldn't figure out why she was so scared of it in the first place. Maybe it was the animal half of her but something in her instincts told her to be wary of the mighty creature. With it's thunderous footsteps and it's massive bod, she didn't know what the thing was capable of doing and she didn't want to find out. As long as she was over here and that thing was ten yards, thirty feet, over there, she wa happily fine with being this close.

 

And Glimmer was enjoying it by every second after Catra's constant harassment on the way to Thaymor. "Come on, Catra, the horsie's not going to biiite." She taunted, petting the Horse's mane again. 

 

"That's what you said the last time it tried to eat my hair!" She growled. 

 

No reminders were needed on Glimmer's end of things, having fond memories of the second time Catra tried to pet it and the twenty seconds it took to pull her large hair out from the Horse's mouth. "Really? Did that happen? I must not have noticed..."

 

"You were laughing your butt off while it happened, Pinky!"

 

"Alright, we're here!" Bow announced. Glimmer continued to watch Catra as the cat gulped to herself. She knew she had to get up to them to see everything, and the only thing keeping her from it was the monster that was named Horsie. With one deep breath to herself she shuffled over to the gang, never taking her eyes off the monster even as she moved around it's side, then quickly jumped to the front several feet ahead of it. She's never felt her heart race so badly to anything that isn't Shadow Weaver, hoping to herself she'd never have to face the creature ever again. 

 

"Phew..." She exhaled, catching her breath. 

 

"Heh, you can relax now Catra, we're here." Bow remind, gesturing to the palace. "Welcome to Bright Moon Castle." 

 

"Huh?... Oh..." Catra's eyes lit up at the sight of this place.

 

She'd hate to say it, hence she wouldn't, but this place was gorgeous looking. All around her was the very definition of serenity and peace in every sense of the word. The skies were clear and beautiful enough to see the birds fly across them, and there was a strange tranquil peace that came from hearing the waterfalls across this place. The castle itself had a similar triangle-shaped design to it, where amongst a large pillar ahead of it held the grand jewel of the castle, the Gem of Bright Moon. 

 

It kind of reminded her of what was drilled in her head ever since she was little, back in the Horde. They would always go on to say how once everything was under absolute control and order, every place would look as beautiful as this place with the right figure ruling it all. While she questioned if it truly would've looked like this as of now, she wondered if Hordak had meant every word of it. 

 

"So what do you think?" Bow asked curiously.

 

"Mmh, it's not bad, I guess." Catra replied shrugging. "Definitely has a Princessy feeling to it. Kinda small though, isn't it?"

 

"Just wait until you get inside." Glimmer replied, having the horse take a few steps up. "Some of the rooms go into the mountain itself."

 

"Well then, why are we standing around? Let's go-"

 

"Whoa, whoa whoa, wait a second." Glimmer quickly interrupted, putting the horse between Catra and the pathway. "I'll go on ahead. I'll recharge, talk to my mom, then introduce you after awhile. Bow, why don't you take Catra through the backway? I might need a few minutes talking my mom through this." With her instructions given, Bow nodded as the two watched Glimmer trot away. "This is going to be fun... I'm sure..." 

 

Honestly, as long as it kept her away from the horse, Catra was willing to listen to anything Glimmer had to say. Besides, she was interested in the idea of there being a secret entrance to their castle. If it was anything like her time running around the Fright Zone's numerous shortcuts and hidden paths, she could tell she was going to have a lot of fun using it.

 

"So, what's this secret backway she mentioned?"

 

...

 

"YOU CALL THIS A BACKWAY?!" Catra shouted angrily and fearfully, hanging on the rope for dear life.

 

"I told you not to look down." Bow reminded casually as he climbed through the window. "Besides, I thought you liked heights?"

 

"Yeah, heights, not picturing what would happen if I fall from this height!" She was all too eager to grab his hand as he helped her inside. 

 

On the list of numerous and stupid things she's done today, this was the biggest. At first she thought diving head first into a collapsing building was the stupidest thing she could do, and before that she thought stopping in the middle of the road in the hopes that a tank wouldn't run her over was the dumbest thing she could do. Thankfully with the right encouragement from Bow, she finally realized what the greatest and dumbest thing she could do today was.

 

Climb three-hundred feet up a mountainside in order to reach a single room in a castle full of people that would most likely attack on sight if they spotted her.

 

What a great plan!

 

At least the room itself was rather nice looking. While she couldn't tell if it was a bedroom for someone or something else, the space around here was already more liveable than the bunks she used to share with a dozen different cadets back in the Fright Zone. It only further emphasized how much of a Princessy-feeling this place had.

 

"Oh hey, here! Why don't you put on this robe on?" Bow didn't even give Catra enough time to look back to him before tossing the robe to her, covering the entirety of her head with a pink garment. "No reason."

 

"You're trying to hide me, aren't you?" She already put two and two together, the unamused look on her face telling her all she needed to know. 

 

If his quick recommendation wasn't enough to tip her off, his terrible acting was. "Whaaat? No. I'm not trying to hide you, I'm just uhhh trying to help you  _blend in_  better..."

 

It's official. He was hiding her.

 

...

_**~ We're on the edge of greatness ~** _

_**~ turning darkness into light ~** _

_**~ We're right beside you ~** _

_**~ Ready to Fight! ~** _

_**~ (fight, fight, fight fight) ~** _

_**~ We're gonna win in the end! ~** _

_**~ We must be strong, And we must be brave ~** _

_**~(we must be brave) ~** _

_**~ We're gonna find every bit of strength** _ _**that we have ~** _

_**~ and never let go ~** _

_**~ (Oh ah Oh) ~** _

_**~ We must be STRONG! ~** _

...

 

"Glimmer!" Queen Angella shouted angrily. "Where have you been?"

 

"H-Hey mom..." Glimmer sheepishly replied as one of the guards escorted her horse away. 

 

Ok, she just had to think. There were several different things she needed to get through to her mom, while at the same time trying to avoid being grounded for life. Given that her mom was the queen, she could easily make that happen. At least she didn't have to worry about making a scene inside of the castle instead of the entrance to it. 

 

Too bad it didn't make talking to her mom any easier.

 

"All of Bright Moon has been worried sick." Her mother stated as she stood before her. "What were you thinking?"

 

"Mom-!" That was the only word she managed to utter before her world suddenly became lighter. Her vision grew hazy by the second as her mom's shouting began to echo all around her. 

 

"How could you be so selfish and disobedient?"

 

"Ugh..." Glimmer moaned as her head filled with fog. Everything was going lighter. Lighter. Then everything began to fade to black as she collapsed.

 

"Glimmer!" Her mom cried worriedly. This wasn't like those times when she was little, always pretending to be sick or out of magic just to get out of trouble. This was serious. Looking on ahead to the gem of Bright Moon, her mother quickly scooped her precious daughter into her arms before stretching her wings out, flying her daughter to the gem without pause. Grounding her for life and giving her a stern talking to came second.

 

Being a mother came first. 

 

At least Glimmer caught a brief glimpse of her mother's caring concern before she passed out again.

 

...

 

"Mmmh.." Glimmer moaned as she finally came to. She felt better, re-energized in more ways than one. Light filled her eyes as she gazed into the miraculous Gem above her, the source of their magical power. And there in the corner of her eyes she saw her mother, with the sweetest, caring, smile she's always known her to have.

 

"Are you all right?" She asked calmly.

 

"I'm fine mom." She replied as she leaned up. She twiddled her fingers back and forth as she watched the small sparkles of light dance around them, ensuring her her powers had returned. 

 

"Don't think you're not still in trouble." Her mother said as Glimmer continued to test her magic. "You didn't even take the time to charge up before you left?" 

 

"I didn't think I'd be gone that long." It was comforting to see a warm smile coming from her daughter despite the circumstances. 

 

"Where did you go anyway?"

 

"Ok." Glimmer stood as she began her lengthy explanation. "Bow and I found a super powerful First Ones tech in the woods. We knew it would help the Rebellion, so we went to get it and bring it back, but we got a little sidetracked. It was fine though, I totally had it under control. And while we were out, we found something even better!"

 

Everything was going well so far. Even the skepticism on her mother's face told her so. "What did you find?"

 

"I can't tell you yet. But you're going to love it, I promise!" She was so excited! She couldn't wait to hear the praise and pride her mother was surely to give her after everything she's been through!

 

"Glimmer-"

 

"Ah! Wait here, I'll be right back!"

 

"We are not done talking about this, Glimmer. Glimmer!" There wasn't any time to get a single word out before her daughter teleported. Angella sighed as she rubbed her brow. It was times like this she couldn't tell if being a Queen was easier or being a mother was easier. All she knew is that it left her with a splitting headache that never ended...

 

...

 

...

 

* _thud*_

 

* _thud_ *

 

* _thud_ *

 

"You know you're more likely to draw attention if you keep slamming the door open and shut, right?" Catra commented as she slouched on the bed. There were too many things going on that was growing her impatience. She didn't know how Glimmer's talk with her mother was going, she didn't know how long they had before someone else had found them, and she didn't know how long she could put up with Bow quickly opening and closing the door to make sure the coast was clear. 

 

And it didn't help when she had this weird stuffed creature that looked like a mix between a butterfly and an elephant staring at her for the last twenty minutes. 

 

"It doesn't hurt to be a little cautious." Bow commented quietly, never looking away from the hallways. "I've never really smuggled in a Horde soldier before into Bright Moon castle."

 

"Yeah, well I never defected before," she reminded, "so how do you think I feel?"

 

There really was a sense of tension in the air. How was she supposed to know if Glimmer's talk with her mother was going to work in the first place? Was she supposed to expect a simple escort of Glimmer bringing her mother to the room? Or was she supposed to expect the heavy march of a dozen armed soldiers ready to raid the place and capture Catra before she had a chance to escape? Time would only tell, and time is what made Catra the most nervous. 

 

"How are you holding up with that, anyway?" Bow asked closing the door again. "Glimmer said you seemed a bit out of it ever since we left Thaymor."

 

"Meh... I don't know..." Catra replied leaning against the bed. "Honestly I never really felt welcomed in the Horde in the first place. Whenever I talked to anyone I always felt like they weren't even looking at me half the time, it felt like they were looking at the wall."

 

"Was it really that bad? I mean, I get the Horde would be kinda rotten, but I figured they'd at least treat themselves better."

 

"Well they did... for the most part..." She looked over to the sword on her left, the thing that started this whole defection. "They still weren't welcoming to everyone though... " She didn't bother going into detail out loud, not that it mattered. It was just something worth forgetting about, like everything in her past...

 

...

 

...

 

_*sniff*_

 

_The little cat girl cried silently to herself as she sat behind some trashcans on the playground._

 

_A playground was one of the strangest places to picture being present within the Fright Zone, weirder to picture guards and cameras watching the place, but it wasn't without it's purpose._

 

_Like everything else meant for the upbringing of children amongst the Horde, the playground was exclusive to young children between four to six years old. It was the beginning fundamentals of teaching kids how to interact with other people new to them and grow some muscles. It also taught them how to use the environment to their advantage, whether it was playing tag or something more simple like Hide-and-Go Seek. If it educated or helped children grow to become better cadets and future soldiers, the Horde would have it._

 

_Unfortunately, this didn't mean everyone had to like everyone, and, to her, it seemed everyone was intent on not liking one person in particular._

 

_This particular person was a five-year-old girl named Catra, a simple girl with cat-like features who found herself crying away from the other kids. What she was crying about remained mysterious, save for the simple large red mark across her right cheek. Nobody paid her any mind, nobody seemed to care about the strange crying noise they heard near the trash, and those who did immediately left after seeing who was there._

 

_Except for one._

 

_"Are you okay?" A perky voice spoke up, causing Catra to lift her head from her arms just enough to see who was talking. The greeter seemed to be a strange blond girl Catra had never met before. Around the same age as herself presumably, given her height, and definitely one of the happiest-looking kids she's ever seen within the Fright Zone._

 

_Catra continued to cry to herself silently, digging her head back into her arms as she sobbed. The blond girl tilted her head as she watched her sniffle to herself. "Why are you crying?" She still didn't give an answer. All she did was try to wave her away, letting the other girl get a good look at her small claws. "Ooooh... those look sharp." She commented. "Are you the one who scratched Lonnie earlier?" As if to answer her question the girl's sobs grew louder and the sniffling doubled._

 

_"Mmmmhmmmh..." She whimpered into her arms._

 

_"I heard about what happened." The girl continued as she sat left to the crier. "Kyle said Lonnie took someone's doll without permission and made her cry, then some monster attacked Lonnie and made her cry." She heard Catra hiccup at the mention of the word "monster",  confirming what the girl already thought. "I heard the guards got really mad and hit the monster then to scare it away. The monster they were talking about was you, wasn't it?"_

 

_For the first time since she came across her, the young Catra tilted her head up a bit, letting the new girl see her different-colored eyes and the tears that flowed down her face, along with the red mark on her cheek._

 

_Why couldn't this girl get the message? Catra remembered thinking to herself. I just want to be alone._

 

_"The girl with the doll was more scared of the monster than Lonnie, and she wouldn't even tell the guards what really happened."_

 

_"Mhmhmmmmhmmm...."_

 

_"Now everyone else is scared of the monster over here, and everyone hates her and calls her a freak."_

 

_Then get it through your head already! I want to be alo-!_

 

_"But I don't." She remembers going silent at this statement, fully lifting her head to look the strange girl in the eyes. Nothing but sadness and a runny nose filled Catra's face, and none of it bothered the other girl. "You don't look like a freak. You were just trying to help someone fight off the bully, right? I think that's really nice!" There was no audible indication coming from Catra's sobs, only a small twitching sensation as her small tail wiggled slightly._

 

_"Do you wanna be friends?" That was the one question that sent Catra over the edge. She remembered doubling her cries of misery and sobbing as she laid her head into the girl's shoulder, holding her tightly like she would disappear if she didn't. She was the first one to ever say an F word to her that wasn't Freak, the first person to ever make herself feel wanted. She couldn't remember what was going through her head at that time, just that she didn't want to be alone at that moment._

 

_The other girl continued to smile as she patted Catra's head, enjoying the possibility that she made a new friend. "My name's Adora. What's your's?" It took all of Catra's willpower to fight through the sobs, continuing to press her head against Adora's shoulder as she answered._

 

_"C-Catra..."_

 

_"Catra..."_

 

...

 

...

 

"Catra!" The sound of Bow calling out her name snapped her out of memory lane. 

 

"Huh?" She blinked to herself as she came back to reality. It felt like minutes had passed through her mind despite the several seconds that came and gone in the real world. 

 

"You all right? You just kind of zoned out there for a minute."

 

"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine..."

 

What was that? 

 

Why did she just recall an event like that? 

 

Flashbacks and moments of de sha vue were a common occurrence in everyday life, but this is something that shouldn't have occurred with Catra. She hated recalling her old life, she didn't want to recall any moments of her past. Everything about her past was something painful or saddening, and most of the time, usually both. It's like something forced her to recall those events no matter how much she wished against it. 

 

"You know when people say that they usually  _aren't_  fine?" Bow commented walking over. "I get it if you feel weird about all of this. I can't imagine how it feels to suddenly betray your home."

 

"My home?" It sounded like she was ready to chuckle at the word. "My home wasn't anywhere in the Horde. Honestly I was better off 

betraying them from the very beginning. If I screwed up even once there since becoming a Senior Cadet, they probably would've chased me off with robots and bombs anyway."

 

"Well if you ever want to talk about it, we're here you know." Bow reminded sitting next to her. "You can talk to me about it, you can talk to Glimmer about it, you can talk to anyone. It might feel weird but you're among friends here."

 

"..." Somehow that one silent expression on Catra's face told him everything she had to say about that.

 

"You... Don't really consider us friends, do you?"

 

"Don't take it personally, it's not you thing, ok? If you guys don't stab me in the back, I won't stab you in yours, but it doesn't make us friends." She gazed into the sword again as she held it in her hands. "I just-"

 

* _Swoosh_!*

 

"Ahh-!" Bow nearly shrieked as Glimmer materialized back within the room, powers fully restored.

 

"Ok, I'm here!" She announced happily as the two stood back up. "My mom's on her way, but no one panic."

 

"What-"

 

"I SAID NO ONE PANIC!" She screamed. "Don't worry, she'll love you. At the very least she'll have to trust you, especially after you transform into She-Ra!"

 

"Wait, we're jumping straight into She-Ra first?" He could see the logic behind the idea but it was all at the risk of a gamble. "Shouldn't we tell her how she saved Thaymor first before we try the whole She-Ra thing?"

 

"No, because like I thought when they first invaded, she's probably going to think it was all a plan to get closer to Bright Moon."

 

"But... " He really wanted to find a way to ease her mother into the information. "I mean she's only done it once you know."

 

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Catra asked raising a brow. It almost sounded like a challenge to her and she wasn't one to back down! "I can do it with one hand tied behind my back. Watch!" Grabbing the prized possession and raising it above her head, she called out. "For the Honor of Grayskull!"

 

"..."

 

"..."

 

"...?" Ok, that was nothing to worry about. "I said, for the Honor of Grayskull!" She raised the sword even higher, meeting the same results.

 

"..."

 

"...Uhh Catra, it's not-"

 

"Just give it a second!" Catra cut bow off as she shook the sword. "I said, FOR THE HONOR OF GRAYSKULL!.....Come on you stupid thing, transform me already!"

 

"Ok, so you can't exactly call it on the fly, but no worries." The panic in Glimmer's tone was slowly settling in. "You just need to practice it for a few minutes while I take my mom the long way up here. It's simple, right?"

 

"Err... ha, of course it is!" Catra looked away nervously while trying to pass off with a smile. "I'll have your mom aweing at my She-Ra... ness... by the time she's up these stairs! Hahaha...........ehhhhh..."

 

"You don't sound too confident." Bow commented. 

 

"I-I'm sure I'll have it in a few minutes. I mean I did it once in the woods on the first try, remember?"

 

"She has a point." The princess agreed enthusiastically. "She just needs to get the right feel for it, like she did in the woods."

 

"But Glimmer, I don't think-"

 

"Would you stop it with the negativity already?" Catra groaned interrupting him. She hated put downs. She hated people talking down to her. Above all else, she hated people who  **repeatedly**  told her she was incapable of doing something! She heard enough of that in the Horde, she wasn't about to hear that crap here! "I'll be She-Ra any minute now! Just give me some space and I'll be She-Ra by the time you get back!"

 

"That's great! Then Bow and I will go get her while you work on it!" The warning lights in Catra's mind telling her she made a mistake were going off like mad as Glimmer said this.

 

"Ehhh W-Wait I don't think we need to go that fast-"

 

* _Swoosh_!*

 

 Anything she had to say after that fell on deaf ears as Glimmer and Bow teleported in another flash of light. Catra found herself left in a room all to herself with a very heavy level of awkwardness filling the air. 

 

"Ok... Soooo... it's nothing to worry about..." Telling herself this didn't make the worry go away. In fact, she the worry only doubled saying this out loud. "Eh hem... For the Honor of Grayskull!" This was it! She was going to transform into She-Ra! She just had to think positively about everything up to this point and what she wanted to look like! A superpowered Knight in a golden tiara and bracelets with the whitest outfit she could imagine.

 

And for some reason one that shrunk her pants.

 

Despite using the correct phrase, the sword didn't react in the slightest. Was it solar powered? No, that couldn't be it. It was well into the night when she used it against that giant beast, remembering how her transformation came immediately upon deflecting the creature's attack-

 

"That's it!" Catra's eyes lit up with revelation. "I just need something scary or big to intimidate me and everything will work out!" Realization aside, she just needed to find something now to take the place of that scary monster. The monster itself wasn't too frightening to her, even with her instincts telling her, so she just needed to find something around here that was just as scary.

 

That alone brought up a troubling realization to her. How the heck was she supposed to find something scary around Bright Moon of all places?! Being a castle, she knew this place would've been heavily guarded with constant patrols probably a mile outside of the castle just to ensure no monster could trespass among the ground, or Horde soldiers for that matter. Obviously she couldn't just pick a fight with the guards themselves, that would've made negotiations and alliances a teensy bit more difficult to pull off otherwise.

 

If she was going to find something to attack her, she needed something already within the walls, and that could've taken forever to find-!

 

* ** _Neeeiiigh_**!*

 

"No..." Her ears drooped at the familiar sound. "Anything but that..." She begged to herself as she looked out the window. 

 

Fate was always a cruel and mysterious mistress. Sometimes it threw a bone to someone and jumped in at the time it needed, like when someone needed rescuing and there was no one around. At other times, it was a royal pain in the tush, like when someone needed a winning hand at a gamble they placed, only to lose everything in one go. 

 

Catra, sadly, fell in to the latter category. 

 

Sure enough, over on the nearby hill a little ways from the castle, was the all too familiar horse that made this entire trip to the castle horrifying and frightening for her. 

 

And gave Glimmer more than enough excuses to exact her revenge for Catra's previous annoyance.

 

"Ok, so what are my options?" She prayed the one she needed didn't involve the horse. "Either A: Fail to get this stupid sword working, caught by the Queen or guards, and spend the rest of my life in a jail cell where I'll never see natural light again, or B: Get the Horse thing to help me get this sword working and risk it eating me alive or at least my hair, or C: Return to the Horde, forget everything ever happened, and hope nobody remembers anything I did in the last twelve hours of my life.........Ugggh!" No matter how much she hated it she knew she didn't have any options.  

 

Looking back over to the couch, sighed as she surrendered her dignity by donning the pink robe. Least with this she wasn't going to get attacked by any guards that saw her... hopefully...

 

...

 

...

 

"Heh heh... hey horsie..." Catra greeted with a nervous smile, holding the sword tightly in her hands. "Well... go on with it... attack me or something!" She demanded holding the sword out. She just needed the beast to attack her or the sword and then she could call out for Grayskull and all that. The horse looked at the pink-robed knight in front of him for a few seconds, then returned to grazing in the grass like she wasn't even there. Catra blinked as she stared at the horse for a few seconds, scratching her head at the calmness and peacefulness it seemed to be giving off. "Huh... guess you aren't exactly aggressive, are ya?"

 

Was this a good thing or a bad thing? On one hand, she didn't have to worry about the horse terrifying her as much, on the other, she was right back to square one.  _Ok, well I'm still a bit freaked out by it so maybe that's enough to get it working._  She thought to herself, taking a deep breath as she raised the sword again. "For the Honor of Grayskull! ...Let's try this differently." As long as she was near the thing that intimidated her, it should work... right?

 

"For the Honor of Grayskull!" ... Maybe she had to feel more intimidated? She breathed deeply as she took a few more steps towards the horse. "Ok... for the Honor of Grayskull!" ...Still nothing? Much to her grievance, she found herself being forced to take an additional step closer each and every time it failed.

 

"For the Honor of Grayskull!" This was it! She was five feet from the horse so it had to work!

 

"...For the Honor of Grayskull!" Any second now! She was right in front of it now!

 

"...For the Honor of Grayskull!" She could feel herself transforming into- "Oh come on!" 

 

"For the Honor of Grayskull!" She was on it's side. "For the Honor of Grayskull!" She was on the other side. "FOR THE HONOR OF FREAKING GRAYSKULL ALREADY!!!" She grumbled again. By now she was sitting on top of the horse. It's amazing how quickly you can get over your fear of something when you have something more annoying than what you fear. She slumped over on the horse itself with a moan, looking over the sword irritated as the horse looked back at her curiously.

 

"Look you stupid sword, you spent half the day torturing me and nagging at me after I found you, so at the very least you could give me this one thing when I truly need it!" She stared at the reflection in the sword as if expecting an answer, getting nothing but utter silence in return. She didn't get a headache, she didn't get any sense from it, she didn't even get one of those annoying visions.

 

 "Ugggh..." She groaned again as she lied on the ground. "I'm so boned..."

 

* ** _Neeigh_**!*

 

She looked to her left as she saw the used-to-be-horrifying horse, enjoying the feeling of the grass right next to her as it lied on it's back. "What do you have to be so miserable about? You're a horse." She muttered. She raised the sword over her head as she stared back at her reflection. "How am I supposed to make you work? I swung you over my head just like this and then..." Her eyes slowly widened as the memory came to her. "Wait a minute!"

 

...

_That's when she saw the creature towering over her again, surprised by how quickly it rushed over, and raised it's giant mandible over her head to strike. "Ah!" She yelped, using all her might to lift the heavy blade over her head._

_It was then, all at once, that an emanating, glowing, light ascended from the blade just after the creature's massive claw struck it. Like all the previous times, each and every time Catra tried to connect to the blade through some physical means, did she see the various visions play out in her mind along with a familiar voice._

_"Catra..." Light Hope's familiar voice echoed as the images played out. The ranged to more varied and vivid locations, from a tranquil castle surrounding a giant gem, to the rocky plains with a mysterious black hole in the center, to an asteroid crash landing on a planet, closing in with a mysterious ruin she had never seen before, and finally to an image of the sword itself shining in the darkness. "Catra... will you serve for the Honor of Grayskull?"_

_That was it._

_"For the Honor of Grayskullll!" Catra shouted at the top of her lungs. Immediately, light expanding from the sword across the surrounding clearing, just as Bow was helping Glimmer back to her feet. The two were shocked by the massive energy they felt radiating from the Horde spy, watching in amazement as light enveloped her entire body, causing the massive creature itself to seemingly recede a little._

 

...

 

"That's it!" She sprang to her feet as she looked around her surroundings, looking around until she spotted a large boulder next to a tree near them. "I don't need anything to attack or scare me, I just need to give this thing a good hit on something hard!" She grinned to herself and her reflection as she came up with this. With absolute pride in her veins and certainty in her mind, she swung the mighty blade against the hardened boulder.

 

* **CLANG**!*

 

"For the Honor of Grayskull!" Yes. Yes! It was working! She saw light emanating from the center of the gem locked in the center of the blade! Her eyes lit up as much as the blade did, maybe even brighter with how proud she was of her ingenious plan! 

 

Everything good from this was coming back to her. She could become She-Ra, take on the Horde that treated her so badly, get the kingdom she always wanted, rule it alongside Adora, and live out the rest of her days in peace, luxury, and a brand spanking new castle! And with this sword, no one would dare threaten her kingdom for as long as she-

 

* _ **PEW!**_ *

 

What was that? 

 

This didn't happen before. The sword was NOT supposed to be doing this. Those few sparks that filled her with encouragement previously ended up being traitor in disguise, because the next thing she knew the supposed sparks she saw coming from the sword began channeling several beams of light, shooting across the hill a dozen different times.

 

"Oh no..." She started to grow worried as the beams of light continued to dance around her. Did this happen before? No, she's pretty sure Bow or Glimmer would've mentioned it if any beams of light hit her before turning into She-Ra. Did she make it mad? To be fair, if someone hit her against a rock that'd tick her off, and she knew the sword had to be alive in some way. Then again maybe it was just really advance? That's when the beams of light suddenly struck the horse.

 

"Ahh! What's going on?!" The Horse began shining entirely all around itself. Did the lights really transform things that way? Was it going to transform the horse into some form of She-Ra? She watched as the light enveloped the entire horse, hearing it screaming in fear and trotting side to side as it underwent a bizarre transformation. After several seconds a final brief flash went off, temporarily blinding Catra until everything faded away. What she saw next left her baffled.

 

"Umm... That's not normal for horses, is it?" 

 

The horse itself opened it's sparkling eyes, almost immediately beginning to panic as it saw it's newly evolved state. The horse's mane, for starters,  changed into a more serene morning appearance with several shades of warm oranges and yellows. Secondly, it's newly grown wings which spanned almost as long as the horse's body, were spread away, revealing a dazzling array of rainbow colors across it's new feathers. As if none of that was enough, the final piece of resistance was the newly fashioned horn that grew from atop it's head, spanning at least a foot long with swirls of yellow. 

 

Naturally, like any sane person or animal coming across this strange phenomenon, it reacted in the most casual way possible. 

 

Panicking.

 

* ** _Neeeiigh_**!* 

 

"W-Whoa, calm down!" Catra began to panic as well as it flailed about. Before she knew it the majestic creature began running away as if running far enough would remove whatever ungodly curse had been placed on it. 

 

 _This is bad..._  Catra thought correctly to herself. She had no idea what was wrong with it or what the sword did, and both cases would've made meeting the queen rather troubling. Was the transformation permanent? Temporary? Was the horse going to burst into flames after a few minutes for crying out loud?! It wouldn't exactly look good to meet the queen and mention how she accidentally turned her horse into some more horrifying creature of beautiful terror!

 

 _Oh god what if it was contagious?!_  That'd be really fun story to explain to the person that she didn't want to anger!

 

She was so preoccupied with her worries and the sight of the horse flying up and down that she didn't even realize as she was running into a Rebellion training camp. Numerous passersby were watching with confusion, surprise, and/or shock as they saw the mysterious creature and the strange person that was chasing it. All she was focused on was trying to get the horse back that could ruin everything! 

 

Gritting her teeth, she used her enhanced agility as she quickly lept to the horse several feet off the ground, grabbing onto it's left wing. Any moments of relief or victory she could've felt were ignored as the horse started flailing about, falling from the sky and into an empty tent before Catra could realize grabbing onto a horse that never flew before was a bad idea.

 

That's a third thing she could add to her bad-idea-list. 

 

* _ **CRASH** **!**_ *

 

Dust and a bit of debris from whatever wooden materials were present within or around the tent were flung in all directions as the horse crashed, drawing the attention of nearly everyone in the camp. As the dust began to settle, the trainees all saw two shady figures through the dust cloud, one of which opened it's wings again as it took off in a hurry. The gust it created was enough to give everyone a proper view of the other mysteriously figure, the same one rubbing her sore head from the crash.

 

"Ugh... stupid horse..." It was at that moment she saw nearly a dozen soldiers of various size and races slowly approach her, half of them enraged and the other half already having drawn their weapons. Something was off about this. She knew they might've been mad for destroying one of their tents, but the hate in their eyes was one that was all too familiar to her - the stare of somebody gazing at their mortal enemy. "What?" It donned on her as she stood up from the ground, noticing a slightly heavier draft around she didn't feel before. 

 

Looking down, everything became clear as she saw the robe she came out in earlier, slightly shredded and completely fallen from her body. If they weren't aware of her allegiance from the helmet she, once again, forgot to remove, the full outfit she was wearing was proof enough. "Oh..." Her ears perked up just as quickly as they drooped after hearing the various shouts of anger from the surrounding soldiers.

 

"It's the Horde!"

 

"She's infiltrated Bright Moon Castle!"

 

"Someone catch her before she gets away!"

 

"Grrr..." Catra growled as she raised her sword. Any chance Catra had to possibly remove some of the tension and anger she had building up throughout the day were dashed away as she lowered the sword again, remembering one very important detail that was preventing her from causing trouble. "Oh, right... same side..." 

 

"Huaaaaaah!"

 

* **WHAM** *

 

Catra narrowly avoided the oncoming slam of a giant mace from behind her, quickly sidestepping several feet away as it collided to ground with full force. No sooner had she dodged did she find herself tackled again by another soldier of hulking mass, grabbing her and intending to hold onto her until she could be bound. She found herself forced to scratch at his vulnerable face, being careful not to damage his eyes, causing him to cry out in pain and lowering his grip, giving her enough time to climb atop his shoulders before kicking him away from her.

 

"You guys have no idea how badly I want to fight you right now!" She hissed. She found herself blocking another strike from a giant axe that nearly decapitated her, finding the female soldier's strength quite impressive as she slowly pushed Catra towards the ground. "F-For the Honor of Grayskull!" What she was hoping would get the sword working only aided in providing a confused look on the soldier's face. It gave her enough time to quickly legsweep the soldier off her feet, backing flipping out of the way as another soldier tried to attack her.

 

There wasn't enough time to fend off the army of soldiers that continued to chase after her, she had to get away! With sword in hand, she sped off through the trail of tents behind her, being careful not to run directly into any approaching soldiers and switching between left and right turns whenever she found her current path blocked off. 

 

Eventually it led her to a cliffside overlooking a ravine with a small river running through it, finding no time to stop as she lost her footing and began tumbling down the rocky side several dozen feet into the freezing cold water. It was at that time several soldiers began pulling strange white colored orbs with fuses on them. Coughing out what little water got into her mouth, skin shivering at the freezing cold water, her attention turned back to the soldiers just as the strange looking explosives were right over her head.

 

* _POOF_ *

 

 As opposed to what she thought would result in a fiery explosion she instead found her entire surroundings coated in a strange white dusty substance. Her confusion didn't even have a chance to surface as she got back to her feet as her entire body suddenly felt heavier and her head filled with fog.

 

"Hack! OUgh!" She covered her mouth as she inhaled the strange smoke. "Ngh... W-What is this?" She rubbed her head as she found her consciousness beginning to weaken. She had no time for answers as she continued to run off as fast as she could, several more explosions of these white bombs going off around her, each one of them ending up right next to her in the process. "D-Don't fall asleep." She kept telling herself. With each additional explosion her body became heavier and her legs wobbled further. She didn't know how these bombs were making her dizzy, just that they were intended to make her capture easier. 

 

The only ease she got out of this entire chase was the explosions stopping as she entered the nearby woods.

 

"F...For the Honor of Gray... Grayskull..." She muttered, hoping to herself the sword would finally aid her. Like every other time, no matter how much she begged to herself for the sword to help her compared to all the other times, she found her prayers unanswered, no matter how much she pleaded. "For... t-the Hon... Honor of Grayskull..."

 

It was too much. A fourth of a mile into the woods she finally collapsed onto her knees, panting heavily. She couldn't take it anymore, she couldn't stay awake no matter how hard she tried. What little resistance she had in her arms gave out as she finally collapsed to the ground, eyes growing heavier as she dropped the sword. She couldn't feel if she was holding the sword anymore or not, just that everything was getting dark.

 

"F... For....... For the.....For the Honor of..." As the last bit of light began to fade, she saw a mysterious figure looming over her, too dark to see through the growing haze. "Grayskull..........."  And with that final utterance, everything went black...

 

...

 

...

 

The Fright Zone.

 

The place that started the violence, that declared war on Etheria itself. Here, numerous races found themselves aiding a cause they thought to believe pure, one to unify the world under one rule by their leader, Lord Hordak. It was the place many found a purpose in life, for others a home to the races that considered them outcast. 

 

And it was within the hallways of the fine Citadel of this place that Shadow-Weaver eagerly awaited Adora's return. 

 

Adora was her pride and joy. Adora knew it, everyone knew it, and everyone else feared her for it. If anyone had a death wish, confronting Shadow-Weaver on anything or doing something to harm or threaten Adora was the quickest way to do it. She expected the best for Adora. She expected the most from Adora. Not once in her life had Adora ever let her down. And she knew today would be no exception. 

 

Just as she predicted, right on time, she saw Adora entering from the Launch site. There was a strange look of fire in her eyes, no doubt still filled with the passion of battle flowing through her veins. 

 

"Adora," Shadow-Weaver greeted with a welcoming hand, "how was your first mission my dea-"

 

* _WHAP_!*

 

"!" What just happened? For the first time ever in Shadow-Weaver's life Adora slapped her hand away.

 

Harshly.

 

"You lied to me!" She hissed, pointing to Shadow-Weaver accusingly.

 

"Lied to you?" The weaver of shadows grew intrigued at the statement, being careful not to show it. "About what my dear?"

 

"Everything!" She stated. "You've been lying to me since day one! That wasn't a mission to a facility, they weren't heavily armed! They were just civilians running for their lives!" 

 

Oh my. Someone had apparently given the revelation to Adora. She knew the soldiers were wise enough not to do it themselves. Any soldier that was aware of the truth behind all this knew better than to display this information to any of the other troops, especially Adora herself. That could only leave one other possibility that made Shadow-Weaver's blood boil.

 

The cat. 

 

"What was everything I've been working for?" Adora continued angrily. "Have we always been like this? Have we been spreading nothing but chaos and destruction since the very beginning?!" Shadow-Weaver's silence only drove her more insane. Was she admitting through her silence what Adora found out? Was she unaware of everything just like Adora was? She needed some answer from her because no matter how troubled she found herself, Shadow-Weaver was the only person she could turn to for answers! "Tell me!"

 

"...I see..." Her tension remained as Shadow-Weaver placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Oh, my poor, innocent, Adora. I see there's no point in trying to hide it from you." Adora flinched at the reply. Was she actually admitting it? Was Catra right all along? 

 

"So... you admit you've been lying!"

 

"No," Shadow-Weaver shook her head to this with a saddening tone, "I just haven't been completely honest with you. Come with me, my child. I believe there's something you should see." She turned around as she floated away. She stopped halfway through the hall as she noticed the lack of footsteps behind her. "Now!"

 

"..." Adora remained steadfast as she followed along. Shadow-Weaver was the last person she could trust, and even that wasn't much of a margin. Out of all the people within the Horde though she was the only one most likely to give her the answers she needed. If she couldn't trust Shadow-Weaver, there was no way she could remain within the Horde. This is the one thing she needed from Shadow-Weaver to renew her determination.

 

And that's exactly what Shadow-Weaver intended to do. Show her the truth.

 

At least, show Adora her  _truth_...

 

...

 

...

 

"For the last time." Queen Angella spoke as she walked through the halls of Bright Moon Castle. "What is this grand surprise that I'm supposed to be so impressed with?" It was just like her daughter and her friend. Tell her there was something special or interesting she had to see and force her to come see it herself instead of just telling her. 

 

"You'll see it in a minute, Mom, I promise." Glimmer was so excited! "Bow, can you go check and make sure the surprise is ready for us?" She requested coming to a halt. 

 

"You got it,  Princess." He replied respectfully, giving a short salute to the Queen before taking off. It brought a smile to the Queen's face to know Glimmer had such respectful friends.

 

"I like that boy."

 

"I know you do, mom. You'll like this surprise even more." 

 

This was it! She was going to prove everything she risked her grounding over and her mother was going to shower her with the praise she always wanted to hear! She would prove herself to her mother, they would gain a new ally in the process, and they would be on their way to win the war! And history would look back on this day recounting Glimmer's heroics as she brought this miraculous victory herself!

 

With the sound of a door slamming, they watched as Bow quickly trotted himself back, the look of excitement on his face so grand that Glimmer almost thought he looked worried! And for some reason he felt it necessary to pull Glimmer to the side.

 

"So... problem." He whispered.

 

"What?" 

 

"Your Majesty!" A female guard called from the end of the hallway. "A Horde spy has been discovered on the Bright Moon grounds. She attacked several of our troops at the Training Camp before running off into the woods." 

 

"What?!" If there was one thing Glimmer regretted at that second, it was acknowledging her surprise and shock at the same time as her mother.

 

"She couldn't have gotten far, your Highness. We struck her with several of our experimental Tranq Bombs before she could get away."

 

"Find her and bring her to my Throne Room at once!" The guard saluted and left immediately upon her Queen's orders. That just left one angry mother to glare at two nervous teens. "What. Did. You. DO?!"

 

Things could only get worse from here...

 

**_..._ **

 

**_..._ **

 

**_..._ **

 

**_A/N: Now to post over on Ao3 and play my favorite(annoying) game: read my fic, get annoyed with all the typos, and recorrect them a dozen times cause I'll miss it the first 8 times around XP._ **

 

**_As always, leave a like, fave, review, and share with your friends! Hope to hear your guys' feedback as we start getting into the series and it's interesting differences ^^!_ **

 

 

 

 

 

 


	7. Episode 3: Razz Part 2

**_A/N: Hiyo! Not much to say this time around, just thanks for all the feedback and all that! Loving the feedback and comments i'm getting, they really help motivate me ^^ Also I'm trying to focus on not writing so much as of late cause, *shockingly*, i tend to write a lot of details about simple things, so some scenes might seem shorted or something compared to others. Hopefully it still makes scenes make sense and isn't too distracting._ **

**_With that said, enjoy!_ **

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

_Gruel!_

_One of the most important meals of the day!_

_Sure, it may have just consisted of your standard boiled milk mixed with cereal, but to the kids amongst the Horde, it was a blessing! Especially on Mondays at the beginning of each month when the cafeteria added an assortment of muffins for the children. It was during these wonderful days they found themselves blessed to be raised amongst the Horde under Lord Hordak's rule, and couldn't wait for the day they got to repay the favor by joining his army!_

_At least for those who weren't under constant harassment like other unfortunate souls. Those who were picked on on a constant basis knew to keep their head down. They couldn't get the help of the guards, nor the staff who ran these children facilities since half of them were just as likely to pick on the unfortunate souls as well._

_One particular unfortunate soul found herself eating at a corner table of the cafeteria by herself. It didn't really matter, she preferred it this way. If she was over here, no one would want to walk all this way just to bother the freak and then back to the table. Aside from being a waste of energy, they didn't want to take the chance of the guards noticing them as they watched over the lunchroom._

_*squish*_

_*squish*_

_"..." The young five-year-old Catra continued to frown as she poked her gruel with her fork. She preferred her meals this way. Quiet, peaceful, and away from anyone else-_

_*clak*_

_"There you are!" Adora's chipper voice nearly startled her as she placed her lunch tray right next to Catra. "I was looking all over for you."_

_"..." The quiet girl looked all around her, wondering if there was anyone else watching her, then back to the girl. "What are you doing here?" She asked quietly._

_"What do you mean? I wanted to have breakfast with you!" There was no end to the positive energy coming off of Adora._

_It was kinda scary._

_"No, I mean... Why are you sitting near me?" She clarified._

_Adora tilted her head like she had no idea what she was saying. "Why do you think? We're friends now!" She reminded. "Friends stick together!"_

_"They... do?"_

_"Well yeah. Don't you hang out with your other-" She stopped before she could say something regretful. It took Catra's saddening gaze to remind her of what her previous state of being was. Friendless. "Err I mean... Well friends just stick together is all. I don't care if those other bullies make fun of me or not."_

_"..." She waited for a response from the human cat girl who went back to poking her food. It was at that time Adora noticed something missing from her tray, something no child should ever be without!_

_"Where's your muffin?" The timid girl paused briefly at this with her lip trembling._

_"..."_

_"...Did those bullies steal it from you?" Her hopes that not answering Adora's question would prevent her from finding out proved futile. There was already anger building in her eyes as she looked back several tables away from her, hearing Lonnie and her lackies laughing._

_"It's fine..." She meeped._

_"No it's not!" Adora retorted. "Muffin day only comes once a month! Do you want to wait an entire month before having another muffin?" As she waited for a response, a possible thought suddenly dawned on her. "Have you... ever had a muffin?" Like before, the shorter girl paused as she looked away. She didn't want to show her lip quivering again, unaware her current action was already confirming what Adora wanted to know._

_This was terrible! Nobody should be without a muffin on Muffin Monday! There were several flavors to choose from between plain, chocolate chip, and the delicious blueberry that Adora rarely every got to enjoy herself! In fact, she's only ever had it three times in her life, and each one of those moments were unforgettable! And now she was before little girl, her new friend, who has never had the sweet taste of a delicious muffin!_

_Someone needs to report to Lord Hordak about he injustices of Muffin Monday!_

_She was brought out of her thoughts as she heard the faint sniffling of the sad girl next to her. To be living this kind of lifestyle, to just be ok with everything that happened to her, even when she was trying to do what was right, was incredibly hard and sad to live with. And as her new best friend, she wasn't about to let her continue suffering by herself!_

_"Here." She chirped happily as she placed her own muffin on Catra's tray. Humorously enough she watched with a smile as the young girl looked back and forth between Adora and the muffin in shock. "You can have it."_

_"Wah-? N-No, it's yours." She stuttered. "I can't have it-"_

_"It's fine, really!" Adora insisted. "I've had plenty of muffins in the past. I don't mind missing one."_

_"Mmmh but... but... " Catra wanted to argue against it. She **really** wanted to argue against it! But she struggled to summon the will speak her mind._

_"Go ahead, it's all right." She encouraged patting her back. It was fun seeing Catra growing happier at the sentiment. She might not have noticed but her tail was wagging more and more at the prospect of a sacred chocolate chip muffin._

_"Mmh..." Her lips became wet as she slurped with anticipation, grabbing the muffin. "Thank y-"_

_* **SQUASH** *_

_"Ah!" Everything just seemed to slow down around the two of them as they processed what just happened._

_Here Catra was, about to take her first glorious bite of one of the delicious muffins created by the Horde. Every hair on her body was raising with excitement as she imagined all the wonderful tastes and wonders she was about to experience in her very first bite! And what happens next?_

_Gruel happens. From out of nowhere, from out of their view, someone threw a large chunk of gruel at the poor girl, splatting across the left half of her face. Regardless of how hot, cold, hard, or soft the substance was, that barely mattered in comparison to the aftermath._

_The muffin. The great, glorious muffin, was dropped from her hands, falling into the slush that was gruel. The muffin was quickly absorbed into the meal, drowning the entire muffin from head to toe. Nobody wanted a soggy muffin, and nobody wanted a muffin covered in gruel._

_"Freak! Hahahaha!" Adora grumbled to herself as she glared back at the thrower. Just like she thought, there was Lonnie, raising her fist proudly as the other kids near her cheered for her fantastic throw. Maybe she didn't see the muffin she was holding and maybe she did, it didn't matter. All this left was a very distraught Adora._

_And a very sad Catra._

_"Mmmmhmhmhhmhmmmm." She cried silently, forcefully keeping her mouth close as she sniffled to avoid more unwanted attention. She didn't care about the stinging gruel in her eyes as much as the act itself. It stung. It hurt. It reminded her of every reason she was unwanted by everyone._

_"Grrrr that was terrible!" Adora grumbled squeezing her fist. "I'll show them-!"_

_"No!" Catra pleaded grabbing her other arm. "Don't leave... please..." Adora was surprised as she looked back to the tearful looking new friend. Even after all they just did to her, she still preferred to let it go, opting to cry as gruel continued to drip from the left side of her face. "I don't want to... to..." She sniffled. Strangely, her following words were inaudible, yet Adora acknowledged it like she heard what she said._

_"Mmh." It made her feel worse thinking those bullies would get away with what they did. People like that should always get punished, just like Shadow-Weaver always taught her! Yet, she couldn't bring herself to leave her friend as she was. She was in need, in fear. She couldn't leave her side in this state. "It'll be okay, Catra. Hold still, I can get this off." She gave her a warm smile as she grabbed one of her napkins. At least gruel was easy to wipe off. She wished all of their troubles could be solved so easily._

_At the very least, Catra found comfort in someone else. She found someone who cared for her, wanted to protect her._

_For the first time, she found herself wanted..._

...

...

"Mmmh..." Why did her head feel so heavy? In fact, her whole body felt like it was made of lead, a numbness tingling from her fingertips and toes. "Ah..." She felt like she was on the border between consciousness and sleep.

Perhaps a better question would be why she was having another one of her memories resurface? What was the purpose? What was causing it? She hated these memories of her, she detested them! She's gone through most of her life trying to repress these stupid memories that caused her nothing but turmoil and grief.

"Ah good, you finally woke up from your nap, Mara!" A strange voice spoke. It took a great amount of exertion just to open her eyelids partway.

While her vision was still hazy and nearsighted, she saw a mysterious old woman come into focus. She was verily old looking to Catra, having a grand hag-like appearance to her with the sloppily messy grey hear and dozens of missing teeth. If the added fashion sense of weird bracelets she wore that looked like they were made of stone wasn't enough, the several butterflies and the shaggy purple gown that draped over her whole body did show just how ancient she was.

She couldn't get a feel on this woman either. She looked every bit of crazy as you'd expect for an old lady yet there was something peaceful about her too. Then again, seeing how half her body was still numb, maybe it was just Catra herself?

"M...Mara?" Did she mean her? "M... My name's... name's not... mmh..." She still felt the paralysis spread across her body in waves with each breath. Just trying to say a few words risked her passing out again.

"Oooh now no more fussing, Mara." The woman hummed to herself as she began pouring several liquids into a small bowl. "It's just like you to take your nap in the middle of the woods. Always sleeping, always tired, always lazing about." With one more bottle of strange liquid added to the bowl, Catra almost thought she saw a strange puff of smoke puff up from the concoction, as she came over to the tired girl's side. "Now, be a good girl and drink up, Mara. We have a busy day today."

There wasn't much room for Catra to argue. She couldn't even bring herself to decline the offer as the woman helped raise her head slightly to drink the strange bowl of liquid. She didn't know if it was poison, she didn't know if it was just a simple bowl of soup based off the smell, all she knew was that this woman had total control over her for the time being. At least it didn't taste that ba-

"HAAAAAAWWWWW!" Catra drly screeched as she shot up. She grabbed her throat with both her hands as tears and sweat uncontrollably dripped from her sweat.

What in the sweet name of the First Ones was this horrible thing?! Her entire throat felt like someone lit a fire on it from the inside! Her tongue itself felt like it was swelling like crazy, blocking off her airwaves slightly enough to make the burning sensation even more unbearable! She couldn't help as she heaved dryly, waving her hands over her face as she tried getting anything resembling a small breeze on her.

"Wawew! Wawew!" She panted loudly, trying to utter a single word desperately.

"Hmm maybe I used too many Ravenberries." The strange woman shrugged as she pulled out a small bottle. "Here, try some of this-"

* _gulp!_ *

* _gulp!_ *

* _gulp!_ *

She didn't bother seeing what it was she was drinking. As long as it was a liquid and offered to her, it had to be better than this!

At least it was before the taste got her.

"MMMMMHHHHHHH!" Her face scrunched up like she swallowed the world's most sour lemon. It was official, she died after passing out from whatever those soldiers threw at her earlier, and this was her evil tormentor for all eternity. What else was she supposed to conclude out of this? She almost wished she was dead after what she's gone through for the last several seconds! It was almost a blessing that it only lasted ten more seconds before her face felt normal. "Huff... Huff.. you trying to kill me you crazy hag?!"

"Ah, good morning sunshine." The replied completely oblivious to Catra's insult. "It's nice to see you finally up and ready for the day."

"Don't change the subject you-" She paused as she looked at her hands again. It finally dawned on her that she had feeling all throughout her body again. She could move her fingers fluidly and her body felt almost as light as a feather! "I... I can move?" Did she purposely feed her those strange liquids just to help her?

"Of course you can move, Mara." The woman replied again as she shuffled around the room to collect some belongings. "Madame Razz always has the solution to your problems."

"Mara? Uhh my name's Catra, lady." She tried to correct. She couldn't tell if anything was registering to this woman given the far-off look she displayed. "Anyway, thanks for helping me out... I think..."

"No need for thanks, dearie. I'm just glad your nightmares are gone."

"My nightmares?" Did this woman see into her dream or something just now?

"Yes, you were fussing and moaning about some door or something." She explained. "I don't know what it was but you seemed pretty upset about it."

 _Did she force me to drink that awful stuff not even knowing I couldn't move?_  Catra wondered to herself.

"You wouldn't even let Madame Razz hold your sword for you." Catra's eyes nearly shot out as she quickly looked around herself. Thankfully she saw the sword resting peacefully on her right, untouched and undamaged.

It was at this time she managed to get a closer look at her surroundings. She appeared to be in a shack-like room within the base of a withered old tree, seeing numerous small roots on the outside of the walls surrounding her and a withered dusty curtain over the entrance like a door. All around her were various pots and trinkets of varying quality. Some looked ancient, others looked like simple nicknacks you could find lying around the ground, and so on.

Whoever the strange woman was she was also decent enough to try to make Catra's sleep as comfortable as possible. While there weren't any beds around her, she did at least provide a small blanket over her legs and several bundled rags to form a makeshift pillow. Overall she knew whoever this strange hag was, she wasn't with the Rebellion or didn't care about the Horde.

As long as she didn't have to worry about the soldiers finding her she was relieved.

"That's nice, Mara." It didn't register. "Anyway, you're just in time for our outing, dearie. Those berries won't pick themselves after all."

"Uhh... Ok..." She stretched her arms briefly before rising to her feet and taking the sword. "Anyway... soooo thanks I guess for the help lady, but I got to get going." She announced as she walked over to the door.

"Are you going to take another nap, dearie?" Catra ignored the rambling hag as she pulled open the curtain from the entrance. "But you just got here. You always seem to be such a hurry, always visiting Madame Razz one moment and leaving her again the next moment with that sword."

Catra blinked at this statement as she looked back. "Wait, you know about the sword?" Was it possible? If the woman knew about the sword did she know how it worked? Could she possibly help her transform into She-Ra? "What do you know about it?"

"All in good time, Mara." She watched as the old woman placed a basket over her sword as she went through the door. "Now come along, sweetie. The faster we get those berries the sooner Madame Razz can make your favorite stew."

"Mmmh..." Forced to comply, Catra resigned herself to following the old woman. She needed to know how to turn into She-Ra before she even thought about returning to the castle, and on top of that, she did kind of owe the woman for saving her from the soldiers in the first place. At least this way she could kill two birds with one stone.

Hopefully Glimmer and Bow were having a better time on their end.

...

...

"What were you thinking?!" Queen Angella shouted from atop her throne. Her fury and anger were well placed.

Being a Queen was never an easy job. Day after day she had to deal with news in all forms of details ranging from good to bad. Sometimes it ranged from simple news like the details involving yearly harvests and food for the kingdom, at others it involved hearing of an incident that befell a town somewhere within her domain. It was a well-balanced scale of news that always kept her job productive and never boring.

In the midst of the war however, all news was considered bad. Week after week since the Horde Invasion, nothing good ever came out of it. People were lost, towns were destroyed, and lands were burned. The closest thing they ever got to good news was hearing that a town repelled a Horde invasion, and that was rarely ever done. Even when it was, eventually the Horde returned in greater numbers and firepower to retake the town with almost no survivors ever coming to recount the evasion.

The stress this built up day after day was clearly understandable.

On top of this she also had to deal with being a mother. Raising her daughter all alone in itself was a tiring task, and her daughter always had new and excitingly dangerous ways to make her mother's job harder. If she previously thought her disappearing while she was grounded was the worst news to discover, the information Glimmer and Bow came back with and what they were doing during their outing was far worse.

"Didn't you take a moment to think about what you were possibly doing? Bringing a Horde soldier here of all places?!"

"B-But mom, you don't understand!" Glimmer tried to plead her case. "She helped save me and Bow in the Whispering Woods, she became She-Ra!"

"I don't want to hear of it, Glimmer! You already left while being grounded, and on your way back you bring a member of the Horde with you? How could you be so irresponsible?"

"Y-Your Majesty, please," Bow tried to speak on Glimmer's behalf, "I know it sounds bad alone but you can trust her! I'm sure there was a good reason she attacked the training camp. Maybe it was self-defense or something!"

"Silence!" Angella ordered waving her hand. "Bow, I want you to leave us. I need to speak to my daughter alone. Now!" Bow and Glimmer looked at each other nervously before he marched out the door. If the Queen ordered something, it had to be done no matter what objections he had. Glimmer watched with a hint of dread as Bow walked out of the door, turning back to her mother like a dog guilty of eating something he shouldn't.

"Look, mom, I understand that you're angry, but you have to give her a chance! She truly wants to help!" She assured.

"Oh really?" Her mom looked doubtful as she leaned on her arm against the throne's armrest. "And did this Horde say she wanted to help out of the decency and kindness of her heart or something?"

"Yeah! Ehh... I mean... kind of... heh..." She poked her fingers with a nervous smile knowing there was no way around that detail. "I mean, she did kind of... ask for a bit of a... reward and all that..."

"And what possible kind of reward would that be?"

"Oh, nothing much. I mean she just kind of... ummm... maaaay have wanted something small like... a kingdom? Eh heh..."

"YOU PROMISED HER A KINGDOM?!" The entire room went so deathly silent that even a single strand of hair could be heard hitting the floor if it fell.

"I-I didn't say I'd give her a kingdom! Just that I might've... you know... talked to you about it?"

"Guards, clear the room. I wish to speak with my daughter in private." The guards nodded in turn as they began clearing out the rest of the same along with themselves, save for the two personal guards that were always at the Queen's side. With room bring cleared, the Queen let out great moan as she pinched the bridge between her eyes. "Ugh... Glimmer... What am I to do with you..."

"Look, mom, you can ground me for life for all I care after," she said stepping forward, "but at least give her a chance. I know she can help us win the war!"

"That's not the point, Glimmer. Don't you understand your actions will reflect your future?" Her mother still maintained a hint of concern behind her angry words. "I won't be here forever, Glimmer. One day you will be forced to make decisions that affect the future of not just you, but the entire kingdom. And you can't make hasty decisions like this just on an impulse."

"I understand mom, I really do. But she's already proven herself twice! She even helped save Thaymor from a Horde invasion!"

"So she drove off an entire force with her mere power?" Angella asked questionably.

"Y-Yeah... I mean... She forced a Horde Captain to call off the attack, but-"

"And you saw this happen yourself?" She quickly interrupted.

"Ye- I mean, sort of... The soldiers were surrounding us when they were called off. We would've been captured or worse if she didn't stop-"

"I mean you saw her make the Horde Captain call off the attack?"

Glimmer knew exactly what she was doing yet found struggled to maintain her optimistic composure. "Well... Not exactly but... but..."

"Then for all you know, this was their plan from the beginning just to infiltrate Bright Moon."

"I... I had that thought too but... but..." What could she say at this moment? Every time she came up with something her mother countered it perfectly. There was no hesitation in her voice and little room for any doubt in every word she spoke. It's as if she predicted this entire meeting and prepared for every possible thing she had to say.

That's the power of a true queen and a mother.

With the silence continuing to drift around the room, Angella sighed as she rose from her seat and walked to her daughter's front. "Glimmer, I know you're trying to help, but you can't make decisions without thinking of every possibility."

"I.. I know that mom... I just..." She went silent as her mother gently raised her chin so she could see her face-to-face.

"Glimmer, can you look me in the eye and say with absolute certainty, that you trust this soldier?"

"I... Y..." Her mother brought her to attention again as Glimmer tried to turn her face just a little.

"Don't look away. Look me in the eyes and tell me you trust her, one-hundred percent."

"..." The words wouldn't escape her throat no matter how hard she tried.

"...That's what I thought." She pulled her daughter's head gently as she embraced her in a comforting hug. She knew her daughter wasn't bad. She wasn't acting out for attention, she didn't cause trouble for the sake of having fun, she was just trying to help for the sake of being useful to her mother and their kingdom. Angella couldn't have asked for a better daughter. "Until this Horde soldier is found, I don't want you leaving the castle's grounds. Otherwise you are free to leave."

"...Yes mother..." She couldn't find an single fragment of strength to argue against her mother. All she could do was make her way to the door, ignoring a confused and curious Bow who wanted to know what they talked about.

How was she supposed to like this? Despite everything Catra had done for her, she couldn't deny the smallest, minimal, possibility that she was secretly still working for the Horde. Appearing just as they found the sword, the Horde attacking shortly after their arrival to Thaymor, and calling off an attack she didn't witness herself? How could she? She said it herself that she was just in all this for herself, and that was the way she intended to keep it.

...

_"...Pffft...Tch, hahahaha! Oh gosh, that's what you think that was?" Catra cackled as she looked back. "You've got to be kidding me! If you thought for a second I cared about that stupid kid or her mother, you're sorely mistaken!"_

_"What do you-"_

_"I never liked that kid!" She continued to interrupt. "I was just with her because the whiny brat kept crying her eyes out whenever I didn't listen to her! You said it yourself I had to keep a low profile around here and that's all I was doing. Keeping a low profile. That's all it was. That's all it ever was! I was just mad about having to deal with a bossy mother, I didn't care about that little pipsqueak in the slightest! I don't care about anybody!"_

...

Those words kept echoing in her head since the moment her mother asked her. She wanted to trust her plenty, a part of her did trust her enough. But until she could figure things out, she couldn't look into her mother's eyes, or stand up for her new ally.

She couldn't trust Catra...

...

...

"For the last time, what do you know about the sword?" Catra was just about ready to tear her ears off.

This woman was impossible to get information out of. Every minute she spent trying to get information out of the old hag she found her asking a completely different question in turn, having a completely random answer for her, or completely ignoring the question and answer all together and asking her other random things, like why Catra  _decided_  to grow a new tail or cat eats.

It was becoming harder and harder to believe she wasn't dead and was her eternal tormentor because every moment she spent with this woman made her believe she was!

The only reason she found herself around the hag at this point was to repay her for saving her. No matter how much she hated someone else she refused to give up her "eye for an eye" philosophy. She could be saved by some reptile that saved her from getting bitten by a poisonous insect and she would repay it however she could, like feeding it a piece of meat. No matter how miniscule her favor-in-return was, she always saw it through.

"Oh yes, Mara, these are nice and fresh!" Madame Razz said with joy, picking the berries off another bush. "I can't wait to see Loo-Kee's face when he sees this harvest!"

"And dare I ask, who is Loo-Kee?" Catra forced herself to squeeze her claws into a fist, doing everything in her power to keep her sanity.

"Oh, he's my good friend who's always at my side! But he's invisible, so make sure you don't tell him!" She replied as she pressed on.

"..." Catra could feel her eye twitching from the stupidity of that statement as she followed her. "This woman's eaten people before, I just know it..."

"Ah, here we are!"

"That's what you said the last twenty places we went too... collect..." For the first time since meeting this lady she actually took Catra to an unbelievable place.

The Ruins of the First Ones. All around her were the same designs as the previous First Ones ruin she came across with Glimmer and Bow. this time with an impressive establishment standing before her that stretched above the trees. All around her numerous dark roots grew across the mighty obelisk, giving life to strange looking plants every several inches along the roots and glowing red flowers that grew from the ground the roots seeded into.

The surprising part about the roots were just how far they stretched along the ruins. They didn't just cover everything within a near-hundred feet of this place, they stretched up to the top of the obelisk itself, these ones covered in various thorns and bramble. It's as if these roots were specially grown just to protect whatever was inside the great ruins.

Or perhaps it was to keep whatever was hidden locked inside?

"I... I've seen this before..." Catra commented as she looked around. "I had visions of this place. They're First Ones ruins, aren't they?"

"And the best place to pick fresh berries!" In the short few seconds Catra wasn't watching the woman, she suddenly found her climbing the ancient ruins, already halfway to the top.

"What the-! What are you doing up there? You're going to get yourself hurt!"

"Relax, dearie, the butterflies will catch me." With every surprising leap the woman took and every root she grabbed, a piece of the ancient ruins lit up with life. It was as she neared the top of this mighty structure that she touched the last of these strange runes, bringing the entire ruin to life as it hummed with a eerie emerald glow.

* ** _bzzzzzt_**!*

"Ahhhh!" Razz cried out as the ruin zapped her, blasting her off the top. Catra wasted no time as she dropped the sword, jumping onto the structure for a boost and pushing off of it as hard as she could. She dove head first as she caught the frail woman in her arms, several yards from the ground itself as the two of them fell through the air and onto the ground. While landing might've been a bit harsh for Catra herself, the woman managed to remain unscathed. "Hooftah, thank you butterflies for telling her to help!"

"Ugh..." Ok. She was done. This woman was driving her insane and she finally saved her life from a massive fall. "Consider us even for earlier. So if you don't mind, I'm going to take off now. Good luck with your berrypicking or whatever." She thanked her one more time as she picked up her sword.

"But you'll miss the stars, Mara." Razz stated as she looked to the sky.

"What stars-" Following the woman's gaze, she saw something she never had before.

Stars. Millions and millions of beautiful stars.

The ruins illuminated the sky with a strange display of tiny lights amongst the pink skylight it generated. Whether they were stars displayed simply from the ruins itself or the ruins cleared the sky to display the stars, it didn't matter. These mystical tiny specks of light were dazzling to Catra, being bundled up in an open display just for her and Razz to see. It was beautiful to witness. Beautiful and somehow familiar.

"These are... stars?" The term was unfamiliar to her.

"Oh. We used to come here all the time to look at stars." Razz awed in wonder. "Do you remember the stars, Mara? They were your favorite until they disappeared." Her voice became sorrowful as she said this. "What happened to the stars, dearie? Why did they all run away?"

"Why do I remember all this? Why is it all so familiar?" It was then that the visions returned to her, displaying several images and events like before.

For the first time in awhile, she saw Light Hope, the woman who started this mysterious adventure for her and turned her life upside down. This was followed by several flashes of scenery and wonder. For an instant, she could've sworn she saw Bright Moon Castle, recognizing the majestic scenery she had witnessed nearly an hour ago. It was like watching the screen of a security monitor, the image so clear that she could reach out and touch it.

But like all her previous visions, these ones started to distort and break apart. The images began to waver and pan around with several strange views displaying before in in a misty red hue. One of the scenes were of a strange deserted area with a bright sun looming over it. It was quickly followed by several flashes, each that became more distorted than the last.

She saw what might've been a shooting star crashing to the ground, a strange purple hole opened in the middle of the air before her sucking up anything that drew near, it could've been anything! The last flash was the only one she recognized as these strange ruins, looking incredibly younger and more newer than they did now.

The final image that appeared to her though, it stayed with her for a bit. And it was the most terrifying.

She couldn't move, she couldn't make out what she was witnessing, she couldn't tell what was going on. All she could see was fire. Fire and smoke out in the distance as she looked out of a strange large hole. What was she looking through? A window? A basket? The horrifying addition to all of this was how real it felt to her. She could feel the intense heat of the fire, she could practically taste the smoke that filled her lungs. She could feel the tears flowing down her face!

Tears? Why were there tears? Above all, why did she hear... screaming? All she could make out through the haze was the sound of people screaming. Screams of fear, screams of agony, all echoed through the distance. And the last sound she could make out was that of a baby's cry. It wailed as it cried out for help. It was scared, was in danger, it was... lonely...

"Ahh!" Catra finally screamed as she collapsed to her knees. She was squeezing her head in pain as she breathed heavily, finally snapping back to reality. Her eyes were shot open as she inhaled in and out, unable to blink once.

The entire time she was zoned out, Madame Razz just stood there watching her. Unfazed, unnerved, unflinching. All she did was casually stare at her as she ate one berry after the other.

"What... what was that?" Catra struggled to get out. It was then that she noticed small droplets of water dripping down her face. Was she sweating through all of this? No, not sweat. Tears. Tears were flowing from her eyes. "I'm... I'm crying?"

"It would seem so, dearie." She didn't flinch as Catra grabbed both her arms tightly, tears slowly receding.

"Please, just tell me what's going on! I have to know!" This woman was driving her mad but now for all the wrong reasons. Why was she crying? What were with these images? What was up with this stupid godforsaken sword! All this pain was unbearable to her. "You have to know something about the sword, about me! Please, just tell me!"

"I will tell you what's going on." For the first time Catra was willing and happy to hear what she had to say! "Your basket is still empty, and there's plenty of berries that need picking." And just as quickly did she find herself annoyed again, slumping to the ground, not caring as her face flatted on it. "Now come along!" She didn't care. She didn't bother reacting as the woman began dragging her behind her by the tail.

She just wanted this day to be over.

...

...

"Mmh..."

"Hey Glimmer, you doing okay?" Bow asked as he approached.

Ever since the last meeting with her mother she hadn't uttered a word. All she could do for herself and possibly everyone else was wait on the front steps of the castle for Catra's return. She didn't plan to disobey her mother this time, aside from the fact she was still grounded, in the hopes that Catra somehow made her way back to the castle. If she did, she knew she would be the only protection Catra had from any guards that could possibly attack her. It was also the last chance to try and convince her mother of Catra's assistance.

At least it would be if Glimmer could muster up the courage to face her again. It wasn't matter of bravery this time around, but trust. She needed to find every reason she could in order to trust Catra one-hundred percent and look her mother in the eyes with this conviction, but she couldn't! With every possibility and event that's happened today, no matter how much she did trust Catra, she couldn't say beyond reasonable doubt that she might still be working for the Horde.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I think at least." She said with a shrug. "Did you find her anywhere around the castle?"

"Unfortunately no." He shook his head with a frown. "I checked every room twice, even the backway. But I want to know how you're doing right now. Are you all right?"

"I don't know..." There wasn't an easy way to answer. "I don't know what my mother plans to do if she gets her hands on Catra first, and I can't vouch for Catra unless I can look my mother in the eyes and tell her I trust her."

"Well why are you having such a hard time with it?" He asked as he took a seat next to her. "I mean she did help us a lot you know. Thaymor probably would've burnt to a crisp without her."

"I know Bow, and I really want to trust her! But I just can't say without certainty that she's truly on our side. And it won't even matter if she can't turn into She-Ra in the first place! It's almost pointless to think about."

Bow tried to find the right words to say. He agreed with everything she was saying, he couldn't see a flaw with any word he mentioned about Catra. Yet he needed to find the right words that could convince her, no matter how impossible it might seem. "Well... maybe you should just have faith in her."

"Faith?" Why did he mention something like this in this situation? "What's faith got to do with trusting her?"

"Well, it's really no different in this scenario." He smiled standing up. "I know she can seem off-putting and kinda mean at times, but she's always came through for us in the end, right? Even if she's doing it for selfish reasons, there's got to be good in her."

"But how can you say you trust her beyond reasonable doubt?"

"I can't." She couldn't tell if he was trying to help her or not at this point. "But all the same, how do you know I won't defect to the Horde?" He quickly continued before she could flip at the suggestion. "Just speaking, of course. After all every day they burn down another part of the woods or destroy another town. For all you know they might make me an offer I can't refuse."

"Heh, yeah, I bet." She chuckled with a small smile. "I know you wouldn't do it Bow, you're my best friend."

"Exactly. And Catra's our friend too. I'm not saying you  _have_  to trust her completely, all you need to do is stand up for her prove that you will trust her. I know everything seemed too perfect between us meeting her and the attack on Thaymor, but sometimes things just happen for a reason." She was beginning to see his point. He wasn't saying she had to lie to her mother and pretend she trusted Catra, just that she was willing to trust Catra no matter how she felt about her. It didn't matter if she even did trust Catra one-hundred percent, all she had to do was show that she could. "Anyway, I'm going to check the woods around here. Hopefully I'll bump into her somewhere."

"Good luck." She wished with a wave goodbye. Her happy expression flipped once more as he left her sight. Despite the little heartfelt talk they had, saying something and actually doing something were two different things. She wanted to trust Catra with all her might, but it was like there was a small roadblock keeping her from making that final leap! She needed something to prove to her that she could trust her, some assurance of kindness.

She needed something to put her faith in.

"Princess." Two guards greeted as they walked up to her. She gave them a brief smile as she saluted back to them before they walked around her on each side, continuing to the castle.

"So did you hear about the attack on Thaymor?" She overheard the guards speaking.

"Yeah, I almost had a heart attack when I heard about it. Thankfully the Horde retreated before they could do too much serious damage." The other guard spoke.

"Speaking of which, how's your family doing? Are they okay?"

"Thank the First Ones, yes. I got a letter from my wife not half an hour ago actually. My little girl was safe too, but the letter was so bizarre."

"What do you mean?"

"Well she just kept raving about some Horde soldier risking her life to save my little girl."

"Huh?" Glimmer's head perked up at hearing this.

"A Horde soldier? Really? Since when do they help people?"

"Honestly I don't even know if it was a Horde soldier. My wife just went on and on about how some cat or whatever saved her before the building fell on her. Personally I think she was just in shock."

"Yeah, I don't blame her either. If I was living a normal life and suddenly found my village burning down, I'd be hysterical too-"

"Wait!" Glimmer quickly sprang to her feet as she chased after the guards.

"Princess?" Both guards greeted curiously as they turned around.

"The letter thing, the attack on Thaymor?" She paused briefly as she attempted to speak clearly. "What were you saying about a cat?"

"Oh, it's alright Your Highness. It was just my wife raving about something that couldn't happen. It's a waste of time to-"

"No!" She yelled. "Tell me everything about it! I have to know!" The two guards looked at each other for a second and then back to the princess. It didn't matter if the story was crazy or irrational in the slightest. If a princess ordered them to so much as jump off a cliff, they would do it.

"O-Of course, Your Highness." The right guard nodded as he recounted the story.

For the first time Glimmer found something positive going on that was impractical. Everything else that happened up to this point was too impractical to occur, nearly all of it happening purely out of chance. Now, she was finding herself moping around, sitting on the front steps of a castle, just as two guards happen to pass by her while one of said guards, who just  _happened_  to be related to someone in Thaymore, had the answers to her dilemma.

It was too perfectly time, but it happened for a reason, and it gave her something she desperately needed.

Faith.

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**A/N: Hopefully people still enjoy the episode and don't find it too short (I know, who's ever heard of someone not posting up to 8k words on a chapter P_P, *gasp*...) compared to my usual works.** _

_**Also i know I'm making some occasional scenes with Catra seem sillier than what they probably should be, but again, keep in mind her and adora switched roles, and there are some rather silly/humorous moments that Adora had to go through.** _

_**I also had my own fun writing out Catra's interesting flashback scene in the middle of this. While I don't know what her backstory in this reboot could be, I am pretty confident I can work it in in same way even after we (hopefully) get adora's and Catra's backstory.** _

_**As always leave a like, fave, and review! Just minor note, might be awhile before next post unless I get it posted tomorrow. I got school friday and i plan on focusing full time on work, and i got work early on saturday so I might not even get time to finish the next/possibly-last chapter for this episode till Saturday night, if not sunday evening. Anyway see ya folks later, and hope you enjoyed!** _


	8. Episode 3: Razz Part 3

_**A/N: Uuuuugh, im still not done with this episode yet _?! *sigh* honestly I'm just as surprised as any. I guess i called it when I said some episodes would be longer than others and made the right call with stating I would post final parts labeled with an End at the end of the chapter episodes. I can safely say with 100% certainty next part WILL be the last for this episode, so sorry to those wanting the finale before my short break.** _

_**1 thing to keep in mind here- as I am going through the episodes scene per scene in some cases, some parts of this are going to "appear" rushed more than others. Keep in mind a majority of this takes place during the last seven minutes so even that's going to be a bit stretched out in here. As such i apologize if some parts are a bit choppy or rushed looking.** _

_**All the same i hope people enjoy!** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

"What... What is all this?" Adora examined the room she was brought to.

It wasn't anything fancy or a room she was never brought to before. It was the Loading Bay for the dropships and various hovercrafts the Horde was supplied with.

She needed this moment to get a grasp on what was going on. Her first mission ever proved to be the most complicated one she's ever come across on an emotional level. At first she was looking forward to it. After all, after being promoted directly to Force Captain almost immediately after reaching the rank of Senior Cadet by Shadow-Weaver, the closest thing Adora had to a motherly figure within the Horde, she was ready and willing to do everything she could to repay the only family she's ever known. And how did her first ever mission go?

Oh, about as well as she could expect. What was being dubbed as a rescue mission in order to save Catra, who Adora originally believed to be brainwashed by the evil princesses of Etheria, from a facility that was going to interrogate her ended up being a harrowing misfire of epic proportions.

It wasn't some princess stronghold where they kept weapons of mass destruction, it wasn't some secret kingdom facility where they experimented on their own people with various chemicals and mutations all for the sake of power! It was nothing more than a simple village full of innocent civilians running for their lives! There was nothing remotely to even suggest that it was a facility to interrogate Catra, unless she had a strange phobia of all the flowers and festivities that were scattered around.

The one dilemma Adora had in believing Catra entirely was her behavior. After finding her several minutes into her mission, she didn't have any desire to return to the Horde, she didn't want anything to do with the rest of their friends. In fact, it almost seemed like she didn't want anything to do with Adora either! What did she want instead?

Who cares! Nothing she came up with mattered to Adora! Here she was, her best friend in the world, suddenly announcing how she was turning her back on the Horde and everything they stood for! How was Adora supposed to know what to feel when she dropped a bomb on her like that? There wasn't any comfort to it, there wasn't any reasoning to explain it. All there was was a distraught Adora who hastily called off the mission in order to protect what seemed to be everyday civilians

Now, here she was, demanding answers to all the confusing mysteries she came across in the last day, and she wasn't going to take no for an answer! On the bright side, Shadow-Weaver seemed intent on doing just that. The minor setback was, what was she supposed to make of what she was looking at?

"It's what I promised to show you, Adora." Shadow-Weaver replied, displaying the numerous caches and container before them. "All of these materials were collected during the raid on Thaymor. You can check the manifests and data for accuracy, if you so desire my dear."

This didn't make any sense. Where did these things come from? Why the heck did Thaymor even have half of these things. As if they were illusions, Adora checked over the containers and their contents, feeling the smooth texture and craft for authenticity. Sure enough, however impossible, these weren't fake. All of them were real.

And they were all sitting right in front of her.

"This... This can't be right!" Adora argued. "None of these things were brought to my attention before! Why am I just finding out about this?"

"Well my dear, I was hoping I didn't have to remind you of that, but from what I hear, a Force Captain supposedly threatened insubordination for not following her orders." How could she forget something like that? Adora herself was the one who issued them in the first place! "Granted, I am very proud of you using whatever means necessary to get your fellow soldiers in line, but because of it there wasn't any time to report on their findings."

Adora turned back to the caches she was kneeling in front of. There must've been at least eighty pounds worth of materials here between explosives, weaponry, shields, etc. "But... But... This can't be right! Thaymor was just a peaceful village when we came across it! Nobody was attacking save for the guards, and even then they-"

"Oh, my poor, innocent, Adora." Adora found herself embraced in a hug from behind. She could feel Shadow-Weaver's caring hands caressing her cheeks softly. "This is the reality of our war. Why do you think these weapons were found in the least likely of places to begin with?"

"What... What do you mean?" She turned to look into her nurturing eyes. While she couldn't see it through her mask, Shadow-Weaver gave her a soft smile at this.

"Tell me, my dear. What makes for the best kind of shield in the midst of a war?"

"T-There weren't any shields. A-All there was... was civilians to... to..." Like a fire slowly burning to life, a realization came to Adora's mind. "N-No... they wouldn't..."

"Oh, sadly they would. The Princesses cruelty know no bounds. If it means keeping a low profile, they are willing to build a town around their facilities just to keep a cover, all the while the supposed happy townspeople are oblivious to the weapons of mass destruction being produced right under their noses."

"But... But that would mean the Princesses... they... they..." It was too painful for Adora to speak.

"That they would willingly risk innocent lives just for the sake of winning this war. Every town we've struck, every seemingly-horrible thing we've been forced to do, has been for the sake of Etheria." Adora didn't know what to say. Shadow-Weaver's caring tone seemed genuine enough, and with how evil the princesses were this seemed just like the sort of thing they would do. "They force us to combat them on their own turfs, less we continue to allow them to run amok, bringing chaos and destruction across the land. And because of this, they force us to attack the towns infes- filled," she reworded, "with innocent people. Do you understand now, dear?"

This.. This was too much. How was she supposed to know what was real anymore? Her friend left her, the princesses are risking civilian lives for their own sake, and they are forcing the Horde to fight them in towns filled with innocent people?! Were these just more lies or was Shadow-Weaver actually telling her the truth out of all of this? If it was a lie, it was an incredibly elaborate lie, and if it wasn't, like she hoped, then it furthered every reason Adora had to fight against the princesses!

"I..." After a small silence, Adora finally spoke, keeping her head down. "I'd like some time to examine these caches, if you don't mind, Shadow-Weaver."

"Of course not, dearest." Shadow-Weaver calmly patted her shoulder before turning her attention towards the wall. "Guard!"

"Y-Yes, Shadow-Weaver!" He rushed up to attention.

"See to it that Adora isn't interrupted during her examinations, and give her unrestricted access to all the details and manifests regarding her mission to Thaymor. I don't want a single line of info withheld from her."

"A-All of them?" As a personal guard to Lord Hordak himself, he knew what that level of information could reveal. It wasn't anything someone even of Adora's ranking were allowed to simply view. "B-But mam, Lord Hordak states that-"

"DO YOU DARE TO DISOBEY A DIRECT ORDER FROM ME?!" Shadow-Weaver's eyes narrowed as darkness filled across the room towards the frightened guard. He could already feel himself suffocating under the weight of Shadow-Weaver's piercing gaze and she hasn't even reached him yet with her magic.

"N-No mam! I'll see to it everything she asks for is presented to her on the double!" He stated asuringly, only finding relief once the shadows around him faded.

"Good!" As with everything, her demeanor and entire expression shifted to a peaceful tone as she directed herself to Adora once more. "Take as much time as you need, my dear." She watched as Adora turned her head in Shadow-Weaver's direction for a moment before looking back to the caches. "I trust I'll hear of your findings upon your inspection?"

"Of course, Shadow-Weaver." Adora replied unwavering. She planned on examining every single piece of these caches twice to make sure there was little to no room for doubt. It was also her \excuse to give herself some time to think. She didn't know what to make out of all these stuff. The one problem plaguing her mind at this moment was whether she was to abandon all her morals and principals, or trust the very family she's held dear to her heart.

Seeing her so focused on her personal task and knowing the guard wouldn't dare leave his duty, Shadow-Weaver floated away, smiling to herself as she exited the room.

"Oh, my sweet, sweet, Adora. One day you'll understand everything I do for you... no matter how much of your innocence I must break..."

...

...

"So you don't know anything else about the sword?"

"How would Madame Razz know about it? I've never seen that sword before."

This woman was like a broken radio to Catra. Whenever she wanted to make headway of this stupid sword and unlock it's power, Madame Razz had something to get them sidetracked or distracted to the point she forgot the entire conversation. It didn't really matter to her anymore after the day she's been having.

Her day's been nothing but a nightmare since she woke up. Thanks to Madame Razz, Catra managed to escape the training camp she fell into and eluded the numerous soldiers that nearly captured her with their strange sleep powdered bombs. If Madame Razz wasn't wandering the woods at that time she didn't know if she would've gotten out of that situation, much less alive. From there she found herself following the old hag after she mentioned she somehow had knowledge of the great sword in Catra's grasp, in addition to finding the right way to repay her after saving Catra's life.

Unfortunately, even after finding returning the favor by catching her from fall, all she's been given was more questions and confusion, half of which was provided by the old lady herself, the other half provided by the mysterious visions she saw in her head after activating some mysterious First Ones ruins they came across, a simple glimpse of a starry sky bringing back visions and scenery the likes of which she's never encountered.

Since then she's been trying to piece together the strange vision shes had of that as well as the mysterious memories she's encountered at least twice so far today. Whether she was passed out or conscious didn't seem to affect her ability to have them. They came to her no matter how badly she didn't want to, and there was an infinite abyss of how much she didn't want to.

"You should focus more on looking for solutions than finding answers to all your problems." Razz suggested as she pushed through the woods.

"I would be if this stupid sword wasn't solution to the problem!" Catra moaned looking at the sword again.

No matter how many times she uttered "For the Honor of Grayskull", or how much she focused on what she wanted, the power and form of She-Ra never came to her after that one time. There was no way she could return to Bright Moon if she couldn't figure out how to transform into She-Ra, and there was no way she could turn into She-Ra at this point without finding out how to use it properly. And the only one within Bright Moon who might've had more answers was the ruler herself, Queen Angella.

There was a no-win situation here that seemed feasible to Catra. At this point she didn't know what to do anymore.

"You need to find a way to relax, dearie." Madame Razz continued. "So much anger is going to cloud your mind. Here, have one of Madame Razz's berries, they're good for you."

Still skeptical for obvious reasons, Catra resigned herself as she accepted one of the blue squishy berries from the old lady. She wasn't entirely wrong about the anger issue, granted she was causing a good chunk of them. And at least the berry tasted-

"Oomph!" Catra's entire face paled as she spat out the horrendous berry. It tasted like dead fish over a dead rat over a dead bird over a shoe. Even the gruel she ate as a child tasted better than this, and those were flavorless! "BLEGH!" She spat wiping her tongue. "What was that? It tasted horrible!"

"Well what did you expect? It was rotten."

"What the-? Why the heck did you feed me a rotten berry of all things? It was disgusting!"

"Yes, but are you angry now?"

"..." She didn't want to give the satisfaction of an answer, instead ignoring her as she walked on. Of course she wasn't feeling angry anymore, but having a disgusting taste in her mouth wasn't exactly the best substitute for anger either! If anything she found a new reason to get angry!

...So why didn't she? Did the berries actually have some sort of anger-repressing effect or something?

"You see? Solutions are all around you yet you always try to focus on one answer instead of all the answers." Razz continued to ramble. "Instead of just jumping into a problem head on, try thinking of every solution first, and then facing your challenge. It'll cause less stress and..."

"And what?" Catra awaited an answer as the woman suddenly paused. She continued looking at her until her foot brushed against the dusty rocky surface of the... wait a minute. She looked on ahead, growing shocked at the sight before her.

Desolation.

Vast emptiness and sorrow in it's physical form. All ahead of her she saw nothing but complete and utter ruin of the forest behind her, the land itself practically cutting off between what was once a lush beautiful forest into a deserted land devoid of life and beauty. There was no life here, nor was there a sense of death. All she saw here was an empty desert of concrete and coldness, and the trunks of desecrated trees that remained.

This is what the Horde did. This is what she used to fight for before she defected. There wasn't any room to doubt their involvement here either, the numerous tanks they left behind with their symbols sprayed across them. There was even steam rising in the air at some parts.

Just how recently was this part of the forest destroyed?

"What... was the point of all this?" She couldn't fathom the reasoning. It was a forest, it was pointless. That wasn't any reason to destroy it though!

"Ah, it's the same old story, dearie." Razz frowned as she touched the cold twisted steel of one of the tanks. "Wicked people destroy what they cannot control."

"Once, the princesses would have protected us. But these days, they... they stay in their castles, caring only for their lands and their people. Some would say it's selfish desire that drives them." Catra couldn't help lowering her ears at that comment, rubbing her shoulder with unease. "Meanwhile, the Horde creeps ever closer." Catra didn't notice as the woman looked up to her frown with a small smile. "You remind me of my dear Mara in many ways."

"I doubt that's a good thing..." Catra muttered.

"No, I mean it in the best of ways. She was strong, put on a brave face for everyone, always threw herself at whatever challenges came before her." Catra could understand that much, she guessed. Especially with throwing herself into danger, whether or not intentional. She looked back as the woman held her hand. "But she could never face herself. No matter how much pain she was in, or how happy she seemed, she was always frightened of how the world saw her."

Catra grimaced at this, pulling her hand from Razz's grip as she walked away. "We're nothing alike. You don't know anything about me, you old hag."

"I know you fear being abandoned." That one single statement made Catra freeze in her tracks. "You talk very loudly in your sleep. Just like Mara used to do." What was with this lady? Everything she said for the last several minutes felt like it had actual purpose to it, and at the same time it felt like she was just putting on one big joke. The way she  _thought_  she got into Catra's head, the way she compared her and this Mara character with a smile on her face.

What was she trying to do?

"I'm not afraid of being abandoned, lady!" Catra declared crossing her arms. "Matter of fact, I prefer being alone, I actually hate being with people! They're lazy, they're annoying, and they're never dependable! I don't need anyone but myself." The woman seemed to pay her little mind as she removed her glasses, wiping off the lens for a better look.

"Then what are you afraid of? And why are you still with me if you prefer being alone?" The old lady looked around some more as she put her glasses back on. "Do you even know the answer yourself? Are you going to think of an answer I can't question or are you just going to say the first solution that comes to your mind, like always?"

"I..."

"You know what I think? I think you're too scared to embrace what you are because you don't know what will happen next." As she said this, she dug her hand into the ground, pulling out a pocket's worth of ash that filtered through her opened fingers. "You throw yourself at any obstacle that blocks your path without hesitation so you don't have to think about what happens after. Some would definitely call it brave my child, and sometimes a situation calls for it, but others would call it foolish. The very same foolishness that brought you here today, no?" Opening her hand again Razz revealed, what Catra at first assumed would've been empty air, a small acorn from one of the burnt husks of tinder.

In all honesty, Catra could see some truth to the crazy lady's words. This entire adventure began because of one bad fall from a skiff just because Catra wanted to have some fun. From there, she's made reckless decision after reckless decision, throwing herself at nearly every problem she came across and everything that got in the way of her grand schemes. She doesn't regret saving a little girl, but almost everything else that had gone wrong today was because she rushed into every first solution she came across, making her ordeal through the last several hours more challenging with every passing minute.

It was her own fault that she was here to begin with.

If she had just taken the time to tell Glimmer or Bow she needed a while to master using the sword, she might've gotten that done by now. If she didn't decide hitting the sword against a boulder could shake it into working, the horse wouldn't have transformed and started a wild goose chase. And if she didn't attempt to leap at the horse in mid-air, she probably wouldn't have lost her stupid pink robe and reveal herself as a member of the Horde in the middle of a Rebellion training camp!

Everything that happened today was the result of pure recklessness. And she had no one to blame but herself.

It did leave her with one nagging question.

"What exactly am I supposed to embrace though" Catra asked as Madame Razz planted the small acorn within the soil. "You said I should embrace what I am but what is that? Should I try to become She-Ra and stick with the Rebellion? Should I go back to the Horde and beg for forgiveness with the sword? Or do I just chance it and go back to meet the Queen without the She-Ra?"

"Why does Madame Razz have to answer all questions? Why don't you answer my questions, like you don't come to visit me more often!" While it did bring a sigh to Catra's lips, she did understand her point.

Probably.

She had to find the answer for herself. She wasn't going to get the answer just by asking a whole bunch of questions to someone she's never met before.

_***Neeeeiiigh!*** _

Both Madame Razz and Catra were caught by surprise by the sudden shriek of a certain animal, one crying out in pain and fear. Now matter how hard Catra didn't want to believe it, her heightened sense of hearing wouldn't allow her to ignore the familiar cry of a certain horse.

"You've got to be kidding me..."

...

**_*Neeigh!*_ **

Despite the improbable odds of the events leading to today, everything happened as if it was destined to. Down below the cliff before the two, Catra and Madame Razz bore witness as the mystically-transformed horse was crying out in terror, struggling against it's hunters as half a dozen Horde soldiers were attempting to apprehend the creature with hardened whips. No matter how hard the soldiers attempt to pull at it however, the horse continued to put up a resilient fight, pulling back with all its might and throwing several attackers to the ground often on.

As for the Horde themselves, they seemed to be well-armed too.

They had several tanks within the canyon as well as a small base of operations within the center of this great field. If there appearance wasn't enough proof of who they were, the large flag displaying the Horde symbol did. There was little doubt that Catra was staring at one of the numerous Horde Outposts around Etheria. Judging by the one hulking hairy behemoth watching the soldiers doing the hard work, she was confident that he was the one calling the shots here, and most likely responsible for the destruction of the surrounding forest.

"That stupid horse made it here of all places?" Catra commented still in disbelief.

"It must've been frightened quite badly by something to want to flee all the way out here." Madame Razz remarked in a slightly knowing tone. The look of Catra's face along with her shifting her eyes away confirmed what she already knew. "Thankfully it seems we have the opportunity of surprise here to catch them off guard. The question is, what are you going to do now?"

"Pffft, what do you think?" Wasn't it obvious to everyone? Catra grinned looking at her sword. "I'll just try to go She-Ra and then..." As she stared at her reflection again, memories of the past mistakes began to resurface to her. She wasn't aware of it as Madame Razz grew a slight smile at her silence, already telling what was going through her mind. No matter how badly she wanted to fix the entire situation, no matter how much she hated the Horde's guts, she couldn't be reckless again. It got her into enough trouble as it was, and this time something depended on her to save it.

"...No... No, I can't do that." Catra shook her head before planting the sword firmly in the ground. "If I did that and failed, I'd just get angry over it and do something stupid."

"Really now? Then what would you do instead?" For once taking the advice of someone else, Catra crossed her arms as she observed the situation.

"Well... they seem pretty intent on burning down the woods around here, and given the amount of destruction they must've been here for quite awhile." While she didn't know it right away, Catra rubbed her chin as a line of thinking began to build up. "So if they were here long enough then they probably haven't been back to the Fright Zone for several days or even weeks. Which means... they probably don't know that I've defected yet!"

It was weird. Very weird. Compared to the previous times she came up with a plan, she actually felt a sense of calmness coming from the situation here. So much so that she knew if that planned already backfired, she could easily jump in to fight them head-on instead. It was rather relaxing to say the least.

"Taking time to plan things out help clears the mind and the heart, dearie." It was as if Madame Razz was feeling the peace coming off of Catra. "Just remember a little recklessness never hurts either."

Nodding to this, Catra quickly made her way down the cliffside, taking care not to be seen on the way down, and hid behind one of the various tanks. Looking over the side again, she turned her focus to the large behemoth running the operations here. If she convinced someone as scary-looking as him to let it go, nobody else would question it. Taking a deep breath to relax herself, she began walking towards the crowd, heads turning in her direction one by one until the large man himself saw her.

"Halt!" One of the guards ordered. His thoughts of drawing his weapon drained away as he noticed the outfit she was wearing, recognizing it as a fellow member of the Horde.

"Hmm?" The leader watched as she made her way directly towards him. "What is someone like you doing out in these parts?"

"I'm on private orders from Lord Hordak himself." Catra lied with as much authenticity as she could muster. One wrong move could result in a blaster firing into her back. "He wants you weasels to return to the Fright Zone on the double. There's been some commotion about a riot or some crap going on."

"A riot? Ha! Don't make me laugh!" He mocked. "No one would be stupid enough to start a riot against Lord Hordak himself!"

"Then what else would I be doing here, idiot?" Catra asked raising her brow. The leader took a few moments to look back to the other soldiers, each of them giving curious and confused looks to each other, then pulled out one of his tracker pads. Already seeing a possible hindrance to her plan, Catra quickly slapped the pad out of his grip, scratching him a little. "What part of  _private orders_  did you not understand, stupid? It's not going to be in those useless piles of junk!"

"..." His unnerving gaze made Catra's heart race with every beat. While most people would've been intimidated by her tone and voice, here she was facing someone who was almost as intimidating as she was just by his mere appearance alone. It took all her composure just to keep any part of her from shaking, even her tail. "How do I know you're even telling the truth here? Maybe you're a spy instead!"

That one announcement actually made things a little easier on her. "Oh, right, I'm a spy. I just happened to find your random outpost in the middle of nowhere completely by chance while wandering through the wasteland." She joked. With the taunt of her expression, she crossed her arms once again as she started to walk away. "You know what? This is just a complete waste of time. I'm sure Lord Hordak will be happy to hear how you disobeyed his direct orders when you get back. You know how  _understanding_  he can be..."

"...W-Wait!" The leader shouted almost begfully. He paused for a few seconds in deep thought. "S-Solders, pack up your belongings and prepare to leave. We're taking off in half an hour. If you're not ready by then, you're walking home!"

"B-B-But sir, what about the-" The soldier didn't even get time to finish his sentence. With all the soldiers distracted and their grips loosened, none of them had time to react as the horse shook off it's restraints and flew away. Catra watched as it disappeared into the sky with an inner smile.

The plan had actually worked!

"Forget the stupid horse! If Lord Hordak wants us to return to HQ, then we're going to return to HQ!"

"B-But sir, we we're ordered to- gak!" The soldier began suffocating as the man raised him off the ground by his throat with a single hand.

"Are you going to question Lord Hordak's orders, runt?!"

The soldier struggled to get a word out, much less breath as his legs flailed around. Uk..ack..n-no...erk...s-sir..." Satisfied with his answer, the leader dropped the man to the ground.

The soldier never felt so lucky to be alive. Looking back to the soldier who provided all this information, the leader called out. "Do you need a ride back to base too?"

"Nah, I already got my own ride." She replied as she began walking away. "If I don't get it returned to the Fright Zone myself, Hordak's going to have my tail. You know how he hates wasting resources."

"Of course, I under..." The leader blinked to himself as something occurred to him. "Wait a minute, what did you say your name was, again?"

"It's Catra, moron. Get it through your thick skull." She said with a smug. She was unaware as the leader went over to the information device again, slowly scrolling through several details as if searching for something. "Anyway, I'll see you lemmings back at base. I got one more job to take care of befo-"

_"Swiff-Swiff-Swiff*_

"Ack-nnnngh!"

There wasn't even time to react. In less than three seconds she felt the hard steel-like leather of several ropes wrapped around her neck and both her arms, dropping her to her knees. There was an incredibly strong grip against her joints, preventing her from being able to pull or twist her way out of the strong bindings. The one around her neck tightened with every breath of air she tried to inhale, feeling the noose-like rope slowly close in on her neck, It took all of her energy alone to keep one of her feet planted firmly on the ground, preventing her attackers from pulling her closer.

Turning back, she silently hissed as she grinded her teeth, seeing the smirk plastered on the behemoth-like man. In his one massive hand, he was holding all three of the whips that were currently binding her. There was no way she was going to overpower him in this state, the continual decline of her air making it more difficult to think of a way out.

"Ah, I thought I recognized you from somewhere." The man said standing behind her. In his hands he showed the device displaying a large pool of information about Catra herself. While she couldn't make out the smaller words, the one that did worry her the most was the large red print under her image that displayed, 'WANTED'. "Catra, newly promoted Senior Cadet. Wanted for treason and aiding the Princesses against the Horde."

"H-Ho-How?" She struggled to ask. This didn't make any sense! There was no way that information could've been displayed so quickly in the short time of her defection! At this, her eyes widened as she felt the man's massive foot press against her back. It slowly pushed her towards the ground while the whips tightened around her, especially the one now squeezing against her windpipe. If suffocation didn't kill her at this rate, she would've found herself breaking her neck against the man's tightening rope.

"I know, right? It's hilarious!" He bellowed with laughter. "I've never seen someone pushed so hard on the Horde's wanted list in the matter of time you did! You must have someone who really hates you because they're offering a  **HUGE** bounty on your head!"

"H-Ha-Ha..." She couldn't finish the word, finding her breath dwindling. It truly didn't make sense to her at first. It's been twelve hours since she left the Fright Zone, half that time before she defected, and half of even that time before anyone could've made the announcement of her defection and bounty. That meant someone had to hate her enough to put her bounty on within a mere three hours! And like the fading consciousness, it slowly dawned on her who that someone could be. "Sh-Shadow...W-Weav...Urk!" She gasped in pain as he man applied more pressure to her back.

"Ah, Shadow-Weaver, that makes sense." No one was unaware of Shadow-Weaver's disdain for the girl, no matter how high or low they were in the Horde. "You must've done something to really make her mad. I don't know what you did, but man oh man is she going to make the reward worth my while." He grinned turning back to his fellow soldiers. "You hear that, boys? We're gonna be set for life!"

"Wooooo!" Catra couldn't drown out the various cheers and applause from the other soldiers and she didn't care. Too many lights were beginning to go off in her mind, slowly reaching the one that kept her conscious.

"And you know what the best part is?" He asked lowering his head closer to hers. "She's offering double the reward money depending on how we bring you back to her! And guess which one that is?"

There was no way she wanted Catra brought back alive.

"So why don't you stop struggling and it'll make the end much less painful, freak!" Uh-oh.

There it was. The one simple word that made Catra's eyes shoot open. Time after time, day after day, she's heard it uttered from nearly everyone she ever came across. Not one person within the Horde, save for Adora, has ever called her anything else. It was never weirdo, it was never creep, it was never stranger. It was one single, solitary, word.

And it was the last time she was going to put up with it.

"I... am... not... a... FREAK!" With one mighty roar, using all her strength to support her right foot, she quickly spun herself as far as she could as she scratched at the leader's face with the claws of her other foot. The fool had made a mistake of putting his face so close to the tiger's cage, and now he found himself with several mighty scratches that would never fade.

"Ahhhhh!" He cried out, releasing the ropes and covering his face. Catra immediately pried the ropes from herself, gagging a little as the air returned to her. "My eyes! My eyes!" By the appearance of it, she didn't cut deep enough to blind the man, noticing the distinct lack of blood, but it didn't matter. This distraction was all she needed to deliver a powerful uppercut to the unsteady man, dropping him straight to the floor as he continued to spasm.

That was one person down. Now she just had to contend with the surrounding soldiers.

None of the soldiers wasted times drawing their weapons, several of them drawing their stun batons while the other few attempted to use their whips. Already having learned from her previous mistake, Catra grabbed onto the incoming whips with one arm, quickly pulling it and using the soldiers on the other end of them as weapons as she flung them into the other incoming soldiers that tried to rush her. She still had to duck out of the way of another baton that tried to strike her, grabbing the attacker's arm as he attempted a follow-up attack, and hurdled him against one of the ironclad tanks, knocking him out cold.

As she fought, her ears picked up the sound of another tank as it was humming to life. She barely escaped the incoming blast with her tail still between her legs, ducking in cover behind another tank as her previous spot was vaporized in a single explosion. Gritting her teeth, she quickly rushed the tank as it charged, taking careful measure to duck side to side as the cannon prepared another shot. Right before it went off, Catra leapt into the air, avoiding the attack in time and landing squarely in front of the soldier who trembled at the sight of her.

"Get out." She didn't give him any time to respond as she tossed him out of the driver seat itself, quickly hopping into the seat as she took control of the tank.

She wasn't going to bother using it on the lemmings around her, she could take them. Her only two targets were the other tanks positioned around the base. She wasted no time firing upon each of them just before any of the other soldiers could board them. The few moments she had of reprieve were quickly interrupted as the entire tank began to shake violently. Wasting no times asking questions, she quickly leapt away just as the tank was lifted onto it's side. As she slid against the dusty ground, she gritted her teeth at the sight of the large man again, back on his feet and enraged.

"You're gonna pay for my face you stupid brat!" He roared. She grinned a little at the sight of the four claw-marked scars she left over his face. It didn't bleed surprisingly enough, but there was a definite bright red scar now over his face and his intact eyes.

"Trust me, it's an improvement!"

The man roared again as he charged at her, Catra doing the same as she kept low to the ground. As the man raised a mighty fist to strike Catra leapt straight around him, leaving another painful scratch through the opening he left for her, dropping him to one knee. Turning around, he immediately found his face scratched again as Catra quickly dashed around him, covering the fresh wound with his other hand and growling.

Looking around, he noticed the empty view surrounding him, save for the several unconscious guards and the wreckage of the destroyed tanks. "Come out here you stupid brat! Fight like a soldier!"

* ** _skreeek_**!*

"Ahh!" He yelped as another cut scratched him behind. Just as quickly as the attack came did he notice her vanish again, seeing a mere shadow pass by before he was alone again.

* ** _Skreek_**!*

"Gah!" He cried again, this one scratching at his right ankle he was kneeling on. "Grrrrrrr I'm done playing around kid!" He lifted the collar of his shirt a little as he began speaking into a tiny radio.

Catra had him on the run, peeking around the wreckage of one of the tanks to see him kneeling there. As long as she targeted the joints further away from the body, she could strike at him without getting close enough for him to counter. On top of that, each of the joints were weakening his stance, however small, and was bringing him down further. "Just one more strike..." Then she could fight him hand to hand.

With a short breath to herself, she sped off, aiming at him from behind again. There was no way he was going to be able to catch her even if he did realize what direction she was coming from. One more attack on the other ankle, and she could bring the behemoth of a man crashing dow-

_*swiff*_

"What the- Ahh!" It was too fast for Catra to witness. There were too many scents to notice any soldiers approaching. Just as she leapt to claim her final strike, several more whips from the arriving soldiers from the base sprung out from behind her, wrapping around her ankles tightly and halting her entire assault, and dropping her back to the ground. She barely had time to register what just happened as she felt a large hand wrap around her mouth and another one squeezing her two ankles tightly together. 'Mmmmhhh!" She let out a muffled scream.

She found herself being lifted over the head of the large man as he held her at both ends far above his head. No matter how much she tried to scratch at his hands he wouldn't loosen his grips. "Let's see if you find it funny now, freak!" With another mighty roar, Catra found herself suddenly pulled while being bent backwards as far as he could possibly pull her.

"Mmmh!" She cried out in pain as she tried everything to pry his grip from her head. The pain was unbearable as she felt herself slowly bending backwards in half and apart at the exact same time. This guy wasn't just trying to break her back, he was fully intent on ripping her in half at this rate! And there was no means to fight back at him or scratch the rest of his face as he had her too far above himself for her to reach, and there was no prying her feet away as they were still bound within the whips.

There was no way out of this.

"Say your prayers, kid-!"

**_*Neeeigh!*_ **

"Huh-"

***CLAP!***

"Ahhh!" The man didn't have any time to react as he found his face suddenly pounded with the strong firm hoofprints of the flying horse, the creature arriving with Madame Razz on it's back just as he man was about to finish off Catra. While it didn't knock him off his feet, the combined pain of the scratches now with blended in with the fresh and firm hoofprints over his eyes forced him to cry out in pain, tossing Catra harshly away with all his might, as he rubbed his face again. "Agh, stupid horse!"

**_*THUD!*_ **

"Uuuggh..." Unfortunately, Catra found herself slamming her back harshly against the side of one of the tanks. The impact along with the physical stress she previously suffered proved too much for the poor warrior, passing out as she slumped to the ground.

"Mara!" Madame Razz cried out worriedly as the horse flew over to her side. Looking around, she saw the leader of the group already rising back to his feet along with several dozen soldiers closing in on their location. With their options limited and Catra's unconscious state, she hmphed to herself as she pulled out several assorted berries and vials. "Razzle Dazzle!"

* _POOF_ *

With one large shout, she tossed the assortment of items to the ground, causing a massive explosion of glitter and dust in the surrounding area and blinding all the soldiers. By the time it all dissipated in the few seconds it lasted, all three of them, Madame Razz, the horse, and Catra, were gone...

...

...

There was a strange warmth in the air again as Catra's consciousness slowly returned. She squinted a bit as she felt the touch of the strange horse rubbing it's snout along her face, hearing it's whine of concern as she slowly opened her eyes. She was back in the Whispering Woods, and more importantly, safe.

"H-Horse...?" She mumbled. Opening her eyes slowly, she was slightly startled to find the faces of both, Madame Razz and the horse staring back right at her.

"Hello, dearie." Razz greeted.

"Ah-!" Catra jumped slightly against the large cushion, almost immediately yelping as she rubbed her sore back. "Ow..."

"Swift Wind and I have been talking while you were asleep." Razz commented.

"Swift Wind?" Catra wondered. It took the Horse's neighing get her the right idea. "Oh... so you talk to horses now..."

"He would prefer it if you called him that from now on. He thanks you for coming to his rescue."

She found herself slightly tickled as the horse nuzzled against her neck, though did her best not to show it. "Heh, yeah, well... thanks for coming back for me too..." She muttered petting his mane. She was officially and completely over her fear of the horse, which meant one very important thing to her.

Pinky couldn't torture her anymore!

"Also, he wanted me to let you know he won't eat your hair anymore as long as you don't call him stupid." She didn't know whether to look at her with surprise or more confusion. Did she really know how to talk to horses? Given everything else she's seen her do and put up with, she wouldn't put it past her. "So, how do you feel?"

"Honestly?" Catra scratched her ears a little as she came to a realization. "Nothing. I don't feel any better or worse than when I started, really. In fact, I think I prefer being reckless compared to thought out and tactical or whatever. It suits me better." She said looking at her claws. The battle with the large man was proof of that. If she had gone in head first and taken them by surprise, she was more likely to bring the large man down before he got the jump on her instead.

"Wonderful! It's good that you know yourself, Mara." She still seemed intent on calling her that.

"But I thought you wanted me to learn how to be more tactical or heroic? Wasn't that the point of all this?"

"Is that what you thought?" She did until Razz gave her a questionable look. "Dearie, dearie, you haven't learned a thing. I was never telling you how to be one way or the other. What matters is how you choose to be yourself. You can choose how you want to be and who you want to be. Never let one's judgement influence you."

Annoying. Pure and utterly annoying. This whole time, this whole trip with her, Catra thought she was going to learn some sort of "valuable life lesson" or other tacky thing from this lady, but she didn't. She didn't learn anymore than when she started this trek, and if anything, she's learned less than she already knew.

...But to be fair, she understood her point. The entire time, she was looking for answers on how she's supposed to be and what she needed to be when the reality was, there was no answer. She has to decide for herself if she wants others to see her one way or the other, and in addition, see how she sees herself.

It was strange, and didn't make sense... but for some reason, she felt more confident in how to use the sword than ever before.

"I... I think I know what to do now."

"And what would that be?"

"What I always do. Be reckless and throw myself before the Queen." To this, Razz smiled brightly with a small nod.

"If that is what you think, then embrace it."

Catra gave her a small nod in return as she shook her hand. "Thanks for the help old ha... I mean Razz." The old woman gave her a nod in turn as she watched the mysterious warrior mount the horse, giving her a short wave.

"You can come and visit anytime you'd like. You know where to find me."

"I wouldn't count on it!" Catra replied in a snarky tone. Despite what she just said, she doesn't think she would mind visiting this place once in awhile. With one final wave, Razz watched as the two flew off through the trees and into the sky. It was just now after everything she's been through that Razz returned to her home with a rather annoyed and confused look on her face.

"That was one weird dog..."

...

Catra held on as she flew through the sky with her horse. She might not have learned anything new or gained any help in using her sword, but she felt a strange sense of peace now compared to before. She found it rather cliched that the sun was now lowering like in a natural fairytale, yet rolled with it as she headed off to Bright Moon Castle. She didn't know what to expect or how she was going to be greeted, and for once she didn't care. After all, she was never one to back down from a challenge.

She just embraced the breeze blowing through her ears, hair and tail, and grew determined as she headed off to the next obstacle. She just finished a long battle against the Horde, and part of herself. Now she was going to face her greatest challenge today.

Queen Angella herself...

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

**_A/N: And as stated, another lengthy chapter. Least this one had some (hopefully) fun action in it ^^! I really don't know how long the next one will be as we're seriously cutting down to the wire. There's like 4 minutes left from this point of the show in the episode, so I'm expecting maybe 3-4k at least? Maybe more, who knows? Anyway again sorry for the choppy bits here and there. I had a long day for the longer half of all this but a fun time with the fight scene ^^ Lemme know what you guys think of those._ **

**_Anyway hope you all enjoyed, and see you in a few days! *ENJOY THE EVIL THAT IS THE CLIFFHANGER! MWAHAHAAHAHAAA!*_ **


	9. Episode 3: Razz End

_**A/N: Dear GOD am I exhausted T_T! "Why's that monokub?" Oh not much just the fact I've been up since 6 (5 hours straight) WRITING THIS X_X! (I'm too nice to you guys XP). As side note if anything is wonky in the writing now, you know why ^^** _

_**Lol, all honestly I actually enjoyed writing this verily much. The exhausting part comes in how I did all this AND still have the rest of the day i NEED to use for work. I know I said I wouldn't be posting till saturday or sunday but I was, and less be honest everyone else was XP, too excited to see the finale of this episode.** _

_**HOOFTAH!** _

_**Don't think I got much to say about this one other than the above, but I'm fairly excited about how these will turn out. And dear god this ended up being much longer than I thought it was going to be (once again, I had fun XP so 3-4k turned into 6-7k... I HAVE A SERIOUS PROBLEM X_X!). Anyway, hope you all enjoy today's episode/last part of the Madame Razz finale!** _

_**Enjoy!** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

"Come on, we're almost there, Swifty." Catra commented as she saw the castle over the horizon. Her attention lowered down to the horse's face as she heard a questionable whinny coming from him. "What? It's just a nickname. At least be happy I gave you something close to your name compared to Pinky's." The horse let out a gruff-like snort as they continued towards the castle.

There was no way to tell how this meeting with the Queen was going to go. She had yet to master her transformation into She-Ra, knew little to nothing about the sword still, and had an entire life's worth of years serving the Horde under her belt. There wasn't a single thing she had to offer the queen at this point, and at the rate it was going, she never would. The only thing she could possibly offer the queen were her own services, and that was something she wasn't planning to use except as a last resort.

What else could she offer her otherwise? Given how Swift Wind's transformation came about, maybe she could whack her sword a hundred times and give the Queen a flying air force? Even that was under the impression she could get the sword to do the exact same thing without breaking it. For all she knew she probably would end up setting the horses on fire!

But whether this ended somewhere close to good or horrendously, Catra wasn't going to back down. After the last several hours she spent with Madame Razz, the crazy old hag that saved her during her escape from a Rebellion training camp, she came to two great realizations. One, never spend over a minute with a crazy old hag or you'll waste your time! She just kept going on with a whole random assortment of things that half the time Catra wondered if she helped her at all.

However, the other lesson she obtained from her experience was something she found more useful. Up till now, Catra thought She-Ra was her only ace in the hole, the only way she could possibly meet the queen without worrying she could spend the rest of her life in a jail cell. And a part of her was still sure that would be her only salvation. She knew her personality definitely wouldn't win her any marks, unless the queen had a sense of humor, and it didn't help her case when she attacked several soldiers during her escape from the training camp. She thought changing her personality and tactics would improve her appearance, and that almost resulted in her demise a short while ago when she saved Swift Wind.

It was then that she realized there was nothing she could change. She would always be reckless, always find herself snarky, and found herself without a She-Ra to transform into. And as of now, she was perfectly fine with this. There was no need to change the way others would view her or who she was going to look like in front of everyone else. After all they were her best qualities. And if she was going to offer her service to the Rebellion to get her own Kingdom, she wasn't about to change anything either.

She just hoped it would be enough.

...

"Did you find her yet, Bow?" Glimmer asked worriedly, coming across him in the courtyard.

For the last half hour, the two had searched high and low for their new ally after she went missing from the Castle. She was their best chance at turning things around for this war, and for Glimmer, proving to her mother that she was competent. And what could be better than finding a member of the Horde who was willing to defect to the Rebellion and who could transform into the legendary She-Ra, an apparent symbol and warrior from the age of the First Ones?

The minor setback she had was Catra's sudden disappearance from the castle followed by her mother finding out about what she did. She wasn't trusting of the Horde soldier, Glimmer could understand that. What she couldn't understand was why couldn't she give Catra the benefit of the doubt and a chance? She pushed so hard in ordering the soldiers to find, capture, and bring Catra directly to her throne room. Which wouldn't be as bad since that was the plan anyway if it wasn't for the fact she had no idea what she would do if she got her hands on Catra first. Given how angry her mother was, she wouldn't be surprised if she threw Catra away in the deepest dungeon, somewhere so dark Glimmer couldn't teleport herself in or out of.

And that was the best case scenario.

Sadly, her friend gave her a silent frown as he shook his head. "I haven't seen her anywhere. I even checked the surrounding forest on all sides and I found nothing."

"Mmh where is she?" Glimmer fretted. Was she actually a spy all along? Did she come all the way to Bright Moon Castle just to find their location or discover something to report back to the Horde? "Did she say anything to suggest where she might've gone when we last saw her?"

"I don't think so. She just said she needed a few minutes and space to practice transforming-"

"And that's probably what drove her to run into the training camp." Glimmer said finishing his sentence. "There has to be somewhere she would go. Maybe she's still hiding somewhere until the coast is clear?"

"Well how long will that take?" Bow questioned. "She could hide in one spot anywhere between a few minutes to a day or two if she needed it. And I'm pretty sure she'd need it given all the soldiers looking for her."

"What about when you two were going through the back way this morning? Did you tell her of any other secret spots or entrances."

"I wished I did at this point. At least then it would narrow down our searches."

This was bad. Beyond bad. Every minute they spent wondering where she was and searching for her, there was another minute minute increasing the chance the guards would find her. Glimmer could never forgive herself anymore if she ended up getting her new friend captured or worse all because of her selfish desire to make her mother proud.

"Huh?"

"What?" The princess looked back to him as he looked towards the sky.

"What kind of bird is that?"

"A bird?" She looked over in the direction he was facing as she tried to see what he was staring at.

What was that thing? With the sun lowered further it was hard to get a good look at the strange being without the sun blinding them. It looked like some sort of bizarre animal human hybrid as she saw some human-like shape over whatever was flapping their wings. The creature was getting closer to the group as they examined the strange creature. It almost looked like someone was riding atop the beast as it neared them. It was hard to tell, but if Glimmer didn't know any better, she was almost sure she saw-

"Catra?" She spoke out. It was then as she flew out of the sun's rays that the two finally caught a glimpse of their new ally, bringing untold joy and relief to the two as she flew over them, a determined look on her face and the sword of the First Ones firmly in her left hand. "Catra!" She was here! She was okay! It didn't matter to either of them that she was flying what seemed to be some horse creature with rainbow wings. They were just glad their dear friend was all right!

"Hey, Catra!" Bow shouted excitedly as he waved his arms. The rider didn't seem to notice the two as she flew fifty feet over them, maintaining her composure as continued on her way.

"Hey! Catra!" Her happiness changed to confusion as she continued right past them, feeling invisible and neglected compared to whatever else had her attention.

"Where is she going?"

"I don't know. She's just heading towards the... castle..." Both their eyes shot out with panic and worry at the realization, panic filling their minds and hearts respectively. "Oh no... Mom!" Glimmer screamed, running as fast as she could back towards the castle with Bow trailing behind her in a hurry. There wasn't any fear over what would happen to her mom. Quite the opposite, she was worried what her mother would do to Catra once she got there.

...

"We haven't found any trace of her, your majesty." One of the royal guards announced as the Queen stood from her throne.

"Well keep looking, she couldn't have gotten far!" She ordered. There was no telling what a Horde spy could do if they infiltrated their castle. They might've stolen schematics or documents pertaining to their plans, they might've sabotaged whatever experiments or supplies they had on hand. The only thing she knew she didn't mess with was the Runestone, the great majestic gem that presided over Bright Moon that could be seen through the massive archway of the Throne Room.

What made the situation worse for her was the fact her daughter was involved in all of this. Her daughter, Princess of Bright Moon, brought a member of the Horde to the Rebellion without a second thought! Fear and worry was going through her mind endlessly because of this. Her actions could be considered treasonous if word got out about her involvement, and there was only so much Queen Angella herself could do to protect her daughter depending on how much the Horde ruined.

She would gladly take her daughter's place in whatever punishment deemed necessary to maintain the faith and order of her subjects and people, but she hoped it wouldn't come to that.

"I want everywhere checked thoroughly." She continued. "Check the yards, check the forest, check any of the nearby towns. I don't want anyone to stop until this Horde is fou-"

*-ap-flaP **-FLAP-** *

"Huh?"

* _WHOOSH_ *

The queen braced herself against her wings as she felt the massive gust of wind brush right past her, the dozen guards maintaining their stance and composure as they drew their weapons at the sight of the recent intruder. Unfurling her wings from her person, the Queen's eyes widened at what she saw. Several of the random townspeople were mumbling among themselves, dukes and duchesses alike, at the sight of the unbelievable display.

There, in the center of the room, was a great majestic creature, one who's wings flapped steadily until it lowered itself safely to the ground. On top of the strange creature was the last person she expected to see come to her directly, the last person anyone would expect to come directly to the queen save for a trained or skilled assassin. It was a Horde soldier, dawn in a blood-red vest and an intimidating helmet befitting any member of the Horde. The cat-like qualities were the least concerning part about her, excluding the claws, but what she saw her carrying proved the most troubling.

A massive sword, one befitting any strong warrior. And she carried it all the way into the Throne Room where the Queen herself was located.

"Guards!" The Queen shouted, wasting no time. There was little doubt that this was the very same Horde Glimmer and Bow mentioned, and she was foolish enough to come to the Queen herself.

"W-Wait." Catra called out, lowering herself off the horse. She looked around the room noticing the constant stares of worry, fear, and confusion of the civilians, as well as the angered, protective, expressions of the guards who drew their spears. Sighing to herself, Catra lowered her weapon and her ears a little, ready to resign herself to whatever craziness she was about to go through. "My name is Catra, mam. I didn't come here to cause trouble, I've come to help."

"Guards." The Queen called out again. The guards stood their ground as ordered, though their weapons were still drawn. "I am Queen Angella of Bright Moon, leader of the Rebellion. What business do you have here, Horde?"

"Well, that's kind of the thing." She took a deep breath as she prepared her explanation. "I want to join the Rebellion in their fight against the Horde. I... Don't exactly have a lot of background information for you, but uhh... I got a sword of the First Ones, if that counts for something." Numerous whispers and comments were drowned out by Catra, the girl keeping her focus solely on the Queen.

There was something slightly amusing from a Horde that flew in on a rainbow-winged unicorn that came to make an audience with the Queen. And very foolish. "I heard about a Horde my daughter brought with her to Bright Moon. Am I to assume you are the one she was referring to?"

"Tch, no, that's a completely different Horde she mentioned. I just bumped into him and stole his sword on the way here." She joked. The fact her demeanor or facial expression didn't change at all sent a slight shiver down Catra's spine. If anything, she actually looked a little angrier at Catra's amusement.

So much for a sense of humor.

"I mean yes, lady- err your highness." She corrected herself appropriately. The Queen already seemed to be without a sense of humor, and like with Shadow-Weaver, Catra knew when and when not to push her luck.

"She also mentioned this soldier could transform herself into the legendary She-Ra from ancient times. I take it that's also you?" Like previously, this comment was met with several murmurings from the surrounding viewers. And a twinge of worry from Catra as her heart sped up a little.

"Err... Yeah, I mean...Well I kinda can... I did it once... A-And I saved your daughter and her friend when I did!"

"I question that." The Queen wasted no time getting to the point. "For all we know, you really are a spy or possibly another member of the Horde that tracked the real defector all the way here." The way the Queen managed to announce all of this firmly and without hesitation scared Catra a little. She was direct, firm, and blunt about everything she needed and wanted to know. "If you truly are who you claim to be, then show us. Transform into the mighty She-Ra before all of us."

This was it. Do or die, and hopefully not literally. She raised her sword to her face as she stared at her reflection blinking back to her. She could see the nervousness in her reflection that she could feel in her eyes, the small twitch of her ears as her heart began to race faster by the second. This was what it all came down to.

On the Queen's end of things, she needed to see this. She had very little doubt that this was the self-proclaimed defector that Glimmer mentioned, but it wasn't enough to convince her mother. She-Ra was a symbol of both power and hope in the ages past, and only those with a noble heart could draw upon the sword's power. Catra's transformation would be the ultimate key to determining which side she was on, and it would prove that Catra truly wished to aid the Rebellion and wasn't just spouting lies.

Even if she was just doing it for the opportunity to obtain her very own kingdom.

Thus, the room went silent as everyone watched the soldier raise her sword to the sky.

"For the Honor of Grayskull!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

 _No..._  Catra tensed a little as she held the sword.  _You can't be serious._

She couldn't believe it. She just could not believe. After all she's been through, all the pain she went through emotionally and physically, all the annoying things she had to put up with through her time and the hardships in her life, and she still couldn't catch a break. There was nothing emanating from the sword. No light, no She-Ra, not even a single spark.

What was she missing? She thought she gained some semblance of peace, some means of transforming into She-Ra. Something even told her she could transform into She-Ra if she tried hard enough. Here she was standing in the middle of a Throne Room in the middle of several dozen people, a dozen highly trained guards, and an angry Queen staring her down.

How could it get any harder than that?!

The murmurings became silent as Queen herself looked unsurprised. "Typical." She scoffed a little. "A Horde soldier could never truly change no matter what they say. Your actions and words may have fooled my daughter, but they will not fool me."

"Wait, y-your majesty! Just give me a chance to-" The panic in her voice was obvious, whether to the failure of her transformation or what will befall her remained unknown.

"Enough!" The Queen barked. "You've made a mockery of this castle and to the First Ones themselves. Guards, take her away." As ordered, the guards all along the edges of the room slowly drew closer to Catra with every step. Swift Wind himself snorted angrily as he tapped his foot across the ground like an angry bull, ready to protect his savior with his life if the guards got close enough.

As for Catra herself, she was drawing a total blank. What was she to do now? She was wanted by the Horde, and the Rebellion hated her guts. Even if she ran away she would never be welcomed by anyone ever again! The other princess' kingdoms wouldn't welcome a member of the Horde, regardless of their affiliation to the Rebellion, and even if they did she had no desire to stay in one spot for the rest of her life. She felt like an alien on a completely foreign planet, one who was an outcast to everything around her!

There was nothing that could save her here. No hope. No She-Ra. Nothing.

_*CREEEEAK*_

"Mother, stop!" All eyes turned towards the door as it let out a loud creak, followed by Glimmer's sudden appearance. The Queen herself rose from her Throne at the surprise.

"Glimmer?" By the time Catra could so much as blink, Glimmer already teleported in a flash of purple light, just as Bow ran through the door, to her mother's side.

"Mom, please, don't do this!" She pleaded grabbing both her hands.

"Glimmer, we'll discuss this later, but for right now-"

"No! Not later, mom!" Glimmer shouted again, shaking her head. "I know you're just trying to protect me but you don't have to anymore!"

"And why's that?" Angella asked with genuine curiosity.

"Because I trust her now! One-Hundred percent! Just like you told me I needed!" The Queen found herself taken back by this remark at the same time as Catra did, sharing her surprise and disbelief with the Queen.

"She... trusts me?" Catra muttered to herself.

"Of course she does, why wouldn't she?" Bow remarked, standing at her side. "Your majesty, you have to at least give her a chance. Even if she can't transform into She-Ra she can still be a valuable ally to the Rebellion!"

"Glimmer, Bow, I understand your reasoning, but you can't just let a single action persuade your views." The Queen stated. "If she can't even be true to herself, then what chance is there that she could be true to the Rebellion?"

"True to... myself?" As the mother continued to talk, Catra found herself echoing the last words she spoke. Her entire being shifted to her past encounter with Madame Razz, remembering the exact words she mentioned.

_"But she could never face herself. No matter how much pain she was in, or how happy she seemed, she was always frightened of how the world saw her."_

_"I know you fear being abandoned."_

_"You know what I think? I think you're too scared to embrace what you are because you don't know what will happen next."_

When she came back to reality, she found herself staring into the sword again, meeting the same solemn, saddening, look that always stared back at her.

 _I... I'm...afraid._  She finally admitted to herself.  _I'm afraid of what I'm getting into..._ She looked off to the side as she saw Bow shouting _. I'm afraid I'm going to mess something up..._  Everything around her was muted she was so deep into thought. All she knew was that these two were fighting for her.  _I'm afraid of letting them down... And... And I'm... I'm afraid they'll leave me once I disappoint them..._

It was weird. Too weird. These saddening thoughts weren't affecting her the same way they should've been. As opposed to feelings of remorse, or just flat-out sadness, she felt differently. She felt her heart beat with a strange sense of courage, for the first time in awhile, as she spoke to herself. It felt strange. It was cold but comforting. Hot yet soothing. She felt a strange sense of strength and relief for the first time that she's never felt in ages.

 _But I'm not afraid to keep pushing!_  And it was then that a single pang echoed through her chest, calling out to her to raise her sword as the others continued to shout.

" _ **FOR THE HONOR OF GRAYSKUUUULL!**_ "

Then, it happened.

All went silent before her as Catra was engulfed in a brilliant pillar of light, Bow backing away as well as the horse as the light enveloped her.

_All around her lights of a dazzling displayed danced across the scenery as her entire body shimmered with a sparkling glow, save for her eyes that remained pure light. With the humming of her sword, she brought sword to her face along with her illuminated hand, crossing them side by side until they formed an X in front of her._

_With a silent breath, she began pulling the sword and claw against each other on opposite ends, scraping her claws against the mighty blade which danced with a sparkling light. As she did, little by little her outfit changed into a majestic white color, growing little by little along her body as she pulled the blade away from her claw. By the time her claw reached the end of her sword, her entire outfit had finished changing, now sporting a white colored vest with a yellow light image bursting from the center of a light-blue gem, along with a white colored short skirt across her waist._

_Finally, she brought her empty hand to her face. She held it there as a golden light enveloped both her wrists, forming a beautifully golden set of bracelets. As a final piece, slowly pulling her hand away from her face as her helmet changed to a golden color, the spikes on the end growing several inches longer as they curved out against her form, just as golden pads stretched from the shoulders._

_With this, her transformation had come to an end, and She-Ra had been formed._

The room was filled with various gasps of shock and surprise, everyone staring in awe and wonder at what they had just witnessed. Here she was, a former-Horde soldier named Catra, who had just transformed into the mighty She-Ra in numerous details. Her outfit had changed, her stance seemed more determined, and a faint golden glow shined from the soldier. She was no longer a member of the Horde from the views of the citizens, nor a monster to the eyes of the guards that the Queen ordered them to capture.

She was a Symbol of the Rebellion.

It was then that Catra finally snapped back to reality herself, eyes widening as she looked around her being. She couldn't believe it. She could seriously not believe it! Was it a dream? Was she hallucinating? Was this just some stupid vision the sword constantly annoyed her with? She pinched herself just to make sure nothing around her was fake, the joy coming off her so grand that she couldn't even form a smile.

"Hey, you did it!" Bow cheered with excitement.

"I... I did it?" Words could not describe what she was feeling at this moment. Phenomenal? Sensational? She could not tell for the life of her what she was supposed to be feeling. All she knew was that the sword had FINALLY worked after all this time.

"You did it!" Glimmer shouted over.

Queen Angella herself was struck with disbelief. Glimmer was right. Bow was honest. Neither of them lied to her or mislead her. Here she was, the form of She-Ra displayed right in front of her very eyes. It didn't matter if her whole appearance didn't resemble the She-Ra she knew about, noticing a distinct lack of height and the lack of a flowing red cape, but everything else was word for word. There was no way anyone could fake the form of She-Ra in this world, and even if they did, the mesmeric light would never shine over someone so evil.

Everything they said was true. Catra was here to help.

"Guards, clear the room." She continued before Glimmer could voice a possible complaint. "I wish to speak to this... She-ra, alone."

* _tug_ *

She looked down as she found her daughter's arms wrapped around her waist, Glimmer pushing her chin into her with a warm smile. "Thank you mother! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" The Queen smiled in turn as she wrapped her arms around her head.

"You're welcome sweetheart." She found herself being pulled slightly closer as Glimmer whispered in her ear.

"And thanks for giving her a hint." Angella smiled all the same to this.

Her daughter was smart. Too smart for her. She was all too aware of her mother's sly remark about Catra being "true to herself". She was just thankful she acknowledged this quietly between the two to avoid possible embarrassment. It proved alone that her mother had a lot more trust in Glimmer's words than she was willing to display.

With a wink to her mom, she made her way back to Bow and Catra with a smile. "Good luck!" With a simple wave, not wishing to waste any more time so Catra could speak with her mother, Glimmer nodded over to Bow as she walked off with the rest of the civilians.

"Good job, Catra." Bow congratulated again, patting her on the back before following behind Glimmer.

By the time the room was emptied, all that remained were Queen Angella, Catra/She-Ra, and several of her close personal guards. The horse also trotted off through the large doors, though it was more comfortable and certain that Catra would be fine. With one final smile to the horse, Catra turned her attention to the Queen of Bright Moon, the Queen, once again, looking unamused as she sat back in her throne. There was an awkwardness filling the air as Catra scratched her cheek. After waiting what felt like an eternity to her, Catra finally spoke

"So! Um... am I in the Rebellion now?"

"It would seem that way." The Queen confirmed.

"Phew." That was the best sigh Catra ever felt. She felt like hundreds of literal pounds were lifted off her shoulders. Then again with the sword's empowerment, she probably could lift hundreds of pounds without breaking a sweat. "Great, glad that's taken care of. So I don't know if Pinky told you yet, but-"

"Pinky?"

"Err your daughter, I mean." She restated. "Anyway, when I agreed to do all this, I also did it under the agreement that-"

"You'll get your Kingdom." Catra didn't know what surprised her more. How quickly the Queen cut her off or how emotionless she sounded when she did.

"Wh-Really?" That was easier than she thought.

"Yes. I should inform you though that the amount of land to call your own is limited, even more now thanks to the Horde's efforts. With things being the way they are, the best possible solution I can provide for you is offering you the Fright Zone, once the Horde is taken care of."

"T-T-That's great!"

Were there angels in the background? Because that sounded like paradise to Catra! Her eyes light up with stars, sparkling as brightly as her helmet-like Tiara was. She could not ask for a better case scenario, heck, she preferred it that way! What better way to get back at everyone who mocked her than ruling the land they currently stand in?! She was going to look down at everyone who mocked her and picked on her from her own special throne, surrounded only by the best of the best, and Adora, ruling at her si-

"However," the Queen continued, interrupting her fantasy, "be aware that as of now, you are a member of the Rebellion. That means you will be forced to possibly fight against old friends and comrades. Are you prepared for that?"

While it felt like a trick question, Catra gave a firm nod to this. The only one who would give her hesitation at any point was Adora herself, and what was the possibility she would run into her on a constant basis? And even then, it's not like the two would end up fighting every time they met up. For all she knew, the minute they met up again, Adora would gladly join her!

"Yes mam." She replied.

"Good," the temperature in the room felt lower as the Queen stood from her throne, "because now I want to make one thing clear." It felt like the weight of the world was slowly coming on top of Catra as the Queen walked over to her. She felt like her body was being pushed down from her sheer presence, her ears drooping further and further and her tail slowly coming to a stop as the figure loomed over her.

"I don't trust you, cat. Not even a little. The only reason you're not spending the rest of your remaining life in a stockade at this point is because my daughter trusts you. She trusts you, and that's as much trust as I'm willing to throw at you." Catra nearly jumped as she grabbed her cheeks, puckering them tightly as she lowered her head towards her. "So I will be watching you, got it? And if you do anything do anything to betray that trust, raise suspicion, cause doubt, or even disappoint her in any way," it was like staring into a black void as Catra was forced to look into her eyes, "I will make whatever nightmare you fear most look like paradise compared to what I will do to you. Are we clear!?"

"Y-Yesh mam." She muttered through her puckered lips. At this, the Queen released her grip from her as she made her way to the door, guards following behind her. Catra was still rubbing her cheeks as she made her way to the door. She didn't even find humor at the sight when she opened the door to find Bow and Glimmer falling to the ground, the duo having pressed their ears against the door to eavesdrop.

Wow. Just wow. She never thought she would see the day. She never thought it'd be possible! But here it was, right as rain and standing in front of her!

She actually found someone who scared her worse than Shadow-Weaver.

Thankfully those thoughts of horror were brought to an abrupt end as Glimmer instantly teleported over to her side, squeezing the life out of her as she threw her arms around her.

"You did it!" She cheered, unaware of the pain it was causing Catra to her sore back. She was still too rattled from the Queen's threat to consider pushing Glimmer off of her, worried of the off chance she could give her so much as a sliver of a cut by accident.

"Erk. And apparently we're hugging." She squeaked.

"Way to go!" Bow's seemingly-friendly expression of joining in on this hug as he wrapped his arms around Catra and Glimmer at the same time. This just went to worsen Catra's pain, her eyes widening at the increased and crushing hug.

"Ok, too much hugging! TOO MUCH HUGGING!" She squealed louder. Both Glimmer and Bow gave an apologetic smile as they let go of her, giving her some breathing space.

"Sorry. But you should be happy! You finally transformed!" Glimmer reminded.

"How'd you do it, anyway?" Bow wondered. There was no way she was going to go into a full sappy story of detail about everything she went through. She's had a long enough day as it was and she wasn't planning on recounting everything she just did.

"Meh, you know." She boasted, twirling the sword in her hand with pride. "Some people are just more skilled than others. That's just the burden I have to live with."

"Oh, really?" Glimmer smirked with her hands at her side. "So you weren't just worried about us or anything like that?"

"What you?" She scoffed playfully. "You were mommy's girl, Pinky. She wouldn't do anything to you. And I assume Bow since he's allowed to roam the castle."

"Oh, ha ha ha." Bow laughed in a sarcastic tone, throwing his head side to side as he did.

There was a brief moment as Catra went silent again, looking to the ground as she held the sword behind her neck in both arms. "But um..." Glimmer and Bow were curious as she continued. As much as she hated to admit it, she did owe them one. "If it's all the same... um... thanks and stuff... for having my back, I guess." Looking back to each other, the two grinned again as they turned back to Catra.

"Was that the sound of appreciation I heard, Bow?" She asked teasingly.

"Gee, if I didn't know any better, it almost sounded  _friendly_." Bow added.

"Gh!" Catra nearly choked at the comment, a small blush forming on her cheeks. "T-That doesn't make us friends, thank you!" She stammered. "It just means that you're... slightly less annoying than I thought you were gonna be!"

"Do you find us less annoying cause you consider us friends now?" He continued to tease.

"Ok now you're getting annoying again..."

"Heh, sorry." He knew better than to push his luck.

"Why don't we head to the Dining Room to celebrate?" Glimmer suggested. "We can get some cake or ice cream or something. Your call."

"What the heck is cake and ice cream?" Neither of the two knew how to respond. There was no words to describe what kind of horrible life style one would have to live without knowing of the existence of the two greatest foods across the Universe!

"Oh man, you are missing OUT!" Bow shouted enthusiastically, leading the two to the door.

"Just you wait, you won't believe how good it is!" Glimmer already slurped her lips at the mere thought of food.

As much as she hated to admit it, Catra found this to be... nice. Not just this but everything that's happened.

She found a cause that seemed more like they wanted her than just accepted her, she found the means to make her biggest dream come true, she finally, after the most painfully obnoxious day of her life, transformed into She-Ra, and despite what a bad taste it left in her mouth and her mind to think it... she actually made something close to friends. She still found their strange quirks rather annoying but they were... tolerable to her, to say the least. And best of all, everything came together in the end! No matter how reckless she got, how temperamental she was, she managed to pull through in the end and everything worked out! It was definitely a stressful gamble, to say the least, but one that proved things could work out as long as she pushed hard enough!

There was just one thing on her mind now after all of this.

"Um... guys?" She called for their attention. She gestured to her entire self as she spoke. "How do I turn this off?"

...

...

"Ghhhhhh!"

* ** _SPLASH_** *

Shadow-Weaver grumbled as she splashed the image in the water before her.

Unbeknownst to the three almost-friends, their little meeting wasn't being held privately. Not just the get together they were having now, the entire scene between Catra and the Queen herself since the two met.

Despite every precaution she took, every assertive approach she had, and every counter-measure she insisted upon, somehow, some way, Catra still managed to get the sword, unlock She-Ra's power, and joined the Rebellion. She thought the Queen herself would've taken care of the job for her of disposing of Catra in whatever way, yet she proved too soft-hearted in the end too. It didn't matter to her how much she managed to unlock from the sword, what worried her was the fact she managed to do it at all in the first place!

"That stupid fleabag is being a thorn in my side." She hissed to herself as her hair flailed angrily. At the very least, it  _was_  Catra who found the sword. Manipulating her emotions would prove far easier in the end. She was nothing but a useless little kitten pretending to play hero. Besides, at least she still had-

* _Shoom_ *

"Adora?" The sound of the mechanical doors opening drew her attention. There she was, her pride and joy, walking into the room with a look of unease on her face. She knew she wasn't here to deliver news that would disappoint her, the look on her face with her head lowered and as she twiddled her thumbs assuring her any news she had was good news.

Good for her, at least.

"So," she began to speak slightly nervous, "I... I took a look at everything, and..."

"Yes, dear?" Shadow-Weaver dissipated the image in the water entirely before hovering over to her. There was so much in Adora's expression that she was drawing comfort in. The nervous look, the tense There wasn't anything wrong with it. "Everything checked out, word for word. The weapons were found and confiscated from Thaymor. Even development and research notes were found apparently." It was still too painful to imagine the numerous towns the princesses force them to attack just to defend themselves. "Shadow-Weaver, I'm... I'm sorry I-"

"No, no, don't trouble yourself, my sweet Adora." She shushed gently as she tried to embrace her in a hug. "I know it's a painful reality, but you'll come to understand why we have to-"

"No!" Adora quickly yelled as she pulled back. "I don't care what the mission is, we shouldn't be attacking innocent towns and civilians, it's not worth the lives we take!" Shadow-Weaver was taken aback by this, maintaining her composure.

"But Adora, don't you understand? It's necessary to defeat the princesses. To bring unity and balance to Etheria, you know that's always been our goal."

"But we can't keep attacking people who are just trying to live their lives! There has to be a better way than this Shadow-Weaver, please!" Adora cried out as she embraced Shadow-Weaver in a hug this time. Shadow-Weaver watched as she cried silently into her stomach, the witch still hovering high enough that she was forced to. While she still remained silent at it, she could tell there were tears coming from Adora's face, the sniffling slipping out of the young girl's cry here and there. This is what she loved about her dear Adora. She was filled with such an innocent spark.

It just made breaking that spark so much more fun.

"Oh, my sweet, sweet, Adora." She soothed, wiping her face a little as she took Adora's face into her hands. "You've had such an exhausting day, filled with so much sorrow, so much betrayal." As if Adora needed that little reminder. She still lost the only friend she's ever known and she doesn't even know why. "I'll tell you what, dear. I'll find you the proof you need to show you that sacrifice is necessary. Until then, I'll withhold all missions and deployment, so you won't have to worry about the people out there."

Adora sniffled again as she wiped the tears in her own sleeve. "Y-You promise?"

"Of course, Adora." If it wasn't for the traumatic day Adora's had and the numerous lies she's been thrown at since this day began, she would've been far more suspicious of Shadow-Weaver's possible lie. But after everything she's been through, she resigned herself to the words of someone close.

"Thank you Shadow-Weaver." She thanked with another quick hug. She coughed a little to clear her throat, standing at attention as a good soldier should with her hands to her side. "I-In that case, I think I should return to my quarters to rest a bit. I've had a long day."

"Take as much time as you need, sweetie. You've definitely earned it." With a nod, Adora gave a firm salute before she headed for the door. "Oh, and Adora?" She called out again, stopping the young girl. "I've spoken to Lord Hordak about your first mission. Despite the call off, he wanted me to let you know he's very proud and impressed with your results." The teen said nothing to this, just a small smile and a nod as she left.

With the room empty again, Shadow-Weaver made her way over to her ultimate possession, the Black Garnet, the very thing that empowered her. It was magnificent, radiant, and beautiful, just like her little Adora.

It's funny when she thought about how smugglers are paid to bring things out of a city, yet the one she hired was paid to bring stuff in. She has to admit, she was surprised he even managed to bring around weapon and shield documents to the city too. It made her lie that much more convincing. It's too bad she had to  _remove_  said individual when it came time to pay for his services, otherwise she would've gladly enlisted him again.

Nothing was going to stop her from bringing about Adora's rise to greatness. She was willing to destroy anything she found unnecessary.

And right now, she found a troubling cat very  ** _unnecessary..._**

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

**_A/N: And we come to the end of episode 3 ^^...and it only took us 10 or so chapters...dear god this is going to be a long fanfic XP. Ah, honestly everything after this will be a bit more towards the series. It'll be a good while before we get to another episode that differs so much like this one did with the scenes (like the scene above here? this was just from like 2 minutes of the show and then some)._ **

**_And again, had fun with this. I especially liked writing out Catra's transformation scene, which you should get used to as I will be showing it off a bit more here and there ^^_ **

**_And as previously stated, I am looking for someone to add scenes for the intro, any and all takers are welcome :D! With that said, see you guys next episode which WILL be sunday cause i got work tomorrow early and unless i get cut, it'll be till near 4 when I get back home, meaning i'll only have 3-4 hours to work before i get exhausted and sleeping for same shift following day._ **

**_Anyway, with that said, hope you all enjoyed this episode as much as I did! Leave a like, fave, and review if you enjoyed!_ **


	10. Episode 4: Flowers for She-Ra Part 1

_**A/N: Once again, a verily fun chapter to write towards the end ^^! As always, not much to say, so allow me to prove myself wrong by writing whatever crap I usually do after saying that XP.** _

_**Not much to say to the fic itself, side from how it's been awhile so might be a bit wonky in some parts i had to come back and forth to throughout the last few days, thanks to everyone for their continued support, and a huge shoutout to Nightmaster003 on Ao3 for their hard work and assistance in providing me with an awesome Intro for this series! Huge shout out of thanks to him! It was thanks to his main portion of it that i managed to get an idea for the theme, editing a few bits here and there myself. After initial editing, I say it's about 70% of his work that isn't changed, 30% I added details to.** _

_**So remember, if it's bad, it's completely his idea and I had no input in it, unless it turns out to be incredibly awesome, in which case I came up with everything despite what I just said about his involvement...** _

_**Lol, joking aside really am thankful to the guy for his help. Also, weird question, but is anyone interested if i did a bonus episode for a Christmas special? It's an episode so it would take a couple chapters but it would be a christmas special during Catra's time in Bright Moon. While i don't know about when it would specifically take place, the fun thing about non-canons is that you can write anything you want there and no one would question it related to the plot XP just for a bit of fun.** _

_**Anyway, onto the episode, and hope you all enjoy!** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

Without opening her eyes, Glimmer could already feel the nice, gentle, warmth of the morning sun touching her face. It would always make her wanna lie there for a few extra minutes as she soaked in the sun's beautiful rays. She smiled to herself as the new day greeted her.

Each and every day was pleasant to wake up to, no matter what troubles loomed over her or her friends. Everyday would start the same morning routine. First, she would feel the sun touching down on her.

 _Good morning Mr. Sun._  She'd think to herself.

* _tweet-tweet-tweet_ *

This would be followed by the sounds of the beautiful birds chirping. No matter how far they were, she would always hear their beautiful songs through the wind early morning.

_Good morning birdies._

It was such a pleasant way to wake up every day. By this time, the rest of the castle's inhabitants would find themselves waking up, starting their routine manner. The maids and servants would be sweeping the halls, the guards would be changing shifts for the day, and everyone would have a morning smile on their face.

* _puuurrr_ *

 _Good morning, kitty._  Ah yes, how could she forget her beloved kitten? If everything else wasn't enough, then there was always her favorite animal, laying on her bed-

Glimmer's eyes shot open.  _Wait a minute, I don't have a cat._  Almost instantly, Glimmer leaned up from her bed, donned in her sky blue Pajama top and pants with a few starry lights patterned across them, staring at the sight that made her eyes widen.

At the foot of her bed, a bed she had hanging from the ceiling for that matter that only she and a select few could access to without her steps, was her new friend and ally, Catra, purring and sleeping peacefully as if the bed was hers.

It was only yesterday that she officially joined the Rebellion after a harrowing day of trying to turn into She-Ra. At first nobody knew how the meeting was going to go. Catra risked everything on an entire gamble that she would transform into She-Ra at all. And to her misfortune, she didn't do it right away. It was thanks to Glimmer's and Bow's sudden appearance that she received the motivation and drive to push herself one last time, finally obtaining the form of She-Ra before the entire Throne Room.

Needless to say, everyone was impressed and shocked at the show they bore witness to. They witnessed history in the making, the change of tide that would determine the very outcome of this war. Everything they saw showed them, the Queen included, that anyone was willing to stand alongside the Rebellion and fight against the Horde, including one of their own.

Even though it was for the selfish desire of her very own kingdom, followed by some pleading from her daughter who assured her she trusted Catra with her life, Queen Angella welcomed Catra with somewhat-untrusting arms.

And for some reason she decided to sleep on Glimmer's bed, still dressed in the outfit she donned yesterday evening.

"Ahhhhh!"

"Ack-!"

The sound of Glimmer's screaming was like a blow horn going off in Catra's ear this early in the morning. The loudness of it alone sent shivers down her spine to the point her entire body shook violently, finding herself getting the claws from her feet stuck to the bedsheets before falling off the hanging bed itself. Glimmer frantically pulled back on the covers, barely managing to keep Catra suspended halfway through the air to the ground. Sighing to herself in relief at the quick rescue, Glimmer looked over the bed to see the dangling cat girl herself.

Strangely enough, nothing seemed out of place with her in terms of attitude. She still seemed as moody as ever, glaring a little at the rude awakener above her.

"Sheesh, will you keep it down?" She growled. "People are trying to sleep!"

Welcome to Day One of the Rebellion.

...

**_The intro starts with Shadow Weaver in the Black Garnet chamber spying and glaring at a image of Catra. Than the image dives into the water of her scrying spell._ **

**_~ We're on the edge of greatness ~_ **

**_Where we have Catra at Bright Moon looking both determined and forlorn out into the distance._ **

**_~ turning darkness into light ~_ **

**_A scene of kid Catra and kid Adora training together in the fright zone under Shadow Weaver. Before being replaced with a image of Adora glaring at a heart broken looking Catra who's on her knees across a battlefield._ **

**_~ We're right beside you ~_ **

**_But than Glimmer and Bow teleport to Catra side raising her spirit back up, as shown with her surprise blinking when Gimmer offers her a hand, than she smirks accepting the help as she takes the lead ahead of them._ **

**_~ Ready to Fight! ~_ **

**_Catra raises her sword, transforming into She-Ra in a glorious flash of light_ **

**_~ (fight, fight, fight fight) ~_ **

**_Then She-Ra rushes off into battle with Glimmer and Bow following right behind her._ **

**_~ We're gonna win in the end! ~_ **

**_Mermista rises out of a tide, blasting Horde soldiers with water._ **

**_~ We must be strong, And we must be brave ~_ **

**_Perfuma burst from the ground, capturing and tying up Horde soldiers with vines._ **

**_~(we must be brave) ~_ **

**_Frosta rides an entire wave of frozen water, freezing Horde tanks in their tracks._ **

**_~ We're gonna find every bit of strength that we have ~_ **

**_The scene shifts to Hordaks throne room where the evil shadowy figure sits upon his throne, his red glowing eyes being the only noticeable part of him, surrounded by notable members of the Horde, consisting of Adora and Catra's squadron, Shadow Weaver, Adora, Scropia, and even Entrapta._ **

**_~ and never let go ~_ **

**_The scene shifts to an epic clash between Catra and Adora, the She-Ra gritting her teeth as she presses her sword against Adora's electrical baton, as the Force Captain herself grins with chaotic excitement as the red jewel from her headband shines._ **

**_~ (Oh ah Oh) ~_ **

**_Adora and Catra push each other off as they back up into their friends- Entrapta and Scorpia for Adora, and for Catra Bow and Glimmer._ **

**_~ We must be STRONG! ~_ **

**_The scene ends with a final shot of both sides looking across the field, a transparent image of Catra and Adora's faces filling the sky as the colors are split between them;_ **

**_A majestic darkness shining into light upon Catra's side, and a horrid light seeping into darkness on Adora's half._ **

...

"Awwwwhhhhn." Catra yawned as she leaned in the chair. 

"How about these?" Glimmer asked holding another pair of shoes.

"Nope."

"Ok... these two?"

"Nada."

"Mhh how about these?"

"Not happening."

"Catra come on..." Glimmer moaned looking through another dozen boxes. It was around that time Bow finally appeared through the doorway, entering the verily large Dressing Room. It housed an assortment of different clothing, anywhere between undergarments, pants, shirts, coats, gloves, and so forth. All of this was divided into nearly a dozen different colored sections of the room, each of them divided for their individual clothing.

At present, Bow found the two within a yellow-colored section of the room designated for footwear.

"Hey guys, I was wondering where... You're still in your She-Ra form?" Bow asked, surprised as Glimmer had been by the appearance.

"Not by choice, I can't get this stupid thing to turn off." Catra snarled rubbing her left eye sleepily. "I've been wearing these clothes all night."

"What? It's like actually stuck to you or something?"

"No, but I don't really have a spare change of clothes around here."

"I already said you could borrow some of ours you know." Glimmer reminded, sorting through another pile of boxes.

"I'm not wearing any stupid sparkly dresses or whatever." She eyed her own outfit with an irritated look. "I already got this ridiculous outfit going on, I don't need more."

"Oh." He had to admit, she had a small point. Up till now the two of them thought Catra was joking about "turning off" this She-Ra form of hers, not realizing how literal the magicat was being about it. Taking a glance around the room and the near one-hundred boxes tossed to the side, he turned his attention back to Glimmer. "What exactly are you guys doing in here anyway?"

"Well apparently, Pinky thinks I should be wearing shoes around here for some reason no matter  **how many times**  I tell her otherwise." There was a sense of annoyance coming from the She-Ra-in-training, hinting at just how long they've been at this. It was then Bow finally noticed the shoe-less ex-Horde wiggling her toes.

"Hey, I'm the one who's been sorting through boxes for the last hour, all you've been doing is sitting there and watching." Glimmer grumbled. With such a specific list of preferences, Glimmer found herself tossing out over half the boxes before Catra even had a chance to look at them or try them on. "The least you could do is help you know."

"I'm not the one who wants to wear shoes, Pinky!" Catra replied as Bow kneeled over to Glimmer's side to help. "I don't get what the big deal is, either. I keep my feet clean you know."

"Ok first of all, you lick your feet your feet clean." Glimmer shivered a little at the gross thought. "That alone is disgusting!"

"I don't lick my feet! ...I lick my hands and wipe my feet clean." She corrected nonchalant.

"That doesn't make it any better! Besides, even if you scrubbed and washed your feet clean like a normal person, that doesn't help with everything your claws are scratching up while you're walking or climbing. Remember how long it took to get your claws out of my blankets?"

"Well maybe if everything on your bed wasn't so frilly, I could've gotten untangled sooner!"

"Why were you on her bed to begin with?" Bow asked curiously.

"I was just trying to sleep." The proof was evident in Catra's tired eyes. "I'm not used to sleeping by myself, okay? I always shared a room with half a dozen people."

"Well if you wanted to sleep with me, you could've just asked last night you know." Glimmer commented, walking over to the end of the shelves.

"I would've if your mother didn't have it out for me."

Glimmer poked her head around the corner of the shelves at the comment. "She doesn't have it out for you, Catra."

"Hmm, what were her exact words?" She put on an irritating face and an exaggerated tone as she tried to mimic Glimmer's mother. "If you do anything to my angel, I'm gonna skin your fur and boil you in lava." While the voice was blatantly terrible, Glimmer did smirk at the impression itself.

"As intense as my mother can be sometimes, I'm pretty sure she would never say 'skin your fur and boil you in lava'."

"Well she said she'd make my nightmares look decent in comparison to whatever she has planned so I can't imagine anything worse than that." It was the furthest thing from the truth, but Catra was against giving Glimmer potential ideas. "And do I really need to wear these things? I mean they're just shoes! I'd rather walk on my hands around here than have to wear these things."

"Look, either you need shoes around here or you need to clean your feet and trim your claws. My mom's not gonna want to have to deal with torn up carpeting and whatever else you decide to climb, and the maids aren't going to want to clean the floors wherever you walk each day. Besides, there's nothing wrong with being well-equipped for everything."

"Oh yeah, these boots are gonna save my life!" Catra said sarcastically with the roll of her eyes. "I'd pay good money to see that-"

"Ah ha!" Bow called out triumphantly. "I found the perfect shoes!"

He displayed them proudly as Glimmer and Catra walked over to him. The shoes themselves were more along the lines of boots that stretched up the heels a foot long. Any laces the boots would have were instead replaced with thick bronze buckles, two on each boot, with a set of string to tie the boots up against the heel. Interestingly enough, to Catra's taste, they did have a nice color of red and black to them, with a black coating around the sides of the boots and an inner red running down the middle.

They had a bit of a Horde-ish look to them, which would match the rest of Catra's outfit if it ever changed back to normal.

"Ummm Bow? Those are boots." Glimmer pointed out.

"Combat boots!" He corrected with a toothy smile. "Great for long travels, mountain climbing, trudging through the snow, annnnnd, best of all, they don't track mud!"

"Seem kinda hefty if you ask me." Catra commented, smelling the boots as she examined them.

"Will you just try them on before you hate them?" Glimmer said with a groan.

"Fine, fine, your high-and-mightiness." It was clear Catra had no interest in the shoes despite the admittedly-interesting design. Taking the boots in each hand, she took a small bit of time to give them a thorough inspection. The texture, the smoothness, the hardened letter. If there was a few things she was grateful to the Horde for it was determining how well or how efficient simple everyday items could be.

Giving in to the curiosity, Catra tried them on one boot at a time, undoing and redoing the clasps and buckles until they had a suitable tightness around her feet. It felt a bit strange having something this weird pressing against her toe's claws, but if it got Glimmer off her back, and presumably her mother, then she was willing to put up with it.

"It looks like a perfect fit!" Glimmer commented.

"They still feel kinda weird if you ask me." This would've been one of the few times Catra found herself trying on a pair of anything on her feet since she was little. She took a glance around her feet on all sides, giving it a small kick against the wooden shelves to check how sturdy it was. "But I guess it's ok."

"Great, then we can head the Rebellion meeting!" Bow announced.

"Oh shoot, I completely forgot about that!" Glimmer said as her face flashed. "We hold one every week with the other Rebellion Generals. This is your chance to meet everyone!"

"I'm... invited?" There was a skeptical look on Catra's face. She did just become She-Ra not even twelve hours ago, so hearing the possibility she was already invited to some sort of important meeting with the other leaders of the Rebellion left her in doubt.

"Of course! My mom invited you herself! Come on, this is your chance to meet everyone before the meeting starts!" Glimmer said as she ran to the door with Bow following behind her. "If we make it fast enough, we might be able to get a few snacks too while we're at it-

* _thud_ *

The two friends looked back as they heard the sound of something weird shuffling across the boxes and hitting the shelves. Over on the other end of their gaze, they saw a somewhat trembling Catra who was slumped over one of the shelves, her legs wobbling from the waist down as she held onto the middle row of the shelf for stability.

"Are you ok?" Bow asked, watching the magicat trying to get back to her feet.

"I-I'm fine!" Her assurance left them questionable as they saw her shakily pull herself back up until she was standing straight. "I just need to get my footing is all." Catra looked to her boots again as she contemplated her next step, literally in this case. She's never worn something so strange before or so hard on her feet. In addition to the hard inner and outer exterior, they left a good half an inch from the ground, which, while some might adjust to on the fly, left a strange imbalance under Catra's feet. She was used to keeping her balance on opposite ends of her feet, not on her foot as a whole, as it allowed her to react and leap to great distances on a moment's notice.

"Do you... need some help?" While there was amusement in seeing Catra trembling in such a state, Glimmer couldn't help feel a little sorry for her. The girl wasn't even wearing high-heeled shoes yet she still walked around with as much coordination as a two-year-old trying to walk.

"N-Nope, I got it!" Catra said trying to contain a bit of her embarrassment as she took a slow step. "It's just one foot over the othER-!"

* ** _crash_**!*

Glimmer and Bow closed their eyes briefly to avoid seeing the aftermath of the ensuing crash. If there was any karma from Catra lazily watching as the other two did the hard work of finding her a pair of shoes, it was the sight that greeted them.

Here she was, hope of the Rebellion, the proud and mighty She-Ra, displayed before them collapsed over her front with various boxes toppled over her and a dozen pair of shoes thrown around her entire body. While the boxes themselves weren't that surprising, what did catch them off guard was the sight of the large white shelf that toppled over her too, pinning her to the ground and covering over half her body, leaving only her torso, arms, and head sticking out from the massive pile.

Apparently her second attempt of walking while holding onto the shelf backfired as she refused to let go of the shelf even as she fell. While normally one wouldn't bring an entire shelf down upon them, she didn't know just how strong her She-Ra state had left her, allowing her to easily pull the entire seven foot tall, twenty-feet wide shelf down with her. To her, it hold no more weight than the average book. Sadly it came with all the pain of a full shelf pinning her stomach to the ground.

It took all of Glimmer and Bow's willpower to keep from making a face at the admittedly hilarious state Catra found herself in, Catra herself twitching a vein angrily, all because she wasn't used to wearing a simple pair of shoes.

"Not... a... word..."

...

...

* _Clack_!*

"Keep your guard up on your left Kyle, always defend your most vulnerable position immediately after an attack." Adora instructed as she watched several of the cadets training with batons.

Yesterday proved to be a stressful day for the newly promoted Force Captain. There were too many things she came across that would've driven anyone in her mad from insanity.

First and foremost, her best friend defected. The friend she knew for as long as she remembered, a fellow member of the Horde, and the very last person she ever thought would betray them, defected to the enemy's side. It wasn't just the fact she defected at all that bothered her, it was the fact she couldn't tell if she was in control of herself or if she was being manipulated and brainwashed by the Princesses of Etheria. All things considered, she was hoping that was the case.

Secondly, she discovered just ten minutes into her very first mission just how horrific the war was. Their mission wasn't to some secret facility or some stronghold that she wanted to save Catra from, it was just a simple village full of innocent townspeople! She couldn't believe what she was doing, comprehend that this was what the Horde had always been doing since the war started. Attacking an innocent village that appeared to be no threat to the Horde? That sounded like something the princesses would do, and she refused to believe they were as evil as they were! She needed proof, she demanded proof!

Unfortunately, that proof came in the form of Shadow-Weaver, the closest thing Adora had to a mother around here and the only person Adora found herself able to trust at this time. Shadow-Weaver wasted no time preparing for every eventuality, including this. She showed Adora various details and data revolving around the mission to Thaymor, including a dozen caches of weaponry and documents detailing various research and developments the Rebellion was working on. None of it was forged, none of it was faked. Adora made certain everything was as Shadow-Weaver described it.

She just didn't know all of it had been smuggled into the city before her arrival by Shadow-Weaver's hand, whether or not directly.

Since then, she's been doing everything in her power to keep herself distracted, waiting for Shadow-Weaver's promise of proof that everything they were  _forced_  to do was necessary. She didn't want to think of everything she's been through in the last day, all the lies or half truths she's been told all her life. And she found the best way of keeping herself distracted was training the other cadets and friends she's known through her life.

She watched diligently as the cadets fought against each other with batons in the training room, specifically Lonnie, Rogelio and Kyle themselves. Just standing here, watching them train and have fun while they were doing it, it reminded her of the good times she used to have when they were all together, Catra included. At least in those times, she believed in everything without an ounce of doubt in her mind. Here, she was lucky enough to find something to take her mind off such thoughts.

"Ahh!" Kyle yelped as he was tackled by Lonnie, the older and tougher girl tackling him off his feet from the side. The girl just grinned to herself as she raised her baton again, seeing her moment to strike while Kyle remained disoriented.

"Heads up!" She warned, raising the baton above her head. A simple tap on their combat vests was all she needed to claim victory, having beaten Rogelio a minute ago, yet the punky teen seemed more insistent on bringing pain to her enemies than victory to her allies. Right before she could land the finishing blow however, she found herself stalled as something grabbed on to her baton from behind. Turning, she found an annoyed Adora looking at her with a slightly stern look on her face.

"That's enough." She deemed, walking over and helping Kyle over to his feet. "You don't have to go overboard here, Lonnie. It's just a training exercise, not a real fight." She took note of the fact Lonnie's tackle was technically illegal for a sparring match as she spoke.

"Oh come on, I barely hit the pipsqueak!" Lonnie grumbled. "Besides, do you think the princesses are going to show restraint? We need to use any and all means to help us if we're going to win this war."

"Just because the princesses fight unfairly doesn't mean we have to." Adora insisted. "We need to show Etheria that we're better than them, that we're all allies here."

"Tch, that's a laugh." Lonnie mumbled rolling her eyes. It was at that time Rogelion made his way over to the group, still silent as ever.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"What do you think it means? Have you noticed a certain feline missing around us lately?" Kyle and Rogelio shot each other an uneasy look. Not out of what she said, but who she was saying it to. "Where is the little furball anyway?"

"Catra's..." She turned away a little as she spoke. "Catra's been brainwashed by the princesses, all right? I don't know what they did to her but I know we'll get her back."

"Oh really? Cause that's not what I heard."

"L-Lonnie, maybe you shouldn't-" Kyle tried to warn.

"What? Tell her the truth?" She interrupted as she shot him a look. "That little kitty cat here never wanted anything to do with the Horde to begin with?"

"What do you mean?" A small weight began forming in Adora's chest.

"What do I think I mean, little miss Captain?" She sneered. "I'm saying Catra betrayed us because she  **wanted**  to! She didn't care about anything, she's always been in it for herself!"

"T-That's not true!" Adora tried to argue, though her voice wavered.

"Oh yeah? Did she care when she decided to leave in the first place? Did she insist on bringing you with her when she left us?"

"Yes!... I... I mean..." It was painful to recall everything after the previous day's events.

...

_"Then I'll come with you." It was moments like these Catra really hated. Her friend always insisting on doing whatever it took to help without realizing how much trouble it would cause the both of them eventually._

_"Absolutely not! If Shadow Weaver finds out you left because of me, she'll skin me alive!" She stammered._

_"But Catra-"_

_"Look, if I go to the forest and don't find anything, I promise to come all the way back and we can go to the infirmary together. If I do find something, I'll bring it back and that'll be my proof about everything. Okay?" That was the only agreement Catra could think of at that moment, the increasing ringing becoming harder and harder to concentrate and plan out with each passing seconds._

_Sadly, Adora was still having a problem processing this. It was her fault in the first place that any of this happened after borrowing a skiff. If she hadn't done that in the first place, they never would've gone on a wild ride through the Fright Zone, entered the Whispering Woods, get Catra knocked out of it from a hundred feet in the air, and finally end up with what appeared to be brain damage. There was too much of a guilt factor on her end of things. "I don't know... Do you absolutely promise to come back if you don't find anything?"_

_"Just give me two hours, three tops." Catra smiled, relieved that she was finally reaching some common ground with her only friend._

_Perhaps a little too relieved as she didn't bother waiting for Adora to finish her reply. "Well... I don't-"_

_"Great, knew you'd understand. Gotta go!" Catra quickly sputtered as she quickly and quietly rushed down the hallway._

_"Catra? Catra! Ugh..." This day kept getting more worrying for the young girl._

...

"Your little friend never cared about any of us since day one." Lonnie continued to talk down as Adora lowered her head. "She didn't care about who she hurt, she didn't care about who was involved, and she didn't care about you. All that little freak ever wanted was whatever benefitted herself. End. Of. Story."

"..."

Kyle and Rogelio looked at one another nervously. They knew how Catra was a close friend to Adora compared to the rest of them, heck she was the only one Catra was friends with, and everyone else within the Horde knew it. They knew about the rebellious magicat and the blond friend who would get into all sorts of trouble together and all sorts of mischief. It wasn't always in good fun, but the two were inseparable.

"...push ups..." Adora muttered.

"What?" Lonnie nearly flinched as Adora grabbed the collar of her vest, pulling her closer so she could see the anger burning in Adora's eyes.

"I said push ups! One-Hundred of them! Now!" She ordered.

What little chance and resistance Lonnie planned to put up were immediately dashed as she saw past Adora's shoulder, towards the corridor of the training room. There, she spotted the floating mass that was one of Shadow-Weaver's shadows, the strange semi-living entity that could see all it needed to and show Shadow-Weaver in turn. It's presence alone was enough to keep Lonnie from asking questions or disobeying orders.

Adora's word was Shadow-Weaver's word. Her orders were Shadow-Weaver's. Cross Adora, and you would feel the unholy wrath that Shadow-Weaver would plague upon you.

Grumbling to herself at the situation, Lonnie swallowed her pride as she got down on all fours, keeping to herself as she counted.

Adora didn't like that.

"I want to hear you count!" She ordered, pressing her foot onto Lonnie's back. The girl grumbled louder at this but refused to bark back.

"One... Two... Three..." It took all of her energy to resist lashing out in anger at this. She was irritated with Adora, now more than ever, but she would never try to cross Shadow-Weaver and get on her bad side.

Not like Catra did.

"I want you two to resume training until she finishes counting. Ok?" Adora ordered in a somewhat softer tone. The two cadets nodded to this as they resumed fighting each other with the batons. "I didn't say to stop counting! Start over!" Adora shouted down to Lonnie, continuing to apply pressure to her back. It was becoming harder to bite back the urge to shout at the Force Captain.

Catra was her dear friend. Perhaps sister, perhaps something else. They played together, they lived together, they learned together, they cried together, they did everything together. Catra was one of the few people that made Adora genuinely smile and vice versa, neither of them tiring of each other's company. When one of them got sick, the other stayed by their side. When one of them were sad, the other wanted to know what was wrong. It was this pairing that helped each other get through the best of times and the worst of times, no matter how often they occurred.

She was her dear friend. Adora would continue to fight to get her back and find out who she could trust. And she would NOT tolerate anyone trying to insult her or accuse her of treason as long as she was around...

...

...

"Ok, we're here!" Glimmer announced as they finally arrived to the meeting room.

"Finally!" Catra groaned walking past the two.

The walk to the Meeting Room had been... less than fun for a certain ex-Horde member of the Rebellion. After struggling and failing to walk so much as 5 feet through the Dressing Room, she found herself forced to rely on an all too eager Glimmer who was more than happy to help her new ally walk around the first minute.

Mostly because she wasted no time taunting and cooing at her like she was a one-year-old trying to learn to walk. "Take my hand" would be her first taunt, followed by others such as "look at you learning to walk". Not just the fact the Queen already has her on a tight leash but because they're now allies is the only reason Catra found to not scratch her face.

No matter how tempting it got.

After getting her bearings though she found herself adjusting to the new boots quite well. She still preferred her no-shoe policy, which Glimmer was fine with as long as they were outside the castle walls, but she did at least find them comfortable enough to walk around with. If it wasn't for the fact they reduced her ability to take great leaps or cling to surfaces, thanks to missing about half her claws with this, she would've considered using them everywhere.

Entering the room, she found the scenery quite nicely, for a meeting room anyway. All around them the walls were painted with vast, numerous, pale drawings depicting several kings and queens all across the room, each of them with a piece of a star's light illuminating over their hand. Along with this, there were moons on each of the walls, each with a shadow cast over a certain portion of it. From front to back, it casted a full moon, slowly darkening to one side of the room until it came back full circle.

Even the ceiling itself was was adorned with a giant majestic jewel that gazed over the giant round table in the middle. Just like the walls there was an array of moons over the ceiling, each casting it's own shadow over a portion of it as well as a different portion of the light.

This room had the perfect semblance of a Meeting Room for a Castle. Everything about it was elegant, proper, and beautiful.

And yet, strangely empty.

"Look's more like an art gallery than a meeting room." Catra commented looking over the walls.

"Is that She-ra?" Catra's ears perked up as she overheard the whispering from the only two other generals of the meeting. It didn't matter how quiet one was when they whispered near the girl. If someone was in the same room as Catra, she could pick up on almost everything within thirty feet.

"She looks so much more different than what I imagined." The purple one replied quietly.

"Come on, the meeting's about to start." Glimmer stated as she walked by Catra.

"Start?" Catra looked around the room, realizing out of the dozen or so chairs that occupied it, the only two other people aside from themselves and the two at the table were the guards. "Isn't it a little early to start? There's barely anyone here. Where are the others?"

"This  _is_  all the others." Glimmer replied solemnly as Catra followed her. "The Rebellion had a big defeat years ago, and most of the old princesses gave up. Now all the kingdoms keep to themselves. And the princesses do the same."

"Other than Spinnerella and Netossa." Bow added taking his seat. "Hey, guys!" He waved. The two gave him a simple smile as they waved back. "We're not really sure what they do." He whispered.

"Well this keeps looking more and more promising." Catra muttered taking a seat next to Bow. Finding it a little uncomfortable, she tried making the most of the seat as she leaned in as far as the chair would let her, relaxing her feet over the table. First she finds out the other princesses weren't even a part of their Rebellion anymore, and the supposed other leaders of the Rebellion only consisted of two other people. She couldn't wait to see the meeting take place and learn they were planning to surrender the very next day.

Right  _after_  she joined.

It was then that she noticed the panicked and worried expressions of the surrounding allies, half of them looking ready for a heart attack, and the other half prepared to jump out of their seats in a hurry. "What?" The She-Ra raised her brow before looking to her feet. "Oh come on, don't tell me you're too stuck up for manners. At least the shoes are clean."

"That's not your chair!" Bow whispered worriedly.

"Who's chair is it then?" Almost immediately she felt the familiar drop of temperature that she alone seemed able to feel. As expected, looking to her right, she found the leader of the Rebellion, Queen Angella, looking sternly at her.

"That's my husband's chair." Her tone was cold, angry, and firm. As opposed to anyone who would have the more logical sense to either vacate the chair immediately or apologize for taking the wrong spot, Catra just made herself more relaxed as she closed her eyes uncaringly.

"Oh yeah? Where is the old stiff?"

"Oh my god, she did not just say that..." Glimmer facepalmed.

"I haven't seen the guy since I got here." Opening her eyes again, confusion sank into her mind. All around her were dropped jaws, save for Glimmer who still had a hand over her face, shocked expressions, and silent gasps. Even the guards looked to themselves a little disturbed. All of them were acting like Catra just came to this meeting completely in Horde armor, never announced, and had never met any of these people before today. "What?" That was when she noticed the Queen again, her majesty seeming to do everything in her power to contain her anger in her squeezing fist.

"Ha ha ha, what a kidder, right mom?" Glimmer joked panicking, quickly teleporting to Catra's side and teleporting back to her chair with Catra sitting next to her. Still confused about everyone's behavior, Catra leaned over a little to the sparkler girl.

"I don't get it, what's everyone so worked up about?"

"My dad died a long time ago fighting in the war." Glimmer muttered back.

"...Oh..." She couldn't tell which dropped first. Her tail, her ears, her face, her dignity, her respect, her pride, or any chance of getting so much as an ounce towards the Queen's good side.

All at once the gravity of the situation hit Catra like a ton of bricks. She felt a small rain cloud of terror looming over her head. Looming over that was a cloud of sheer terror. Looming over that was her conscious telling her she had a good life. And looming over that was a guillotine, one specially designed by the Queen herself that would ensure Catra felt nothing but absolute pain and misery during those brief few seconds between life and Catra finding out her head was missing.

Knowing the Queen as she did up to now, that would be her being merciful too.

Taking a moment to herself, patting the back of the large chair that reminded her of her dearly beloved, the Queen released all her anger silently as she took her seat. "I've asked you here because I received a distress call from Princess Perfuma. The Horde is laying siege to her kingdom. She's asking Bright Moon for assistance. General?" She called over as a dark-skinned soldier took her place standing next to her.

"Perfuma's kingdom, Plumeria, is located near the front lines." Catra watched as the table itself came to life, displaying a pink holographic image of the land, while she spoke. "The Horde has set up camp in her territory, cutting off their main supply route." She directed with a small rod.

"Bright Moon will provide food and humanitarian aid." Angella announced.

"Ooh ooh ooh! I have a better idea!" Glimmer rose from her seat enthusiastically. "We-"

"Fight the Horde?" Her mother cut her off, hearing the suggestion a thousand times. "Glimmer, you propose the idea at every meeting."

"No," Glimmer tried thinking of a way to reword her suggestion with a nervous smile, "I was going to say let's use aggressive fist-to-face sparkles."

"As much as I hate to agree with her, she has a point." Glimmer was a little surprised to hear Catra taking her side. "It doesn't matter how much aid you send their way, the Horde's just going to keep coming."

"The answer is still no. Now sit down." The Queen stood assertively with her wings out. Any hope Glimmer had to raising an objection to the reply quickly dwindled with her mother's firm tone.

"...Your majesty, if I can make a suggestion," Bow spoke up as he stood, "why don't you have us lead the relief mission?" He said gesturing to the three of them. "We can provide food and aid to the kingdom, and Catra can provide aid if the Horde attacks."

The Queen looked at Catra warily at this, Catra herself looking away a little nervous. Withholding the fact she just insulted her husband and King before the meeting had even begun, there was still a trust value she was going to have to get over involving the ex-Horde member. Whether or not she could turn into She-Ra, there was only so much the Queen could end up losing within her life before her world shattered.

Like her daughter and her friend that she would be tasked with protecting.

"I actually think that's a great idea." Spinnerella replied supportively. "It would give the locals a chance to see the infamous She-Ra themselves and raise morale."

"Huff... Very well." Angella sighed in reluctance, much to Glimmer and Bow's joy. "You will deliver food and supplies to Plumeria. And under no circumstances will any of you engage the Horde." Catra could feel her piercing gaze as she spoke, feeling as if she was only telling her out of the three. "You will leave at dawn."

Glimmer and Bow looked at each other with excitement at the statement. It was rare that the Queen allowed the two of them to partake in any mission, often finding themselves in a mission once out of every five or so meetings, and now with a new ally in their midst! And while Catra herself was a little bummed about not being able to engage in any fun, aka fighting and beating the snot out of the Horde, she was at least looking forward to a chance to explore the world, and more importantly, get away from the Queen who continued to loathe her from a distance.

And starting tomorrow, her first mission as She-Ra would kick off!

...

"Achoo!" Catra sneezed wiping her nose again. "I hate this place already." The girl was groggy, tired, and finding herself sneezing rather frequently as the trio traversed Plumeria while pulling the cart of supplies behind them.

At first, she thought she was going to be in for a spot of fun! She would get to see the world, go on missions, and looked forward to any excuse to kick someone in the face she knew from the Horde. To top it off, she was still in her She-Ra form, the form strangely not having removed since the day prior, throughout the journey. It was weird but it felt like the longer she wore it, the more it was slowly draining her energy. Maybe it was, or maybe it was the fact every time she found herself asleep she kept having more unwanted visions of her past.

Sadly reality kicked in for Catra as she traveled through the new kingdom, finding out just how  _fun_  the mission was going to be. For the last several hours the trio had walked, each taking turns pulling the cart at hourly intervals to conserve strength. While it was far easier for Catra to given her new form, it was still just as taxing as the lack of sleep and recent runny nose kept her from preforming at her peak state.

"Did you get a cold last night?" Bow asked looking back as they walked.

"No, I was perfectly fine this morning!" She retorted. "My nose just got a little runny within the last half hour alone."

"Maybe you're not used to all the flowers here?" Glimmer wondered aloud.

"Pollen?"

"Yeah, it usually spreads between the birds and bees around here. It helps them grow. Plumeria is known for it's beautiful and vast array of fauna, but you might not be used to it growing up in the Fright Zone." That made a bit of sense. Too much sense actually. Everyone in the Horde found it rare to find a single flower within the Fright Zone, save for potted plants that either the staff members had while teaching the children, or ones taught to them about the various poisonous ones that could be used against their enemies. And given Catra's enhanced senses, it made everything come together a little too perfectly for her taste.

"Is this pollen stuff deadly? Why aren't you guys sniffling or sn...sn... Achoo!" Catra's face momentarily fogged up as she let out another one. "Sneezing?"

"Well we're used to being surrounded by plants." Bow replied smiling back. "Heck I grew up in the woods myself, there was nothing but flowers and trees everywhere."

"If it makes you feel any better, it's a good sign that we're close." The violet princess said trying to raise her spirit. "We'll probably be at the village any minute now!"

"Good." She sniffled again. "I could use a break once we get there. I haven't slept in-"

...

...

_"Mmmhhhmmm..."_

_"Catra?" The young five-year-old Adora rose from her bunk bed sleepily, wearing her grey woolen pants and shirt pajamas, as she rubbed her eyes. A child crying around the Fright Zone wasn't that uncommon. Usually if a kid got into trouble, got punished, or simply got scared, the latter usually being the most frequent case scenario, a kid would start crying for several minutes. It was another everyday part of life in the Horde the kids got used to, sometimes several kids throughout the day would cry, sometimes only one._

_This time was a little different. Normally when one cried, it was throughout the day. This time, however, there was someone crying above her, in the middle of the night. While knowing it was Catra, her bunkmate, she didn't know what reason she had to cry or why she was doing it. Checking around to make sure everyone else was asleep, she quietly climbed the ladder at the foot of the bed, poking her head over the top to find the little bundle whimpering while her eyes were still closed._

_"Catra?"_

_The other five-year-old quickly snapped her eyes open, turning over to find her little caller. "A-Adora?" Panic filled in her head as she did her best to wipe away the tears and snot flowing from her face. Another bit to living within the Horde was whether you were allowed to cry and when. If you were severely punished by the Horde, it was acceptable to cry. On the other and, if you found yourself crying because you were tired, crabby, or simply frightened of something, any of the children's staff members would make sure you had a real **reason**  to cry. It was the Horde's way of toughening up the children quickly ,which, while cruel, proved effective. "W-What are you doing here?" She asked still sniffling._

_"Were you crying?" The innocent child asked._

_"N-N-No!" She took another moment to wipe her face again quickly. "I was just... just..." It was hard to think of what to say while she was in the middle of crying. Taking another quick look around, Adora quietly climb up to the bed itself, crawling over to her friends side while patting her shoulder._

_"Hey, it's okay. Everything's going to be alright. I won't tell anyone, I promise." She assured. She watched as Catra continued to sniffle, incapable of stopping the flow of tears coming down her face. "Did you have a bad dream?" Catra lifting her weeping and sniffling face was all she needed to get a yes out of her. "It's okay. Remember what Shadow-Weaver said? It's okay to have many bad dreams as possible because eventually you'll get used to them, and it'll make you stronger!"_

_"I-I know but... But I..." Adora felt extremely sorry for her littler friend. Bad dreams were another common occurrence around the Fright Zone, especially among young children. It was rare that anyone had a bad dream so horrific though that they would end up crying upon waking up. Whatever Catra just experienced must've been something truly horrifying, maybe something along the lines of the evil princesses eating her or something._

_"Would it help if I slept with you?" Adora offered, catching the young girl by surprise._

_"S-Slept with me?" She meeped. Adora nodded her head with excitement as she pumped her fist._

_"Yeah! That way if you have any bad dreams, I can punch those bad dreams away!"_

_"Mmh..." She didn't know what to say._

_There wasn't anything wrong with a child comforting another child within the Horde, in fact it was actually one of the few things that were encouraged around here. It helped build trust and support amongst allies who the kids would be fighting alongside one day. It helped build teamwork skills and so forth._

_Curiously enough, it was actually shunned by many of the kids themselves, the older ones at that. They took the teachings from the great leader Hordak quite seriously, and wanted to prove their loyalty and awesomeness by upholding his traditions of strength and power. They didn't allow anyone to help anyone else who appeared weak unless that someone was a part of their "gang", which in and of itself made no sense, but none of the younger kids questioned it. Almost all the facilities across the Fright Zone that housed the children had at least one kid that would form a gang. In this case, that person just happened to be Lonnie, the very same girl that was part of their dorm living quarters._

_What it really came down to for Catra was Adora's involvement in this. She didn't want to have to worry about the horrifying dream she just had, still struggling to forget about it, but Adora actually helping her to get through it. The gangs that harassed anyone who needed help like this didn't just target the kids who needed it. They targeted both, the one in need and the one willing to provide help. They considered softhearted kids almost worse than the ones who needed the help in the first place._

_It was like a commandment amongst the children, one that all of them knew of. Yet, despite knowing all of this, Adora offered to help the young girl. She was brave enough to help the young girl and didn't care if it caused trouble for her or not. The only one that did care was Catra herself._

_"I... I don't know..." The girl mumbled looking away. "Y-You'll get in trouble, won't you?"_

_"Who cares about that?" Adora passed off with a smile. "I don't mind if they pick on me too. Plus, there's no trouble if we just sleep together, they don't even have to know I'm doing it to help you." She helped wipe away one of Catra's tears with a thumb, trying to dry the girl's face. "Ok?"_

_"...Ok..." With that, Adora pulled the girl over to her as the two settled into the bed once again, side by side. Catra shuffled a little as Adora hugged her closely and pulling the blanket over them. It comforted and let her know she would always be by her side. It helped somewhat as a small smile grew on Catra's face, one Adora was happy to see as the two of them finally closed their eyes._

_The nightmares would never cease, but as long as they had each other, there was nothing the two would have to fear._

...

...

"Catra!" A flash of light went off in Catra's eyes again as she came to, seeing Bow and Glimmer's worried expressions as they stared at her. Blinking to herself, she looked around in confusion as she examined her surroundings again. They were still in the woods of Plumeria, the two of them staring at her while Catra was still standing where she did with the cart still firmly in her hands.

"Huh?" The other two sighed in relief as she finally came back to reality. "What just happened?"

"You tell us!" Bow replied. "You just stopped walking all of a sudden and stared off into space."

"I was?" She didn't know if she should be doubtful or skeptical of the accusation.

"Well, it was only for like ten seconds or something but-"

"But that can't be right!" Catra quickly interrupted Glimmer, snapping a little. "I mean I was there, I was..." She paused as she realized what she said, seeing the curiosity growing on both their faces.

"Where to?" Glimmer asked. "Catra, what are you talking about?"

"Mmh..." What the heck was going on here? That's like the third time she had a vision and it continued to be one she preferred locking away in her heart. At first she thought she only had to worry about these things whenever she passed out or fell asleep, but now she had to worry about them happening in the middle of anything else? Who on Etheria was messing with her like this?! "Forget about it." She muttered. "Are we almost there?"

If there was any bit of good news after what she went through, it was seeing Glimmer giving a small nod. "Y-Yeah, we're here." She directed looking back. Which was almost perfectly timed as Catra finally realized the sneezing had subsided too.

Following her gaze, Catra's demeanor reverted to a previously calm state, at least compared to the anxiety and anger she just felt, as she looked on ahead. In front of her, she saw what appeared more to be a camp site than a village with the numerous tents along the ground and the various tree houses she saw in the surrounding place. It had something of a more tranquil appearance to it compared to Thaymor, noticing how happy everyone seemed and peaceful they were while living in something Catra would consider shacks, at best.

"Welcome to Plumeria, the heart of Princess Perfuma's king-"

"Finally!" Catra huffed ignoring Glimmer's welcome. Wasting no time to find an excuse to relax after the long morning, she quickly lifted the cart above her head, feeling no heavier than the average book in her She-Ra state, and walked on ahead again.

"Catra, wait!" Glimmer called out as she and Bow ran passed her. "You can't just rush into a village like this, you might spook someone lifting something like that."

"Oh! You're here!" A voice cried out happily from behind. Looking back, the trio saw a grown woman at the front of a small crowd of people, quickly racing to them with sheer delight. "You're finally here!"

"Ah, Princess Perfuma." Glimmer greeted with an open hand. "I'm commander Glimmer. It's nice to finally meet-" Before she could finish her introductions, with a wave from Perfuma's hand, she found herself holding a bouquet of beautiful flowers, with a flower crown appearing over Bow's head several seconds later.

"Ooh, I get a hat!" He was loving this place already.

That was when Perfuma saw passed them, the one holy warrior that legend describes. All around the figure she saw a radiating aura of elegance, both literally and metaphorically. The same figure also shot her a look, albeit with more confusion, as the princess continued to stare at her with her mouth gaping open. This was followed by several more townspeople who started to gather by the dozens, all awing at amazement at the sight before them. It was like looking at the sight of a beautiful goddess, one stood for everything right and beautiful with the Universe. If anything, this person was the Universe, here to fulfill their wishes for peace across Etheria!

"Ooh!" Perfuma squealed. "Everyone, come quick! It's... it's..." She couldn't even finish her sentence as the excitement got to her. One after another, the townspeople ran past Glimmer and Bow, rushing to Catra's side as they all fawned over her with sparkles in their eyes. Catra folded her ears a little as she found herself a little questionable, unsure of what she should be feeling exactly. The townspeople looked over her from every angle, unable to comprehend who they were in the presence of, or the fact they lived to witness it themselves.

"The Universe had heard our pleas!" Perfuma continued in astonishment. "It's sent us the legendary She-Ra to save our home!" Looking past the crowd over to Glimmer and Bow, she decided to just roll with it as they gave her a small wave to go on.

"Umm... Yes, I uh..." It was hard to put on a serious face when this many people adored the sight of her. Wanting to catch her breath for a moment, she gently set the cart full of goods to her side, trying her best to be professional with the first group of people she's met since becoming She-Ra. "We have come here to...uhh... help with the assistance of this town...supplies and blockade and... and stuff..." What was this? Everything she said made her feel like an idiot yet the townspeople continued to gaze upon her, some of them actually tearing up with joy.

Like Perfuma herself. "Welcome to Plumeria, She-Ra!" With one proud welcome, Catra suddenly found herself completely surrounded now as the townspeople gathered around here. Somehow it got so bad she found a baby hugging onto her arms as if it wanted her too, just like the rest of the town did.

"Umm thanks... I think?" It was the most confusing predicament Catra found herself in as she handed the baby back to, hopefully, her mother, who was also hugging her. "Anyway, umm... thanks for the warm welcome... I guess, but we really should be getting back-"

"Oh no, you must stay!" Perfuma insisted running to cut her off again. "We need you here! We want you!" That was the first thing that made Catra legitimately curious.

"You... want me here?"

"Oh yes, yes!" It took all of her strength to keep from crying out in pure joy. "You're the one we've been waiting for for so long! We'd love to have you here! Everyone, let's welcome our beloved She-Ra!"

"She-Ra!"

"She-Ra!"

"She-Ra!"

Catra looked all around her as the townspeople cried out and cheered her name.

What... was this? It was weird. These people weren't fearful of her, they didn't question her odd looks, they just... welcomed her. They were actually happy to see her, not one of the pointing out her weird cat-like features or the fact she was some bizarre transforming cat who turned into a powerful warrior just by calling out some dumb phrase. It was weird, it was strange, it was...

Perfect!

This, this right here is everything Catra wanted when she finally had her own kingdom. She wanted to see the thousands, if not millions of townspeople who would cry out her name in glory whenever she passed by! She wanted to feel like they wanted her for herself, not just because of what she could do or what she was capable of! She could even see herself greeting her kingdom's capitol every morning. Stretching out of bed, walking over to the balcony, and a simple wave to the masses of townspeople that would applaud and cheer her name as they greeted her and the brand new day!

It was just too beautiful for words to describe to herself. Everything around here was perfect, everyone around her had the right idea to be blessed and welcoming of the great hero she was! And she was going to relish every second of it. With a grin, she wasted no time flexing before them, watching and enjoying the sight of them cheering even louder in applause.

"Well, if I'm going to be welcomed so warmly, who am I to say no?" She commented with a smug grin. "I can even tell you guys some of my heroics if you want..." It didn't matter what she would tell these guys as she walked past them. Knowing them as she did now, they would believe anything she had to say, the townspeople following right behind her as they continued their praises and cheers.

As they walked, a certain Princess found herself worried about the sudden turn of events. Their mission was solely to bring aid and assistance to the townspeople as needed. Sure, she wouldn't mind getting into some Horde action if the situation called for it, but now she just found herself in a new dilemma, one she curses for not thinking about earlier.

She just brought the princess of all egomaniacs in the world to a village that worshipped She-Ra as a goddess. Only difference was that they weren't worshipping a goddess.

They were worshipping Catra.

"Uhh Bow, do you think we should maybe pull her out of here?" Glimmer asked, waiting a few seconds for any response before turning to him. "Bow?"

"She-Ra! She-Ra! She-Ra!" Well that explained the lack of response. Finding himself getting in on the action and the fun, Bow couldn't help himself as he rallied in cheer along with everyone else, pumping his fist in the air along with them with every beat. Glimmer groaned to herself as she slumped, realizing how she was the only one taking any of this seriously.

"This day can only get worse from here..."

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

**_A/N: Hopefully the slightly larger size plus the new kick-butt intro to this made the wait worthwhile ^^ Again huge shout out and thanks to nightmaster003(000 on fanfiction) for his grand help in making the intro! Outta curiosity do you guys just want the intro for the first part of every episode, or all parts throughout the series, bonus episodes aside?_ **

**_Also for those wondering: Yes, you have NOOOOOOO idea how badly i wanted to make the obvious "sleeping with someone/her" joke in the opening of this fic XP in fact I already wrote out several paragraphs at first before deleting them. Reason being? Simply for the fact that I hold true to my genre, demographic, rating, etc. in keeping this a K+ rated series, ages 7+, for the kiddies, and wasn't sure if that kind of joke would get me a T-rating or not._ **

**_Most likely yes XP._ **

**_Anyway not much else to say here aside from thanks. Now for my favorite portion of the day where I read my own chapter and groan every time I find one typo/error i correct, re-edit, re-post, then find more I missed, at least 30 times repeatedly XP._ **

**_Anyway, leave a like, fave, review if you enjoyed, and hope to see you soon!_ **


	11. Episode 4: Flowers For She-Ra Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Good news lucky folks! You're getting your episode a little earlier than fanfiction since idk if I can post this via mobile copying and pasting without my computer without some hassle. Anyway, enjoy!

_**A/N: Another fairly fun chapter here! Not much to say, and i do mean that this time XP! Next part might be the last depending on where i end things on here, which is hopefully the case since then I won't have to worry about finishing the episode-episode friday and can focus on my school work.** _

_**Hope everyone enjoys, and remember: any parts rushed, it's cause of medication + working on this at several different points in time. Either way, enjoy!** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

"Catra?" Glimmer called out walking through the village. "Catraaa?"

Typical.

Expected, yet typical.

Their first mission was nothing more than a simple supply run for the to aid the kingdom of Plumeria, the kingdom that belonged to Princess Plumeria. They were supposed to go in there, provide relief and aid for the villagers with a large surplus of supplies, after the Horde cut off their supply routes and resources, possibly drive out any Horde forces if they were under attack, and then get out. It wasn't just a mission to aid and potentially recruit one of the princesses of Etheria into the Rebellion, it was one of the first ones with Catra/She-Ra with them.

Catra was a new symbol of Hope for the Rebellion. With her ability to transform into the mighty She-Ra, she became a symbol of everything good in the Universe and everything it stood for. She was possibly the one single force that could combat the Horde, push the Rebellion forward. She-Ra was known for her beauty, strength, wisdom, courage, bravery, kindness, and most importantly, decency. With her on their side, the Rebellion actually had a chance of fighting back!

Unfortunately, the new She-Ra seemed less than interested in maintaining any sort of respect or honor. Instead, she seemed incredibly interested in showing off her new She-Ra-ness to the surrounding townsfolk.

In hindsight, bringing her to a town full of villagers that loved and adored She-Ra like there was no tomorrow was probably a bad idea. It was basically the equivalent of pouring fuel to a fire, watching the fire blaze out of control and waiting for it to burn itself out It didn't help in her case she spent the first several minutes by herself unloading the various boxes of provisions before searching the village for Catra. She thought it would be easier to find her if she just followed any small crowds she came across or anyone mentioning She-Ra, but she found them to be all over the town with people talking about "The incredible She-Ra!" all over the place.

At least the village was fairly small for a kingdom's capitol so finding Catra in this place shouldn't take that long.

Especially if she just followed the never-ending cheer that's been driving her crazy for the last fifteen minutes.

"She-Ra!"

"She-Ra!"

"She-Ra!"

She swore she was going to have that chant stuck in her head for the rest of her life at this rate. Thankfully, she finally came to the last large group of people who finally had Catra with them compared to the last dozen groups that were just cheering her name. The sight she came across was rather strange.

"67... 68... 69..." Catra huffed with each squat.

Pushing her way passed the crowd, Glimmer finally got a clear view of what Catra was doing. With her ego continuing to rise higher with each and every squat she did, she showed off in front of the crowd as she lifted weights in front of them while they cheered and praised her. What made the cheering and weightlifting so spectacular here? The fact she was squatting an entire bench filled with people on her back without breaking a sweat! While Glimmer could admit it was impressive on it's own, it was only furthering to fuel Catra's ego and the people's worship of her.

And Catra wouldn't have it any other way!

This, everything around her, was exactly what she wanted! Maybe she would've gone with a different look for a kingdom compared to just numerous tents surrounding one massive tree, but she would take what she could get. The people worshipped her here, they praised her! She's never felt so much joy before in her life! This is how she wanted every single day of her life to be when she finally became leader of her own realm, gaining constant love and support of her fellow peers.

And why shouldn't they love her? She was awesome! After all, she  _was_  the greatest warrior who ever lived, She-Ra, and they should be graced with her presence. She-Ra was the hero this Rebellion needed, something she was going to make sure of. Appreciation and support was just a natural thing that should've came her way anyway! They were lucky to have her, they were supposed to want her.

There was nothing she couldn't do with the constant support she had!

"98... 99... 100!" With a final huff, Catra carefully lowered the bench filled with villagers as the townspeople continued to cheer. Gazing amongst them, she couldn't help but feel all giddy inside, evident by the giant smile on her face. "This is the greatest day of my life!" She muttered to herself, walking over to a nearby table as the townsfolk followed her.

"Catra! Wait!" Glimmer tried to call out, only to fall on deaf ears as her voice was drowned out by the masses.

"Ok," Catra smirked placing her elbow on a table, "taking all challengers! Let's go!"

"I'll take that challenge!" A muscled-bound villager proclaimed, pushing through the crowd. He was the prime example of every muscle bound meathead Catra could picture. Muscles bigger than his own head, big tough attitude as he uncaringly pushed passed the crowd, and making the entire ground shake as he slammed his massive elbow onto the table. "Come on, shrimp!" He taunted, grabbing her hand.

Oh this was too easy.

Almost immediately, the large man grunted loudly as he attempted to push down the mighty She-Ra's formidable hand, wanting to prove himself just as tough as the legendary warrior herself. Veins could be seen popping around his skull and face as sweat flowed down his face. Catra on the other hand, just smiled the entire time, letting out an insulting yawn with her hand over her mouth. If she wasn't in her current She-Ra state, he might've actually been a challenge. As it stood though, he felt stronger than a simple mosquito that she would slap down the minute she felt it.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did we start yet?" She taunted. By the time the man could so much as glance back to her, she already slammed his massive hand's back onto the table. Like everything else she did, as it should be, the entire crowd cheered in praise as the buffed man slumped over in a pout, walking away from the table. "Ok, who's next!"

In the matter of three minutes, she quickly dashed away challenger after challenger, beating them flawlessly and without exhaustion, minus the small bit she felt before coming here. Time after time, she downed another opponent, many of which clearly tried their hardest. From young to old, the masses that challenged her lost, some of them taking defeat with pride while others felt honored to lose to the beloved She-Ra, adding on to the cheering she heard. She even beat an entire group of five or so villagers that tried to arm wrestle her at the same time. She took absolute joy out of tossing them off the table all at once.

"Come on, isn't there anyone who can give me a proper challenge?" She asked slightly taunting again with another yawn. That was when she saw the next contender come up to the table, growing surprised by the sight as the rest of the crowd awed.

It was a young girl, possibly around five-years-old, with light brown hair and small horns on the sides of her head. She had a nice little yellow dress on and a pink flower along her left ear. Like everyone else around here, her eyes sparkled at the sight of the infamous She-Ra, grinning widely as she took in Catra's awesomeness. She actually reminded her a bit of Kim from Thaymor, the young girl seeming full of energy as she took Catra's hand.

 _This shouldn't take long..._  Catra grinned to herself. Almost immediately the little girl started grumbling to herself as she tried to push down Catra's incredible strength to no avail. Catra actually found this a little sadder than the previous performances. At least with those people she actually felt a little something pushing against her, here it was nothing more than a brush of wind against her palm. She took greater joy as she slowly lowered the girl's hand towards the table, the little girl panicking as she tried using both hands to push back.

That was when she noticed the crowd beginning to grow silent, shifting her eyes around as she paused. Everyone was so excited and happy up till now and suddenly she found the crowd murmuring and muttering to themselves with worry because the little girl was losing. While no one was saying anything, nothing her ears could pick up at least, she could tell they were all concerned more for the little girl than her at the moment. It was a bit ironic that up till now, winning was getting her praises and cheer, and after the girl showed up, the cheers her wins were getting her were starting to dwindle.

Grinning to herself, she put on her best act as a look of terror filled her face, moaning to herself as she grabbed her wrist with her other hand. "Oh no!" She screeched, catching the girl's attention. "Can't... keep... up!" Realizing what was happening, or at least what she thought was happening, the little girl immediately grumbled to herself again as she pushed with as much force as she could. To her joy, and the rising joy of the audience, Catra's hand started falling into the opposite direction, Catra seemingly doing everything in her power to keep her hand off the table. Despite her best efforts, she let out a cry of fear as the little girl eventually slammed the mighty She-Ra's hand to the table.

It was as if a bomb went off with the uproar that the crowd let off as everyone doubled in praise at cheer at her loss. Everyone respected and cheered for the selfless She-Ra that let the little girl win, the little girl herself cheering for herself with both hands in the triumphantly. "I won! I won!"

"Heh, you sure did kid." Catra congratulated, patting her head. The crowd continued to cheer as the little girl giggled, walking off back to her parents as the praises continued.

This. Was. Paradise. She could do whatever she wanted here and she would be praised. She could defeat anyone that she came across and she would be worshipped. She could probably ask for anything and no one would question it. This was a small taste to her of what her kingdom would be.

Absolute Joy.

"I could get used to this." She commented to herself as she leaned back.

...

This was utterly shameful on Glimmer's end of things. Catra didn't even know these people for a minute before she went crazy for the attention she was getting. She was taking clear advantage of these people by milking them for as much praise she could get out of them, and she hasn't even made any demands for things she wants yet! She was not looking forward to things when she finally wanted something around here.

"This is embarrassing..." She pinched herself between her eyes. Hero of the Rebellion, the person she finally trusted with all her life, acting like the exact opposite of how a princess should behave in every practical way!

"Isn't she amazing?" Opening her eyes again she saw a beaming Princes Perfuma standing before her with her hands clasped.

"Hey," the two looked back as they heard Catra calling, "where can a hero gets some grub around here?" She asked picking her teeth with her claw. Several of the nearby townsfolk wasted no time as they ran off to search for food.

"...She's something all right..." Glimmer muttered crossing her arms. "I'm really sorry about her."

"Sorry? What do you have to apologize for?" Perfuma asked as she smiled. "You've given us a great blessing today!"

"I would've gone with a more appropriate term like curse, but ok..."

"No, really! It's so amazing that you answered our hour of need!" As if to clarify the importance of the matter, the two watched as several dead leaves fell around them. "Our forest has been dying for awhile now, ever since the Horde came in."

"The forest is dying?" It was just now Glimmer realized just how distracted she was by this She-Ra fiasco. Look around herself, she saw the numerous trees and flowers that slowly withered the further away from the village they went. "I don't understand. How is this happening?"

"It's because of the Heart Blossom, our Runestone of Plumeria." Perfuma explained as she directed her towards the giant tree in the center of the village. The tree seemed to be the healthiest of all the foliage she's seen around here, the pink healthy leaves atop it's branches being a symbol of the peace and love Plumeria stands for. Yet even that didn't prevent it's leaves to fall slowly, one leaf at a time. "Ever since the Horde arrived, the Heart Blossom has grown weaker by the day. They're draining the forest of it's energy, including the Heart Blossom itself."

"Wouldn't the Horde have to be close to drain the forest like this?" Glimmer pointed out.

"They are." She trailed Perfuma's hand as she pointed beyond the forest to the North. "Whenever they start draining our land of it's energy, smoke rises from their base up ahead. Even after they stopped, they've still monitor everything around them."

"Wait, the Horde stopped draining the forest's energy?" That didn't make any sense at all to her. "Why would they just suddenly stop? Did you attack them or something?"

"Good heavens, no! We're opposed to violence, all we want to do is live in peace." At there there was some sense coming from these people. None of them appeared to be the least combat experienced, even those who were built up to fight. "Even if we weren't, we couldn't risk leaving the Hearts Blossom unguarded while it's weakened."

"I understand that, "Glimmer nodded in agreement, "I don't know what life would be like if we ended up losing the Runestone of Bright Moon." It was a thought she rarely ever wanted to come across as she saw the sparks at the tip of her fingers. What would her life be like if she went through it all without any of her magic powers? More importantly, what would happen to her if something happened to the source of her powers?

"But you don't need to fret any longer. Now that She-Ra's here, everything will be fine!" Something sounded a little worrying about that statement.

"What makes you say that?"

"Because now that she's here, she can finally heal the Heart's Blossom itself! She's returned at the hour of our greatest need, just like in the stories!" Her face let off a brief flash of realization. "Ooh, I better make sure everything's ready!" With this she turned away as she headed back to the center of the celebration with excitement.

All at once, everything around her made sense while also filling her with worry. These people weren't just worshiping her because she was She-Ra, they expected her to actually heal the Hearts Blossom itself! How was she supposed to know how to do that when she didn't even know how to turn the She-Ra form thing off in the first place? Better yet, could she even turn it off at all? For all they knew she could be stuck that way.

"Catra!" Glimmer called out worriedly as she ran back towards the celebration.

...

* _crunch_ *

"Does this food please you, She-Ra?" One of the horned woman asked as she served another bowl of the green-colored fruit.

"Aww 'oo 'idding?" She mumbled while eating her food. She let out a great belch, one that nobody seemed bother with, as she swallowed another mouthful. "This stuff is g...g... achoo!" She sniffled a little, finding that the pollen issue wasn't as gone as she thought it was. It didn't help she had several floral necklaces around herself. "Great!" There wasn't a lie about it either! They didn't have anything close to this good in the Horde, even when it came to fruit! Granted some of it was rather salty, but she wasn't about to complain any time soon!

"Oh, that makes me so happy to hear!" The woman brightened with delight, running off to collect more food.

If there was something better than paradise, Catra was pretty sure this was it. All these people were her all time favorite people in the world by this point forward! They had the right attitude to her, they had more than enough respect to offer her, and they definitely knew how to make a hero feel welcomed! If she could trade up her new Rebellion life to live out the rest of her days in this place, regardless of all the flowers and pollen, she'd do it in a heartbeat!

* _thud_ *

"Huh?" Catra eyed the strange bell-looking thing the five-year-old girl from earlier set upon the table.

"It's for you!" She said with a bright smile. Her ears tilted a bit as she grabbed the strange looking decoration.

"O-Oh! T...Thank you..." She put on her best smile while examining the strange thing with mild confusion. She was more than happy to accept a gift from anyone around here, though it would help a little more if she knew what it was in the first place. The rest of the crowd seemed to adore the sight of the small child interacting with the greatest hero in the Universe, so Catra did her best to show her appreciation. "It's ehh... I-It's lovely!" She felt awkward as she examined the strange balls tied to string within it. "I mean, I've always wanted one of... these things so I could... uhhh... this here..."

"Wind Chime!" The girl beamed happily.

"Yeah, that! Wind Chime, just what I was going to say!" Catra quickly said, trying to sound like she knew what she was saying. "This is by far the best Wind Chime-y thing I've ever gotten. Thank you so much!"

"Hehehe, you're welcome!" The girl squealed excitedly as she giggled. Catra watched on as she ran back to her parents again, the two of them patting her head as she overheard how proud they were of her.

"Catra!" Glimmer called out again as she teleported behind her.

"Huh? Oh hey Pinky, what's up?" She didn't bother giving her any attention as she dug right back into her food.

"Catra, I need you to come with me. We need to talk." She stated.

* _crunch_ *

"'an 'ih 'ait ju'sh a minn'a? I'm bu'shy." She claimed digging back into the food.

"No it can't wait just a minute, now!" Glimmer fretted as she began pulling her arm.

"Hey, hey, hands off!" Catra yelped a little pulling away. "Go mess with the flowers or something, I'm in the middle of something." Getting back to her feet, she called out to the surrounding villagers again as she made her way back to the other table. "Ok folks, round two! Who's up for more?" Almost immediately she was surrounded again on all sides as she made her way.

"Catra! Mmmmmmmh!" Glimmer grumbled loudly as a small bit of steam rose from her head. "Fine, if you wanna play it that way..." She muttered before teleporting in a purple dazzle.

"Ok, who's up next?" Catra called out as she planted her right elbow back on the table.

"I am!" Glimmer didn't even give her a chance to accept or decline as she suddenly teleported on the opposite end, grabbing Catra's hand without intending to let it go.

"Fine, but don't expect me to hold back or nothing." She grinned, tightening her grip.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Ha, your funeral. Ok, get ready annnnd...Go-! Ngh!" Catra was suddenly startled as she found her hand already halfway towards the table. Apparently the princess here had a lot more strength behind her than Catra originally thought. There was little doubt she was possibly channeling a portion of her power into her strength, just to keep up with Catra.

"When I win, you're coming with me!" She declared.

"F-Fat chance!" The Magicat She-Ra gritted her teeth, bringing her hand to the middle of the table again. Everyone around them watched with much enthusiasm and excitement as their body could muster. They weren't just graced with the presence of She-Ra, now they got to enjoy the sight of another princess challenging her! "Why do you have to be such a buzzkill around here?"

"I'm not being a buzzkill, I'm trying to help you!" She retorted quietly . "Catra, these people care more about She-Ra than they do you."

"Uhhhh helloooooo! I  _am_  She-Ra?" She rolled her eyes.

"No you're not! Your name is Catra and you're a part of the Rebellion!" Glimmer corrected. It was like Catra had completely forgotten about her old life in the last half-hour they've been here.

For all she knew, she did.

"Ugh, why are you so laaame? Why can't you be more like Bow? He has the right idea."

"Bow?" She had almost forgotten about him after everything that's happened. Without skipping on the details, Glimmer looked to the right as Catra's tail directed her.

Off over in the distance, a couple dozen yards away, she saw Bow entertaining several kids and adults while holding a stick like a sword. "How about the time she saved Thaymor by staring down an evil Horde Captain, and made them call off an attack through sheer willpower! Or how about the one time when She-Ra borrowed my toothbrush, and single handedly defeated a hundred Horde Soldiers!"

"Bow, don't lie to them!" Catra called out with a grin.

"You're right, I'm sorry... It was two-hundred soldiers!" The kids around him cheered with excitement as Catra laughed.

"Hahaha, I officially know which of you two I like more now!"

"Yeah, I'm just going to ignore all of that." If Glimmer got irritated by every witty or sassy comment and insult from Catra, her hair would've gone white by now from mere stress. "Look, Catra, I know you think these people worship you, but it's not like that! They think you can help them with their problem here."

"And who says I can't?" She questioned proudly. "I'm the great She-Ra after all!"

"But not like this!" Her ego was becoming more inflated by the second. She didn't know if it was possible, but she was pretty sure Catra's head would've popped by now by how inflated it was. "Catra, the only thing these people are interested in is what you can do for them, not you yourself."

"Hmph, says you." Her eyes narrowed a little angrily. "I don't know if you've noticed Glimmer, but these people love me. I don't care if they want me to do something for them. I'll gladly do it, and they'll praise me even more for it!"

"But Catra, you don't understand! Just listen-"

"No, you listen!" She hissed as she leaned forward. "You wanna know what I think? I think you're just jealous!"

"Jealous?"

"Yeah, jealous! You're so used to being mommy's little princess, getting all the attention by anyone you wanted, and getting anything you wanted that you're jealous of anyone else who seems to be hogging the glory!"

"That's not even true! I'm trying to help you-"

"No, it is true!" She wouldn't give her a chance to finish so much as a sentence. "I'm surrounded by people that want me and you're trying to ruin it with your princessness. Why can't you just be happy for me?!" There was a small quake in Catra's tone as she said that.

"Catra, please, I'm not trying to-"

"No, I'm done listening, now  **you're**  going to listen. I finally found a place that feels better than any home I've ever had, and I'm not going to let anything happen to it. I won't let anyone destroy it, I won't let anyone interfere with it, and I'm certainly not going to leave it anytime soon! And you wanna know one more thing?"

"What?"

She grinned. "I've been holding back this whole time."

**_*Crash!*_ **

That was a little unexpected and planned on Catra's part, but she hoped she proved her point. By the time Glimmer could react, it was already too late. In one fell swoop, Catra not only slammed Glimmer's hand away with relative ease, she also ended up tossing her several yards to the side through the air. What was unplanned about it were the several barrels she ended up hurdling her into, not intending to do that much damage to the princess. She didn't let it get to her though as the townspeople rallied in cheer at her newest victory, almost ignoring the fact she just tossed a princess away through the air.

A small fraction of her actually wondered if she was okay.

Seeing the scene that unfolded, Bow quickly set the children climbing on him down as he ran over to where Glimmer landed somewhat worriedly. "Glimmer!" He called out, pulling one of the barrels off of her. "Are you ok?" To his relief, he saw her pulling herself out almost instantly after he pulled one of the barrels off of her. Thankfully the barrels seemed to be empty for the most part, only a few of them having anything in them and just a few pieces of fruit at that.

Glimmer on the other hand was fed up. With a scowl, she ignored everything going on with Catra, even as the She-Ra looked back to her with a slight hint of concern, patting all the dust from her shoulder, boots, and so forth. With a single grumble to herself, she teleported angrily back to Catra's side as she stood up.

"Hey Pinky... you-"

"You know what? I've had it." Glimmer interrupted without a care. "Every time I try to help you, either of us try to help you, you always have to be bitter, bossy, annoying, or some other thing, just to get a reaction out of me or Bow, and you know what? I'm done. I'm done trying to help you. So instead, you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to just watch. I'm going to stand off to the side and watch everything unfold. And when your world shatters in the next few minutes, I'm going to force the biggest grin I've ever made onto my face and tell you 'I told you so', and I'm going to be happy about it."

"She-Ra!" The two looked over as Perfuma made her way over to them happily. "Preparations are in order the main event! Will you be gracing us with your blessing now or after the Drum Circle?"

While having no idea what she was referring to, she was still a little peeved as she glanced over to Glimmer. What was this girl's problem? First she tries to steal her away, then she tries to ruin her happiness, and now she tries to ruin her mood in the midst of all this?

How ungrateful!

"You know what? Let's do the whole blessing thing now while we're all up and at it." Catra's insistence was followed by another round of applause and cheer by the crowd. With another smirk to the other princess, Catra walked on as Perfuma lead the way, the crowd following behind her continuing their cheers and praise as they followed along.

Looking between the two back and forth, Bow quickly walked over to his dear friend as she continued to stare. "H-Hey, are you ok?"

"Just go with her." She practically ordered. "I want to enjoy this in private."

"Look, Glimmer, I know she can be stuck up, but you have to remember she's from the Horde." He reminded. "Maybe she-" She didn't give him any time to finish. Before he could finish his sentence, Glimmer teleported, to who knows where. Sighing to himself, he jogged himself over to the moving crowd.

He knew perfectly that this wasn't going to end well.

...

"Allow me to extend my deepest gratitude again, She-Ra, for gracing us with your presence!" Perfuma thanked with her hands clasped.

"Heh, yeah, you're welcome... for the fifteenth time..." Catra replied. It was starting to get a bit embarrassing just how much she was being praised.

But not boring.

"Behold, the heart of our beloved kingdom, the Heart Blossom!" Bow and Catra gazed upon the massive tree as their eyes widened at the sight.

This might've been one of the biggest trees either of the two had ever come across. Stretching far above to the sky, maybe half as tall as Bright Moon Castle itself, was a gigantic pink plaster of bark that could be seen from the furthest stretch of the clearing here, from any single place in the entire village! The massive roots of this great oak stretched far beyond anything either of the two could comprehend. Massive sized roots dug throughout the soil of this giant tree, with individual roots sprouting flowers from the tips of these additional roots.

Everything about this place spoke peace and beauty to all that gazed it.

That's when Catra's attention shifted to the giant pink runestone embedded within the center of this great tree. It was weird, strange to her. Being this close next to one of the first Runestone's she's seen since the Black Garnet, a runestone she wouldn't dare come near again, she could've sworn it was humming. She felt a warmth coming from the great stone the closer she got to it, a warmth none of the others seemed to feel save for possibly Princess Perfuma herself.

But it was also weaker, she believed at least. There was something about it, cold, hurt, feelings emanating from it that told her that it was in pain. Was it another ability she possessed being She-Ra now? Could she sense how the tree was on the inside? The color itself made her question if the tree was even healthy as it appeared. She could almost swear the runestone was supposed to shine brighter than this.

"What do you think, mighty She-Ra?" Princess Perfuma asked with a small bow.

Scratching the back of her head, she tried to think up an answer for the villagers. "Well it's... uhh... certainly big... and... pretty?"

"Thank you! We respect all boundaries of nature and live alongside it peacefully." She replied touching the tree. "It's been here for centuries, providing us with protection and prosperity for our people." As she went on, Catra and Bow took notice as several leaves began falling from it's branches, quickly shriveling up and decaying practically into dust before them.

"What's going on with the leaves?" Bow asked as he watched more fall. "Is something wrong with the tree.

Perfuma frowned as she turned her head a little. "The Horde has been collecting and siphoning the tree's energy up to this point. Until recently, the tree's grown weaker by the day and the plants around us have begun to die."

"Until recently?" Catra repeated. Did that mean they stopped? Why would they stop in the middle of something? With the village being as peaceful as it is, they could easily overpower the villagers and take the tree's energy without a second thought.

"But that's all in the past now because you're here with us!" Perfuma chirped as she walked back to Catra. "Now you can use your power to restore the tree and the land as it once was!"

"Uhhh do what now?" A small tingling sensation was growing in the back of Catra's mind. It wasn't anything that could kill her and the troubling part was something told her she wanted it to compared to what she was about to go through.

"You know, restore it! Heal the tree and save our land!" She pleaded. "Just like the stories!" She walked off along the sides of the giant roots as she used her magic to move the foliage covering several scriptures involving She-Ra. "She-Ra, the warrior that tamed the beasts of Beast Island with a single word!"

"Uh... I did that?"

"Yes! Every time we've needed you, the Universe answered our call and brought you to us!"

"Like the Great Famine that struck us several millennia ago!" A villager called out.

"Or the time you struck down the mighty beowulf with one hand!" Another called out.

"And now, you're here to answer our pleas again!" Perfuma said assuringly.

"She-Ra!"

"She-Ra!"

"She-Ra!"

Catra smiled nervously as the villagers walked closer to her while chanting.

This might've been a slight problem. Here she was, recent center of attention, who was tasked with doing something magical with the sword, healing in this case. Why did it have to be healing of all things? She thought she was going to fight a Horde soldier or some monsters, or maybe save some villagers from some evil monster trying to eat their children! What did she have to do instead? Preform some magic with a sword she's barely used at all to restore an entire land to it's former self! She might as well be ending world hunger while she was at it!

That's when she noticed Glimmer, princess of Bright Moon and Queen Angella's daughter, passed the crowd. Sure enough, just like she promised she would be doing, she was leaning against one of the trees while crossing her arms with a giant smirk across her face. She was going to watch this and enjoy all that she could get out of it.

There was absolutely no way she would ever give her that satisfaction!

"Hmph, fine then, I'll do it!" She said with a determined face. Like everything else she did, this was followed by cheers and applause from the people around her, all watching as she walked up to the tree.

"Use my Wind Chime for good luck!" She heard the little girl call out. She looked back for a second before looking to the Wind Chime she was still holding.

"Uhh Catra?" Bow called out as he walked over. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?" He whispered.

"I don't even know how to change back to normal, what makes you think I can heal this thing?" She whispered back nervously.

"Then let's just step back for a minute to practice or something."

"Are you kidding? Do you see how they are now? They need me to do this!" She looked at the sword in her other hand, seeing the person she needed to be right now.

She-Ra.

"If they expect me to be a hero, then that's exactly what I'm going to do."

"But how are you going to do it then? You've never done anything else with the sword."

"Well... how hard can it be?" She gulped to herself as she leaned the sword against the tree, using her free hand to feel the tree itself. With direct contact to the stone, she could feel it. It was definitely in pain like she thought, a small fraction of it's power slowly draining to the surrounding forest. Taking a deep breath, Catra closed her eyes as she tried to concentrate, everyone, Bow and Glimmer included, watched intently as Catra tried to work her literal magic.

 _Come on, please!_  She said to herself. Give me whatever power, use whatever power you have, to help these people...

She needed this to work. It had to work! This wasn't just a matter of proving Glimmer wrong, she wanted to make everyone proud of her! They worshipped her and praised her ever since they got here! Even someone of Catra's demeanor couldn't bring herself not to repay their generosity! They're some of the nicest people she's ever met, they didn't deserve whatever cruelty was being inflicted upon them. And she was willing to fight off anyone she needed to keep these people specifically safe.

As she concentrated, she heard numerous oohs and awes as the people watched.

"Catra, you're glowing!" Bow announced.

"I'm trying to concentrate!" She quickly shushed back to him. This had to be it, it had to be working! She dared not open her eyes as she tried to focus all her thoughts on the tree itself. If she was glowing, it had to be a good sign.

She drowned out the numerous murmurs and mutters she heard around her as she continued to glow, her hair raising slightly as her body coursed with power. Nobody knew what to expect, Glimmer herself actually finding herself surprised by what Catra was doing. Was she really going to pull it off? Was she actually going to heal the tree and save the day like Catra said she would? Maybe she wasn't just showboating about the whole She-Ra thing either?

 _I... I can feel something..._  This warm soothed her nerves as she continued to concentrate. This strange warmth brought her comfort in this hour of need. Perhaps all her troubles were finally behind her now? Maybe she really could be this legendary She-Ra everyone begged of her? This was fantastic! It brought a smile to her face. She finally had a purpose in life and a place where she belong-

It stopped. Everything stopped. All the feelings she felt, all the thoughts running through her mind, it all left her. Nothing filled her mind or her heart until she started hearing several disturbed gasps and murmurings coming from behind her.

"What?" She asked looking back. Save for Bow, everyone else looked at her in shock. Catra looked at what was troubling these poor people that had been so good to her, eyes widening at what she saw.

Herself.

Her transformation had finally ended.

She was just plain old Catra again.

"Ugh, you've got to be kidding me!" She growled grabbing her sword. "Of all the stupid times to change back you pick now?!"

"Who are you?" She looked back as she saw the somewhat scared and questioning looks of the villagers. They looked like they were just meeting her for the first time again, but more nervous or angry instead of happy or joyful. "Where's She-Ra?"

"Uhh right in front of you?" She answered like a rhetorical question. "I've been She-Ra the whole time here, it's just this stupid sword that transforms me into-"

"Are you not She-Ra?" Another woman questioned her. There was a sense of dread emanating from the audience who watched her.

"She's just a girl!" Another elderly woman said.

"News flash, so was She-Ra." Catra retorted. "Anyway just give me a few minutes to get this thing working, I'll have it down in no time."

"But you're not even She-Ra!" Ok now it was starting to get annoying.

And concerning.

"I thought you were here to help us!"

"What did you do to She-Ra?"

"Bring us back She-Ra!"

All around her the entire crowd of people just went from one thing after the other as they continued to bombard Catra with an array of questions and demands from here. What just happened to these people? Here they were, worshipping her literally one minute ago and now they throwing words and, at this point, insults at her like she was a witch from a witch hunt. Did she just enter some parallel dimension or something while her back was turned?

Even Perfuma looked at her with complete shock and dismay at what just happened. This wasn't the She-Ra she remembered! She-Ra was supposed to be a soldier radiating with an aura power and wisdom. She was hope incarnate that would come to their world in their greatest hour of need and save them from whatever evils left them in peril.

This? This was a Horde soldier. A Horde soldier who's animal-like features actually looked more terrifying to her than anything she's ever witnessed. Sure, she wasn't as terrifying as a monster or anything, but compared to her previous attire and appearance, she looked like a wolf who took off sheep's clothing.

"Can... you not save us?" Princess Perfuma finally asked. Now Catra was starting to get steamed.

"What is wrong with you people?!" She shouted squeezing her fists. "I AM She-Ra!"

"Catra-!" Bow tried to interrupt.

"I CAN get the sword to work!"

"Catra-!" She was oblivious to the increasingly worried look on his face.

"If you just stopped pressuring me, I can get it done in no time!"

"CATRA!"

"What?!" She finally growled back, too little too late.

* _CRACK_!*

Her ears twitched as she suddenly picked up on the noise, finding the source of it coming straight from her hand. Her eyes widened in shock as she just realized what she had done. In the midst of all this anger and frustration that was being built up, she failed to sense any feeling of touch coming from her hands. Because of this, she was completely unaware as she continued to squeeze the beautiful Wind Chime someone had gifted to her all before any of this stuff happened. And without skipping a beat, she brushed it in her bare hands like it was nothing.

It was a gift from a simple five-year-old girl, one she let win in arm wrestling, and one who reminded her of Kim. The very same girl who now had tears forming in the corner of her eyes as she looked back. For one of the first times in her life, at least since leaving the Horde, she felt a tinge of remorse. She was someone who idolized her, even if it was because she was She-Ra, and on top of making her cry in front of all these people, she destroyed something that was precious to her.

She didn't even have the time to utter an apology before the girl ran away back to her parents. They quickly hugged her in turn as she cried into their legs, glaring back at the would-be She-Ra like the rest of the villagers had.

"You're a monster!" The villagers shouted.

"You're not She-Ra, you're just an imposter!"

"Go back to where you came from and leave us in peace!"

This... was a nightmare. Nothing but a complete nightmare. She was no longer in the same paradise that she once relished. She was in a nightmare of her own personal torment, her own personal torture.

One that she designed.

"Ugggh! Forget you stupid people, I'm done!" She growled. Gritting her teeth she picked up her sword as she hastily marched her way back into the woods. Princess Perfuma could only shake her head at the scene before returning to her villagers, trying to calm them down and come up with a way that could best explain what was going on along with Bow.

At the same time, a princess off in the distance continued to smile at the scene. This is exactly what she told her would happen, what she tried to warn her about, but did she listen? No. She decided to be stuck up as always and completely ignore Glimmer even as she tried to help her. On top of that, she felt it necessary to toss her aside into a cluster of barrels. Whether or not it was an accident, it didn't matter to her. She didn't want to listen to anything she had to say and she was the one suffering for all this.

And now she was going to walk into the woods to reap her rewards from the selfish egomaniac herself!

...

...

"Oh Catraaaa~" Glimmer called out with glee.

Thaymor.

That's what this entire scenario reminded her of. It had basically the same formula of the disaster that struck the down, or at least involving Catra and not the Horde attack after. She mingled with the people, participated at a festival of sorts, got chewed out by adults who were angry with her, and then she ran off into the woods to pout. The only difference this time is that she didn't care!

She was done trying to help the girl whenever she didn't truly need it. She thought she could get away with acting like a complete snob when she was trying to help her in the first place? Fine! Who cared what happened to her in the process as long as she didn't get hurt! Ever since she met her she was mean, prideful, snobby, selfish, uncaring, rude, lazy, and, a new one she could add to the list, egotistical!

So now, she was going to get her time. Glimmer was going to find her in these woods and rub it in her face just like everything Catra did to rub any insults into her face.

Sure enough, just like Thaymor, she found her beside a tree again, now standing on the ground like she was. This time, she was near it with her right shoulder leaning against it with her back towards Glimmer, no doubt crossing her arms in a huff. Oh, she was going to enjoy herse-

* _sniff_ *

"?"

 _Was she crying?_  She couldn't tell as she felt a moment of concern.  _Or is it the pollen again?_  It must've been the latter here. After all, she was still wearing several of the flower necklaces she was given at her celebration. Shaking the thoughts from her head she quickly smirked as she crossed her own arms.

"Well, well, well, look what we have here." She waited briefly for any sort of reaction out of her. No doubt she would remain silent through most of whatever insults of "I told you so" Glimmer had to dish out. "Did you enjoy the festival? I know I sure did!"

"..."

"I think my favorite part was right after you turned back to normal in front of everybody. Gee, talk about bad timing, huh-"

"What do you want?" She asked turning her head barely an inch. There was something weird about her tone of voice, being impossible to see her expression passed her hair. There was a strange coldness to it unlike anything she's heard Catra say before. There was no emotion to her words or any sense of demand from it. It was just nothing, hollow. It's like she's lost any emotion she ever had.

Still, she wasn't going to let it ruin her chance of payback. She pushed aside the thoughts as she continued. "Oh, nothing, just came to see where you ran off to. I was surprised to see you running so fast, and after such a fun festival too!"

"..." Catra just turned her head again away from Glimmer.

"You know I'm pretty sure if you weren't so keen on doing everything like a goddess, you wouldn't be in this mess."

"..."

Ok, now it was getting a little annoying. She didn't think Catra was capable of keeping to herself for this long when someone was purposely trying to mock her. Her tail wasn't wagging around through some subconscious means or anything. It just remained lifeless, like she was being. "It was a shame you had to go and destroy that gift that little angel made you, you know? I'm sure at least then someone still would've liked you, even if you weren't She-Ra."

"..."

* _sniff_ *

Something was wrong.

Everything about this was wrong. It became more apparent to her as she suddenly saw Catra rub the corner of her eye against her arm. It wasn't just that, it was Glimmer herself. Why was she doing this? She wasn't feeling any better about all of this, she wasn't getting any joy out of these reactions. If anything, she felt a little sicker with herself just for trying to get some sort of reaction out of Catra. She came here hoping to smile her whole way through this, but now she was just feeling concerned... and a little hurt herself.

"Catra..." Catra ignored the shift of emotion in her voice. "Are... Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" She hissed.

Well that got a reaction out of her.

"Huff, look, Catra, if you weren't so obsessed with wanting to hear how great you are, none of this would be happening."

"...What?" She turned her head a little more back.

"I just mean if you just tried to act normal and not show off in front of everyone, you wouldn't be feeling as bad as you do now. You just let all the praises and compliments get to your head, that's why things ended up like this."

"...You think I was doing it for all the praises and garbage they were giving me?" She finally turned around to her, facing her directly. It was impossible to tell if she was crying at any point or not. All Glimmer could see was an empty stare into her eyes.

"W-Well... yeah... I-I mean that's why you were showing off in front of them and everything... wasn't it?" This conversation was starting to flip in on itself from how Glimmer pictured it.

"Showing off? What part of anything made you think I was showing off just so they could praise me?"

"Huh?" Was she joking or using some form of reverse-psychology on her? Did Catra even know how to comprehend reverse-psychology? "What do you think? Try everything you were doing in front of them that earned you cheer!"

"Pinky, I could care less what they were cheering for me or praising me for." She squeezed her fist a little. "I was showing off because these people actually  ** _cared_**  about me!"

"You... think they cared about you?"

"I know they cared about me!" She hissed, turning around to lean against the tree once more. "They enjoyed seeing me, they liked having me around here! They brought me food, cheered at everything I was doing, I got a freaking gift from someone for pete sake! And I didn't know these people and they still cared about someone they just met!"

"Catra... Ohhh..." Oh, great. Just great. She definitely wanted things to turn out this way! Oh how  _happy_  she was to see everything flip in on itself the one time she wants to be the snobbish one around here. "Catra, they weren't caring for you in the way that you're thinking. They were just happy because they thought you were here to solve their problems."

"Yeah, and I probably could've if they didn't instantly hound in on me the minute I changed back!"

* _sniff_ *

There was little doubt left about what the sniffling was from. She was crying earlier.

"Look, Catra, that wasn't..." She sighed. "Look, I'm sorry I thought you were doing it for all the attention and everything. I just figured with how you throw yourself at everything in front of people, you liked the attention they were giving you. Just like the attention people gave you in the Fright Zone." There was an eerie silence looming around the air as she waited for a response. When she didn't get one, another thought occurred to her that she didn't think of. "...Did... you get any attention in the Fright Zone?"

"Oh, yeah, sure, I got plenty of  _attention_  in the Fright Zone." She quickly replied without hesitation. "I got just comforting words like "oh hey look, it's that freak again", and "oh great, what is she doing here", or my personal favorite "ugh, why do they allow that in the Fright Zone"! They really knew how to make a girl feel welcome you know!"

"Mmmh look, Catra, I know kids can be cruel sometimes, but-"

"Who the heck is talking about kids? I'm talking about the stupid adults that raised us!" She shouted. "And they were the nice ones about it too! They at least muttered it to themselves thinking I couldn't hear them! Don't even get me started with the children I was raised along with..."

Ok. This was completely unfair.

Here Glimmer was, who hoped to go into the woods to confront an egomaniac named Catra and get back at her for all the hardships she put her through and the annoyances she had to put up with up till now, after one single day in the Rebellion. She was going to do it, show off in front of Catra, and feel totally better about everything that happened up to this point.

What happened instead? She came to a greater realization than anything she or Bow could've thought up. Catra wasn't showing off just to upstage anyone, she didn't want the world thinking she was the greatest person alive, or at least not around here. She wanted to show these people how good she was because she thought they welcomed her, respected her. She thought all the attention she was getting was a sign of compassion of some sort.

Like a family.

And it left Glimmer with a sickening feeling after realizing all of this. She thought someone as hard struck as Catra wouldn't be bothered by all these emotions and whatnot, especially since she was raised in the Horde. Here, she was nothing more than an average person, one who's life was torn upside down like the rest of the world, if not more so given the people who raised her. And here she was planning and wanting to rub it in her face thinking Catra was a snob.

She was nothing more than a person who became intoxicated with the amount of praises she got, thinking it meant others cared for her.

Glimmer had nothing but ultimate regret for every reason she came out here to find her.

"Catra... I'm... I'm sorry..." She apologized lowering her head a little. "I didn't know."

It didn't matter to her at this point. This entire mission, everything about it, was a complete crush on her mentality and her emotions at this point. She couldn't wait to get back to the Castle as of now. At least then she'd be surrounded by people she knew didn't make her feel welcome.

"...Just forget it." Both of them wished they could.

"Catra! Glimmer!" Bow could be heard shouting as he rushed up to them.

"Bow? What's wrong?" Glimmer was the first to turn around curiously, noticing the worry in his eye as he panted out of breath.

"Huff... Huff... " He fell to his knees as he collected his breath. "The... The Horde..." Catra instantly turned around at the mention of the word. Nothing with the word Horde in it ever resulted in something good.

"What? What Horde? What happened?" Catra demanded as she ran to him.

"The Horde, they're..." He let out a final breath before getting back to his feet. "They're at the village, an entire force of them! At least fifty, maybe!"

"They're attacking the village?!" Glimmer fretted. That was just great. Now she was going to hear how the Horde appeared out of nowhere just after she left it for her own selfish reasons.

"Well..." The two looked at him bewildered as a strange look crossed his face. "That's the thing. They're not attacking, they're... negotiating."

Glimmer and Catra looked at each other as if they had never heard the word before. Negotiating was a staple of what every war should've been to avoid bloodshed and violence, so lives could be spared and both sides were relatively happy. Never have they heard the words "Horde" and "Negotiating" ever in the same sentence.

"Negotiating?"

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**A/N: So what's the moral of today's story? ... I don't know, that's why I asked you guys XP.** _

_**Lol, anyway, had a bit of fun with the ending of this one (I mean it still tug at my heart but you get the point). Fun thing about my writing, if I know what I intend to write about and whatnot, I can write out lickity split! Otherwise for the scenes that are going scene-by-scene from the show, they take awhile obviously cause i have to keep going back and forth with watching it and writing it down and whatnot.** _

_**Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed todays episode! I have work all day today so dk when/if I'll even be back before possibly 10 TONIGHT X_X i'm gonna be tired... but I will have my phone at least so feel free to message me about concerns or questions you have.** _

_**And again, let me know if you guys want the intro in the beginning of all episodes, or just the first part of every episode. Idky I just feel like it would be nifty if the intro was in all of them rather than one-third of them or something...** _

_**Anyway! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!** _


	12. Episode 4: Flowers for She-Ra End

_**A/N: Hooftah, lordy lordy! This one was LOOOOONG and FUUUUUUUN to write!... well minus when it started eating into my work time and everything but you get the point XP. Anyway, not much to say here. There are some bits more rushed than others (least feels like it to me), especially during the later half (again just feels like it to me), but this is the result of my trying to shorten down and push in 6 minutes of the series into just 8k or so words for a chapter.** _

_**Clearly, I failed XP. And this was me trying to write a little less compared to usual so add that in to any scenes that aren't as detailed as they used to be.** _

_**For those wondering why i write so descriptively, look back to my danganronpa days. When you're writing a visual novel, you NEED to write more for the scenes when you're writing about a bunch of people standing around in one spot for several chapters...** _

_**Anyway, enjoy!** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

"You want us to what?"

"You heard us, rats!" The behemoth of a man bellowed as he continued to talk.

This day was the first time Glimmer, Catra, and Bow found their day go from bad to worse to confusing, in that order.

The Bad: Bringing Catra to a village that worshipped her like a goddess. The minute the praises and compliments came from these people, Catra began doing anything and everything to gain as much praise and compliments as possible from these people. This was one of the best days of her life and the most welcoming towns she ever came across! Too bad that only lasted as long as her She-Ra form did because almost immediately she found herself hounded and practically hated by everyone that came across her. It's like they were completely unaware that Catra and She-Ra were one and the same!

The Worse: What followed after. Having been fed up by Catra's arrogance and attitude up to this point, Glimmer decided to try her hand at being the snobbish one for once and give Catra a taste of her own medicine. How did it go? Oh, about as well as she could expect it to be. And by that she means heartbreaking.

What she wanted to be a good bit of payback as well as a life lesson for Catra's ego ended up being a heart-wrenching realization on Glimmer's end of things. Catra wasn't being arrogant as she thought. She liked the praise, she wanted the attention, but for an entirely different reason. She thought the amount of attention and praise she was getting was a sign of compassion, a feeling she was never used to before in her life among the Horde. She was so enamored by the compassion she felt that she didn't want the feeling to go away, making it saddening for the both of them when the truth was finally known.

And finally, the Confusing: At present, visible by our two-and-a-half heroes from behind one of the many trees of Plumeria, there was what appeared to be a negotiation at hand. Nothing could explain why such a momentous event was occurring, nor why the Horde suddenly decided to negotiate in the first place. The Horde, up till now, has been attacking and decimating anything and everything they come across, whether people, the land itself, or anyone who disagrees with them. Now, they were like a completely different army by preforming this never-before-scene, at least within the Horde, known as negotiation.

And not one bit of it settled right in the pits of Catra's stomach.

"Ugh, what the heck is  **he** doing here?" She groaned, recognizing the large behemoth-like man.

"You know him?" Glimmer asked curiously.

"Yeah, some all brawns-and-less-than-brains sorta guy I ran into yesterday." She replied. "He was trying to capture Swifty, that flying horse thing, when I came across him. Guy nearly ripped me in half too while I was saving it."

"But what's he doing all the way out here?" Bow asked, never taking his eyes off the meeting. There was no way he could look away from an entire group of villagers staring at an army of fifty soldiers lined up side by side behind the leader of their group.

"How should I know? He was way out on the other side of the forest he burned down when I met him."

"Can you hear what's going on from here?" Glimmer asked, seeing how they were incapable from hearing as well as her from sixty feet away. They couldn't risk being spotted while the Princess of Bright Moon was with them.

"Yeah, just keep it down..." Her ears twitched a little as she tried to get a proper hearing.

"Lord Hordak has decided to grace your kingdom with his everlasting mercy!" The large man continued. "Either you surrender your runestone to us and join the glorious might of the Horde, or your village will be the next thing we burn down!"

"B-But we have no desire for war!" Princess Perfuma stated. "All we want to do is live in peace. We are not a violent kingdom!"

"Be that as it may, your options are limited." He huffed. "Lord Hordak's mercy is not to be taken lightly, and you will NOT be given this opportunity again! Either your people can join the glory of the Horde, or be cut down like the rest of your remaining trees!"

Following this, everyone, the trio included, watched as a sudden plume of smoke rose passed the forest. Looks of concern and fear crossed the faces of the many villagers, all gasping and murmuring at the sight of the dark smoke. It was at that time dozens of leaves began to fall from the Hearts Blossom, the treasured runestone of the kingdom, as blackened tendrils began to crawl along the bark of it. The tendrils glowed with faint yellow streaks of light as the life of the tree drained slowly by the second, the surrounding plants beginning to pale and shrivel up as a result.

"Until you make your decision, your precious tree will be drained of every last bit of it's strength!" He announced.

"Please, we..." Perfuma looked lost in thought. What was she supposed to do in this kind of situation? The Horde were the enemies of everything the Rebellion fought against. Even if she was no longer part of the alliance, she couldn't turn her back on her past friends and allies. But she also couldn't endanger the life of her kingdom and her fellow people. There was no win in this situation! "...We need some time, please..."

Whether out of leniency or otherwise, the large man huffed once more as he punched his hand intimidatingly. "You have one hour to decide! When you've made your decision, you will come to the base in person, alone! Hopefully for your sake and that of your people, you choose wisely!" With his final threat, he nodded to the surrounding soldiers as they marched off back into the woods, in the same direction as the smoke stack.

With the coast clear, the three ran towards the group of concerned townspeople. What were they supposed to do in this situation? They couldn't risk being known as betrayers of the Rebellion like other kingdoms, but they had no means to fight back either. Everyone last one of them were harmless! They were so distraught in their thoughts that half of them barely paid any mind to Catra's return. Those that did however seemed less than happy to see her.

"Perfuma!" Glimmer called out as she ran up. "What's going on?"

"The Horde is offering us peace in exchange for joining with them." Perfuma replied. "Unless we comply they're going to drain our runestone of everything it has."

"You're not going to listen to them I hope!" Catra said with a low growl. Several more heads were turned at the sound of the familiar magicat.

"What other choice do we have?" One of the villagers asked. "Either we join them or we lose everything!"

"Did you forget everything they did to you though?" Bow reminded. "Everyone we've lost since the Horde arrived? The land they've scorched since coming?"

"We can't risk our lives when we have no chance of winning."

"So you're just going to let them boss you around until you fall in line?" Catra looked over the dozens of frowns and concerned looks of the villagers. Not one of them seemed the least bit hopeful or brave enough to fight.

"If we join with the Horde," Perfuma said softly, "then maybe we can live in peace. At least we won't have to be afraid for our lives then."

"You'll never  _not_  be afraid for your lives if you join them!" She retorted. More heads raised to her as she spoke. "You have to believe me on this. If you join them your lives are only going to get harder! You're never going to know peace working for them!"

"How are we supposed to believe you?" One of them grumbled. "You're not even the real She-Ra!"

"You couldn't even heal a tree when we needed it. How are we supposed to oppose them?"

"For all we know you're trying to trick us! Maybe you're still with the Horde!"

This was just like the tree all over again. One after the other people started throwing accusations and words at her from all sides, several faces angered and several filled with sorrow. While she didn't care as much, Catra still found herself getting stressed from the bombardment of comments and doubts being thrown at her. Nothing went silent until Perfuma lifted her head again, just as dismayed as the rest of the villagers.

"Maybe this is the answer the Universe has provided for us." When faith was all one had, even the most dreadful of options seemed the most necessary. "Perhaps this is the only path left for us to obtain something close to peace."

"But... Mmh..." How was she supposed to argue with these people? They were so blinded by their faith of the Universe and nothing she came up with would reach them. And she couldn't think of anything to say that wouldn't sound insulting, especially after the annoyance she's gone through, that would turn them on her more.

"You need to listen to her!" Glimmer said taking a step forward. Catra was surprised to hear her support in all this after the last few minutes. "Catra's lived within the Horde since the day she was born! She knows how horrible and cruel they can be even to their own people! If you join them you're only going to suffer more than you are now!"

The people of Plumeria went silent as they all gathered their own thoughts to this. Another princess was speaking up for someone else, someone they shunned on a moment's notice. They couldn't tell if they should be inclined to believe her or more troubled by the turn of events. It still did little to ease their conscious either. If anything, they only felt more troubled at the thought of doubting a fellow princess.

"...You still don't understand..." Perfuma shook her head in response. Raising her arm in front of them, the three watched as a flower materialized in the palm of her hand. "I grow flowers. That's all my magics good for. Others weave quilts, some make pottery. We're not warriors, we have no means to fight back."

"Well then use your gifts to fight back!" Bow squeezed his fist with pride. "Just because your talents don't make you warriors doesn't mean you aren't one! What else do you have to lose anyway? It's like Glimmer said, you'd be throwing your lives away just by joining the Horde."

More silence followed this as Catra looked around. This was it. This was all the force they had to fight with. Against armed guards and a military base, with weaponry of who knows what, against a handful of villagers who didn't seem to know how to throw a punch, it would be a slaughter.

Gritting her teeth, Catra shook her head as she began walking away. "Just forget about them." Bow and Glimmer looked back in shock at the statement.

"But Catra-"

"But nothing!" She didn't give Glimmer three words before cutting her off. "If they'd rather be miserable and follow their stupid beliefs, then let them. This is just a waste of time. Let's just get out of here."

Something wasn't right. She knew Catra to be cold at times but she was being a little too forceful on the situation here. She usually preferred drawing out all the talk she could whenever something was going on, never cut through the middle of it like this. That was when she saw something, a strange miniscule look from the corner of Catra's eye as she turned her head back for just a sec, ever so slightly. It was brief, almost nothing, but strange for someone like her.

Against her better judgement, she gestured to Bow as the two followed along with her in the woods, leaving the town to sort itself out with their own dilemma. Perfuma was at a personal loss for what to do. Whatever her decision was at this point, she only knew she had less than an hour to decide...

...

"So, mind telling me what that was about?" Bow asked as they followed behind Catra. He knew she had every reason to be mad at the situation, given all that happened, but he figured she'd hate the Horde more than how the village treated her.

"What do you think?" Catra shrugged. "That town was getting annoying, so I left. Plain and simple."

"So... what's the plan then?" Glimmer asked.

"Beats me. Go home, destroy the base, your call princess. I'm just here because the Queen told me to."

"But what about the Horde then? Aren't you going to do something about it?"

"Who cares. If they wanna join them so badly then good for them. Long as I don't have to deal with them anymore I'm all for it."

This was starting to reach the point beyond weird. She just had the most stressful moment of her life, at least since Glimmer knew her, and all of a sudden she didn't seem to care about anything. What was this sudden change in personality? It's like everything that happened in the village didn't even phase her-

Glimmer suddenly stopped, Bow taking another step before noticing her pause.

"Catra..." Catra froze in her tracks, keeping her back to the two. "You... You still care about the villagers, don't you?"

"...Huh?" It was the same as last time. She didn't give her any face as she turned her head a little, still with the uncaring tone she's known her to have. Except this time Glimmer noticed how a little too forceful the non-caring attitude was.

"You left them there because you don't want them to fight, right?" She guessed. "You're worried they'll get hurt if they try to fight back."

"..."

"Catra... is that true?" Bow wouldn't be able to believe it if she told him herself. It sounded nothing like the Catra the two of them knew, and at the same time something sly enough for her to try.

"...Tch, are you for real?" She snorted. "Why the heck would I care for a bunch of idiots that think the Universe is going to solve everything? Did you forget everything they did to me after I changed back to normal? If they care more about She-Ra than they do me then their whole village can burn down for all I care."

"Then why are you heading towards the Horde base?" Catra blinked at this as she looked to the sky. Like Glimmer said, she was heading in the direction the smoke was coming from.

"Huh... look at that. Guess I took a wrong turn."

"Oh would you just knock it off!" Glimmer teleported in front of her. "Stop acting like you don't care about the villagers already! If you want to help them then just say so! We'll all go together!"

As sure she was that Catra cared for the villagers, it was impossible to tell from the look in her eyes. They had the same lack of glow or care that she had when she confronted her after she ran from the village the first time. Yet with everything she was doing up till now, it was impossible not to think she didn't care for the villagers.

At the same time, the annoyance coming from Glimmer was getting irritating. TIme after time, she kept insisting that Catra cared for the same people that treated her like a goddess one second and then an outcast the next. She never found a town so backwards with itself that it would change it's personality on a moment's notice. It was like the town had it's own split personality it didn't know about, or a contagious mood swing that every villager was infected with.

Whatever the case was, she wanted this mission to be over, and as it stood, there was only one obstacle keeping her from finishing it.

Looking off to the side, Catra exhaled deeply through her nose as she spoke. "If we just destroy the base, will you get off my back already?"

"Gladly." Well, not entirely gladly, but she would take any acceptance she could get from the girl. Rolling her eyes, Catra looked back between her and Bow as she replied.

"Fine then, just give me a minute to do something first." She directed. "Find a clearing with a good view of the base, and I'll track you there."

"What about you? Where are you going?" Bow asked as Catra began to take off.

"I just got to take care of something first. I'll be back in a few minutes!" She said before disappearing from view.

It was hard to get a read on the girl. She was She-Ra sometimes, Catra many others, she liked a group of people she met, she hated them the next, there was no end to the number of random things that made up Catra's personality.

But there was at least one thing Glimmer knew for sure now, something she could smile about.

Catra still cared about them.

...

"How much longer are we going to have to wait?" Bow asked peaking around the giant slab of metal.

It took them a few more minutes until the two finally came across the Horde base, and man was it defensive! All around it was a hard metal plated wall with mixes of concrete that surrounded the entire base on all sides, stretching up to at least the same size as the surrounding trees. All around it were guards on all four corners, with Bow counting several patrols that crossed one section at least every other minute.

The opportunities to infiltrate the base were pretty slim too. Night would definitely be out of the question. Aside from hearing better during the quiet night, there were several spotlights at various corners surrounding the wall. And that didn't take into account any and all security cameras they had lying around the walls either.

Another factor they had to take into account was was what sort of security measures, if any, they had to deal with. There might've been tripwires somewhere around the walls they didn't know about, or there could be simple sensors that went off whenever something unauthorized moved around it.

Not to mention the soldiers themselves that filled the entirety of the base. There was no telling if the fifty they saw at the village was all they had or merely a fraction of whatever army was in there. There might as well have been a thousand soldiers stationed inside if they were daring enough to make a base anywhere this close to another kingdom capitol. That or they were brave enough to build something this menacing this close as a sign of intimidation.

This was a base fitting for anyone in the Horde, and most likely going to be their last mission if anything went wrong in this place.

* _shuffle_ *

Bow quickly drew his bow and arrow as Glimmer gathered magic into her hands, hearing a strange noise coming from one of the trees behind them.

"Relax, it's just me." Shaking her hair free of any twigs and leaves that got caught, Glimmer and Bow sighed in relief as they saw Catra appear before them.

"Phew, almost thought it was a patrol." Bow commented wiping the sweat from his brow.

"Where were you?" Glimmer asked as Catra brushed herself off.

"I was just taking a look around, that's all. Also I got my hands on this." The two watched as Catra dropped an entire suit of Horde Armor in front of them, just like the ones the guards had.

"Where did you find that?"

"From a guard who's going to regret going to the bathroom by himself around here." She replied with a cheeky grin. "Pretty sure he's not going to return to base anytime soon butt naked either."

"Too much information..." The princess mumbled rolling her eyes. "But why did you waste time getting a suit anyway? Can't you just sneak in or something? You still have your Horde outfit and all, so even if you get spotted, no ones going to raise questions immediately."

"Well, there's kinda a funny story about that." Catra muttered, scratching the back of her head. "Long story short... someone kind of has it out for me, because nearly everyone in the Horde knows I've defected by now. And there's kinda a big bounty on my head."

"Already?" Bow couldn't tell if he should be surprised or confused. "How did you get yourself wanted this quickly? I mean I know the Horde is orderly and all that, but wouldn't it have to be someone really high up to do it this fast?"

"You have no idea." It was at times like these that Catra loathed Shadow-Weaver more than usual. If there was something a way to make Catra suffer, Shadow-Weaver would immediately exploit it. In this case, it was ensuring she had zero chance to return to the Horde or a chance to use her momentary absence to her advantage such as this. "Look, the point is, I'm more likely to get shot on sight than either of you two are. So any chance of using me like that isn't happening."

"But there's only one suit." Bow pointed out. "How are we going to get ourselves inside?"

"I can't just teleport us without knowing what's on the other side and where." Glimmer added.

"Yeeeah... about that..." A slight tinge of nervousness crossed the two as Catra scratched her chin. "I already have an idea for that bit, buuuut you're probably not going to like it that much..." It's almost like they instantly knew what she was thinking. They didn't hear the plan yet, they had no idea what it involved, yet somehow the two knew it was going to put the two of them into an uncomfortable situation.

"...What do we have to do?"

...

"I found these soldiers wandering around the base, sir!" A disguised Catra saluted wearing the soldier suit.

There were too many issues with this plan, and over half of them revolved around Catra herself. The biggest of the problems? Her hair was sticking out. While she managed to get her head through the helmet just fine, there was too much hair that squeezed out the back of her helmet, resulting in a tight fit alone. That didn't take into account the cat tail she still had showing through the opening she hat to cut in the back of her pants. Save for the cat ears, you would instantly know who she was if you saw her face.

Secondly, they were her  _prisoners_. Here stood Bow and Glimmer with their wrists tied in the sturdiest vines Catra could find on hand. If it wasn't for the brown tint to them, there would be no way these could pass off as ropes. It didn't help that they were also holding the ropes themselves at the ends to break out in case something went wrong.

Taking a look at the three of them, the two guards glanced at one another, weapons still firmly held in their grasp.

"...Who are you?" The left guard asked, instantly sending shivers down Catra's spine and worry between Glimmer and Bow.

"Err... I said I have prisoners here, sir!" She repeated.

 _This won't end well._  Glimmer gulped silently to herself.

"You Horde, scum!" Bow yelled back to her. "You'll never get away with this! The Rebellion is going to wipe the floor with you!"

"Pipe down, maggot!"

* _WHACK_!*

"Ow!" Bow would've rubbed his newly bruised head if he could.

"Must be one of those annoying tracker guys in the woods." The right guard said tilting his head. There was some relief among the trio even though Glimmer and Bow tried to hide it. They couldn't risk any weird looks around here, at least until they got inside. "Heard there was some hassle from them down in the Whispering Woods or something."

"That still doesn't explain who you are!" The left guard stepped forward in front of Catra. "Take off your helmet and identify yourself!" He didn't bother waiting for a response as he walked over to remove the helmet himself.

Catra had no choice but to comply with the orders as she tried to think of a plan. The minute they saw her face the alarms would be raised and they would definitely find themselves going into the base- in shackles and with Catra trapped in a box. That didn't even provide the fact if she was alive or not. On top of all that, Glimmer was the princess of Bright Moon. If the Horde got her hands on her, there was no telling what the Horde could order from her mother and-

A thought suddenly came to her.

* _thump_ *

"Ow!" The guard yelped hopping on one foot as he rubbed his stomped one. He glared back to the annoying girl who had the guts to do that as she did.

"This is completely unacceptable!" Glimmer shouted. "Don't you despicable loafs have any idea who I am?! I am the princess of Bright Moon! And I demand that you let me go or else!"

"G-Glimmer!" Bow stammered, catching onto the plan.

"Wait a minute, that's the Queen's daughter?" The same guard stepped over to get a closer look. Grabbing her chin tightly he tilted it in all angles, getting a proper examination of the so-called princess. "Well I'll be, this really is the princess!"

"Hmph!" Glimmer huffed pulling her chin away. "About time you ingrates realized who I am! Now I demand that you let me go or else!"

"Yeah, it's definitely her."

"She's a little pudgier than I thought she'd be." The other guard commented.

"PFFFFFFFFFFFFTTTT!" It took everything Catra could manage to keep from bursting out into laughter, finding herself bending over as Glimmer's face burned red. There was never a moment like this when Catra wanted to cry so loudly with laughter, finding this one simple comment to be the most hilarious thing she ever heard. "Yeah- pfffft... she could stand to lose a few pounds couldn't she!"

* **BAM** *

"Oof-!" Catra nearly lost her breath as she doubled over, feeling the surprisingly painful elbow that was Glimmer's jabbed straight into her stomach.

"And she's a fighter." The same guard added.

"I noticed..." Catra coughed out, shakily getting back to her feet.

"Take them right on in and bring them to the stationary cells. The Captain's going to want to see them for himself." The previous guard ordered, opening the door and allowing the three through. All of them felt awash with relief as they made their way through. The easy part ended for these three.

Now the hard part begins.

There were several facilities located across the base, with dozens of soldiers patrolling the place, the other half of them just standing around and chatting. Anything they did up to this point would be seen by everybody, and that didn't include the cameras either.

"What's the plan?" Glimmer whispered over. "Should we head straight to the facility or what?"

"What else would we do?" Catra muttered as the three of them marched straight into it's direction. "The minute we blow that thing to kingdom come, the sooner the villagers will forget about joining them. Just keep your heads low to avoid any atten-

"Hey!" Catra and co froze in their tracks as Catra picked up the familiar sound of someone's shout. She only knew one stubborn moron with a voice that heavy. She found herself forcefully turned around as the caller turned her by the shoulder, the large behemoth man seeing his reflection in her visor. "What are you doing?"

"O-Oh! Captain! Sir!" Catra saluted, trying to make her voice sound more rough to keep him from recognizing it. "I was just taking these prisoners to the stationary cell, just like the guy at the front gate told me."

"Is that so?" He raised a brow of suspicion. "Have we met somewhere before? You look kind of familiar to me." Bow and Glimmer watched as dozens of other guards started to surround the three of them.

"Heh, don't we all with these helmets on?" She tried to joke.

"I suppose we do... but I swear I've seen you somewhere before..." He looked closer into the visor of Catra's helmet. If it wasn't for the fact her hair was pushed behind her, giving it a somewhat longer flowing look, he'd be able to tell in a heartbeat.

"Uhh maybe we met on another mission at some point? I get transferred around a lot, so we probably bumped into each other before."

"A transfer?" Catra swallowed some of the saliva building up in her throat, realizing she made a mistake. "Why wasn't I told anything about a transfer around here? And where's your paperwork, soldier?" Something was definitely off about all this.

"Oh, b-because umm... I was dropped off a short ways away!" She quickly lied. "I had the paperwork with me too when I found these spies trying to get closer to our base." The large man looked passed her to look at the two so-called spies, both of them giving him a nervous smile, then back to her. "Unfortunately I lost my paperwork in the scuffle we had, but thankfully I managed to capture them both before they could get away."

"You don't say." There was stress being built up with each passing second. On top of the fact guards continued to approach the scene unfolding, they were running out of time. Each minute they waste was another one towards the one-hour deadline. "All right then, I guess that makes sense..."

"Thank g- I mean thank you, great Captain!" Catra gave another quick salute. There was one thing he still needed to check.

"But before you go please tell me. Why are you heading to the Siphoning Station?"

"Huh? O-Oh! Haha, I wasn't taking them to the Siphoning Station! I was just, err... going to check the coast to make sure it's clear! You never know how many spies might be lying around." A large wide grin grew over his face at this answer.

"Oh I think I have a very keen idea on all the spies around here." He replied lowering himself towards her head. "You wanna know how I know?"

"H... How?" He didn't bother with a verbal reply right away. Instead, Catra found herself shocked as the behemoth immediately slapped her helmet off without a second thought.

"Because no moron around here calls it the Siphoning Station!"

What else could she do other than give a nervous smile?

"Oh... crap..."

...

...

With each passing second dozens and dozens of more leaves continued to fall from the great Hearts Blossom. Princess Perfuma frowned as she placed her hand on the mighty tree. Several dozen villagers watched, all wondering what her judgement would bring them.

 _What am I to do?_  That's the question she asked herself without end. She knew the Horde was cruel, vicious. She didn't know what life could await them if she decided to ally with the Horde. Not to mention the fact they were practically being forced into this, and every second passed meant another second the tree drew closer to death.

But at the same time she couldn't just decide for herself. This was going to be a decision that would affect her entire kingdom, not just herself. She needed to consider every person she ruled over, every man, woman, and child that turned to her and the Universe for answers. She couldn't just think of what she wanted for herself, she needed to think of what was best for them, most practical. She just couldn't figure out an answer.

_Please... give us a sign..._

"Hey, Perfuma." One of the villagers approached her with a paper in hand. "I just got a message from that cat lady a few minutes ago. I think you might wanna read it." She accepted the letter with curiosity, reading over the message as if Catra herself was saying it herself.

_Hey Flowey,_

_I know I didn't end up being the hero you guys wanted, and I really don't care what it means to be one. But you guys can't join the Horde! That's no way for your people to live! All you'll be doing is subjecting them to a fate worse than the alternative. If you need to, I recommend heading to Bright Moon, maybe the Queen will help you out or something. I don't know, I just know you'll be better off there._

_We've gone up to the base camp in an attempt to stop them ourselves and destroy whatever's killing your forest. I might not be a hero, but I don't have to be one in order to fight back. I just wanted to let you guys know I'm sorry in case we-_

Perfuma skimmed over several words that appeared to be hastily scribbled out.

_Whatever you choose, I wish you luck. Hopefully whatever you choose will work out for you._

_-Catra_

_P.S.: Even if you didn't mean it, thanks for making me think everyone cared for me. I appreciate it._

Looking back towards the giant plume of smoke, everything came to Perfuma at once. That smoke was a result of what the Horde stood for. They brought destruction and fire everywhere they went, everything they touched. This wasn't a life she wanted anyone to be a part of, even if it meant accepting them just to survive!

She couldn't allow that same fate to befall her people!

"She's still trying." She spoke to everyone. "Even after we were so negative to her, she's still risking her life to save all of us... Glimmer was right! This our home, we can't let her do this alone!" She directed herself to the rest of the crowd, filling with determination and a fire in her eyes.

"Everyone, She-Ra and our friends from Bright Moon are risking their lives to protect us from the Horde. We need to help them!"

"But what can we do?" One of the villagers frowned upon the statement. "We're not fighters, we're not heroes of any kind."

"But neither is Catra!" The Princess stated. "We treated her horribly even though she was just trying to help. She proved you don't need to be a hero just to do something right!" Many heads nodded in agreement, several nodding to each other, others filling their veins fill with courage and hope. "Get the warchimes, we march!" Perfuma smiled proudly as the crowd rally with cheer.

They finally had their answer.

...

...

* ** _WHAM!_** *

"Ugh!" Catra grunted as she was thrown to the ground again.

If this day could get any worse that would be the biggest surprise in Catra's life. No sooner had the helmet been thrown from Catra's head did the three of them find themselves fighting for their lives. Thankful they didn't tie their hands for this situation, Glimmer quickly teleported with Bow in her hands, distancing themselves several yards as they drew the attention of the surrounding soldiers. Catra already had her hands full with the giant that smiled before her, she didn't need any other soldiers to play with.

Almost immediately the two found themselves fighting for their lives upon teleporting back, Bow quickly ducking out of the way of an incoming punch, tossing the attacker aside into several other goons that followed them. Pulling out his weapons he fired several large arrows at several groups of guards heading straight for them, immobilizing several of them in a stick sap as the other several were trapped within a large net. While the sap may have worked, the net proved ineffective as they pulled and cut their way through the ropes, charging straight for archer.

Glimmer drew forth as much energy as she could to blast the guards that came one after the other, teleporting again just two feet away as another tried to strike her from behind with the electric baton. Following up, she blocked another incoming blow as she grabbed the baton with both her hands. Seeing another soldier rush up to her from behind, she quickly threw herself to the ground before the guard to hit her, accidentally striking the other guard with his weapon and knocking him out cold. Without a second thought, Glimmer hastily blasted the last attacker away, jumping back to her feet as more guards continued to approach.

Catra almost wished she was dealing with the masses or the single one because this guy was proving himself way more cautious than the last time they fought. Every time she attempted to get close to him he already blocked whatever attack she had to throw, grabbing her and throwing her into the distance. While she managed to land gracefully on her feet the fist couple times, mixed in with the injuries she started sustaining from his counters, she found herself getting more and more thrown off her balance. Eventually she struggled just to get to her feet before the man charged straight at her, much less keep herself from landing harshly after each throw.

There wasn't even enough time for her to get her sword out and call upon it's power. Every moment of peace she found was immediately dashed away with another swipe of the big man's hands. She couldn't afford to get caught by him like last time, remembering the dreadful state she found herself in when he almost ripped her in half. And unlike before, she didn't see any chance of someone saving her this time around. With Bow and Glimmer stuck fighting their own battles, there was no chance for a rescue.

She was completely on her own.

"Nice to see you still have some energy in you, freak!" The man taunted. "I was afraid this was going to get boring!"

"Huff... huff... are you kidding?" She panted, wiping her mouth against her wrist. "I'm just getting warmed up." There wasn't any part of her the man found intimidating like this. As of now, she was nothing more than a belt he was too eager to skin! Cracking his knuckles, Catra prepared herself as he stomped his way over.

"I'm really going to enjoy making you look like what you did to my face!" He implied, reminding her of the scars she left him with the first time.

"No thanks, your face is ugly enough." She couldn't tell if he chuckled at her pathetic taunt or the situation itself. He had every reason not to fear her at this point.

"Nice knowing ya, fre-"

* _Whaaaaooooooooooooooooooo!_ *

Everyone across the base looked to the sky as they heard the strange sound of a horn going off. Looking back to the source of the sound, everyone gasped with surprise as the walls began to crumble away, making way for hundreds of large powerful green vines that pushed their way through. Atop of them, Catra's jaw dropped as she saw a smiling Perfuma riding the wave of vines herself, chuckling as the vines continued to push their way through as dozens of villagers raided the base.

"I always said the Universes will repay the Horde one day! Well I guess that day is today!" With a squeal of delight, she struck several incoming Horde guards, effortlessly pushing them away as the raid went on. Bow and Glimmer smiled to one another before continuing their assault on the guards.

Catra could only watch in amazement as the villagers cried out in cheer for Etheria, each donning whatever items and weapons they could carry along. Practically every villager from the women and men, right down to the small children, carried their items with them as they attacked the incoming guards.

Several of the villagers ensnared the guards with the thickest quilts they could find, pinning them to the ground before subduing them. Another one of the villagers she saw encased an entire guards head in a vase as he threw himself at one, tackling him to the ground. No matter how feeble these villagers are, they made do with what they had as they fought back against the oncoming soldiers. Fighting back, and, shockingly to her, winning.

Perhaps her favorite moment of the fight was watching as the familiar five-year-old girl kicked one of the guard's shin, the guard briefly hopping on his foot in pain, then turning his direction to the girl himself. Despite the fact he was heavily armed and much taller in comparison to her, he found himself getting confused as the girl smirked back crossing his arms. As if answering the reason behind this, he found himself lifted from behind by the scruff of his neck, recognizing the large muscular man who was one of the first people Catra armed wrestle.

Growling at the frightened guard, he tossed the guard straight over one of the large twenty-foot walls, his screams fading over the distance as he flew passed everything. Smiling to each other from their victory, the two nodded to each other triumphantly as they gave each other a quick high-five, the little girl jumping in the air to reach his hand.

"I... did not see this coming... " All of this was happening right in front of Catra, and she still couldn't believe it. Thankfully, or not, she didn't need to worry about this for much longer. By the time she could so much as think of the man she was fighting, she found herself getting slammed away by the man's massive arms, hurdling her straight ahead and through the walls behind her.

* ** _CRASH!_** *

"Ngh..." Her back was sore. Her legs were sore. Her arms were sore. Everything right down to her tail was sore as she picked herself up off the ground, knees shaking, as she rose to her feet. Looking around her eyes widened at the sight of the massive room she was now in.

All of it housed a massive generator she saw in the center of this mighty building, the center of the very base itself! Several massive long, wide, cables connected to the sides and tops of the great machine. All around it a dozen empty vats of strange growing fluid slowly oozed into the containers, no doubt being the actual energy of the Hearts Blossom itself. She was standing in the room with the very core of today's problems.

And the only thing keeping her from destroying the blasted machine was the large hulking man who pulled himself out of the hole in the wall he created with her.

"I gotta admit shrimpy, I didn't think you'd actually get the town to fight for ya." He commented.

"Believe it or not, neither did I." Catra replied. If there was one thing that could turn the fight in her favor as of now, it was the massive sword she pulled from her back, one that grew the man's curiosity. "Guess it just goes to show how unpredictable life can be."

"Oooh, what's that there? You gonna cut me with it?" He welcomed the challenge by the looks of it.

"A nice idea to go along with," she grinned, "but I'm just gonna even the playing field." Raising her sword to the sky, she prepared herself as she was about to topple the behemoth's strength with just five simple words. "For the Honor Of Greyskull!"

"..."

"...I HATE THIS STUPID SWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORD!" Catra hissed with as much gusto as she could, flailing the sword violently. Every time! Every single stupid time she needed the sword like this and it wouldn't work! Was it because she was too exhausted as it was? Did she need more energy to call upon the swords power in the first place? Or was it on some form of cool down she didn't know about?

She failed to notice the large man standing over her until it was too late.

"Hahaha, that was pretty entertaining for a freak!" Before she could react she found the large man toppling over her, pinning her to the ground and squeezing her neck with all his might as he crushed her airwaves.

"A...k...eh..." No amount of force she could muster could push off the large man's grip no matter how hard she tried.

This was worse far than last time. At least if he ripped her in air it would've been quick! Here, her lungs struggled to inhale any form of oxygen, her nose failing to get a single molecule of air as the flow was cut off. On top of it, every second of pain made her cry out even more, already increasing the amount of stress and desperation of air that she needed.

"As much fun as it's been, I got a bounty to collect with your name on it!" Somehow he increased the pressure constricting her neck. "If it makes you feel any better, you'll always be the girl I remembered who turned my life from upside down!" Opening one of her eyes to this, she hissed angrily as she showed her teeth.

"R-Right back at ya... bub..."

"Huh?"

* _skreeee_ *

"Ahhh!" The large man yelped as he instinctively covered one of his cut legs with one of his hands. He failed to remember how Catra's claws were far worse on her feet than her hands themselves. The girl was thankful that he failed to pin both her legs to the ground, feeling her left leg free to roam and claw around, like the inner thigh of the large man's left leg. That was the opening she needed from this.

"Haaaaaaa!" With one mighty roar, with every last bit of energy she had, she pulled both her legs out from under him and pushed straight into the man's stomach, raising him to the air. No sooner had she done this did she send him flying behind backwards, shooting him backwards and upside down as he crashed into the heavy machine, breaking through it and cutting off several of the large wires and vats that sustained it.

* _BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT_ *

"Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" The main screamed out in pain as his whole body sparked with electricity. Catra coughed rubbing her throat, rolling back to her stomach as she saw this. The machine began to hum louder and louder with life as Catra gazed at the giant man who sizzled without control. In a few short seconds following this, Catra saw a bright flash, covering her head and her eyes as the machine finally came crumbling down with a thunderous, while small, explosion.

...

* **BOOM!** *

"Ah-!" Perfuma's entire being brightened as she felt a strange wave of energy course through her. Looking around herself, her slightly paled skin returned full with life as magic surged through her veins. Testing the limits of these powers, she laughed joyously to herself as her magic danced around her in a colorful display.

All along the ground leading up to the Hearts Blossom, the once darkened roots of evil became brimming with pure life, cutting off the flow of energy being drained as the vines choked from the beautiful array of flowers that danced across them. All of this lead to the very heart of the Hearts Blossom where the runestone brimmed with a powerful pink light, the various twigs and branches bursting with life as the leaves restored by the thousands per second, until eventually the entire top of the tree was pink and beautiful once more.

As for the soldiers around her, they were helpless to fight back as the princess quickly ensnared any of the remaining soldiers still standing around, those lucky two to three who managed to escape running for their lives as the base filled with vegetation and flowers. Nobody cared as they saw them take off in the skiffs that flew over them. There was too much joy and cheer among everyone, including Bow and Glimmer, as they raised their hands to the sky victoriously.

The war had been won.

...

She didn't need the extra sensitive hearing to get a load of the excitement coming from outside. Covered in bruises and scrapes from head to toe, with a severe pain she rubbed in her right arm, Catra still managed to find a way to smile. Her very first mission had ended, exceeding the expectations and plans ushered by the Queen.

Her first mission and day had finally been over, and everything was a success.

"Heh heh heh..."

So why did she still hear the large man chuckling? Glaringly, she walked her way back to him, seeing the sorry state the man was left in. He was covered in bruises and burns all across his body, the smell of burnt skin and hot steam still coming fresh off of him. He was covered in multiple cables from head to toe. Those that weren't broken over him tangled around his arms, legs, and neck, immobilizing him in his entirety. There was no chance of him escaping on his own, and that was if he had any energy left to do so.

So what was he smiling about?!

"What's so funny?" Catra demanded to know. This was her victory along with the Rebellion's. She did not want anyone else to feel like they won in this moment who wasn't on her side.

"Heh heh... you are... freak..." He mumbled. If it wasn't for the fact he already appeared to be in fresh pain and misery she would've gladly clawed his face at that. "You did... exactly... as she predicted... right down to the very detail..."

"Her?" Did he mean Adora? Someone else? Was she the one who ordered all of this to happen? Because Catra was gone? Every question related to her was too important to ignore! Regardless of his pain, she quickly lifted him towards her face by the collar of his shirt, the man cackling in laughter and pain at the same time. "Who's her? What are you talking about? Tell me!" She hissed as she got another bout of laughter, smelling the man's rancid breath as he did.

"Heh... who do you think..." Leaning his head just a bit, he whispered one name into her ears before passing out. "Shadow-Weaver." Her pupils instantly shrank as she dropped the large man, feeling a chill of death spread across her entire body.

Was the entire point of this to deliver that one message? If so, it definitely worked! It was only now that Catra realized how vulnerable she was without Adora around. Without her, Shadow-Weaver could target her. All of this was nothing but a greeting card from her, informing her of her current status. There was no Adora, and no protection against anything she could do.

She could feel her entire body grow cold at the thought, holding herself as her body shivered. Before she had nothing to fear. With Adora around, Shadow-Weaver would barely lay a hand on the girl without Adora's interference and pleading. Now, no matter how far away she was, she was open to any form of attack from Shadow-Weaver, any form of torture she could inflict from afar. Just thinking about it brought back memories of last time-

"Nghhh!" She squeezed her eyes shut and head between her hands. She couldn't allow herself to remember that day, refusing to recount every detail that happened. It was the one memory in her mind she begged wouldn't resurface, she wished with all her being. Shaking her head, she pushed these thoughts as deeply away as she could, forcing herself to back to the group outside. This wasn't a moment she was supposed to be dreading.

There was a victory to celebrate.

...

"Ha ha ha!" Perfuma smiled with glee as she watched the parading villagers. Never has she felt such happiness before, such a grand reason to celebrate. "The day is ours!"

"Mhhm." She turned to see a grinning Catra with her hands at her side. "Guess you guys had a bit more fight in you than you thought, huh?"

"Ooooh, c'mere you!"

"Erk-!" Catra found herself suffocating as she was crushed into the huggable Princess's chest. She found the sheer embarrassment overpowering the pain she felt at the moment, trying her best to push the princess off of her who interpreted this as a hug in return. It was a hilarious sight to see as Bow and Glimmer found the two again. "Please tell me this hugging stuff isn't going to be a thing..." She muttered finally pulling herself free. "Anyway, I hope you guys learned about the whole "Universe providing the answers" thing."

"What do you mean?" She asked curiously.

"Well you know, learn to do things for yourself." Catra grinned. "Don't wait for answers to come for you cause the Universe will never answer."

"Are you kidding me? If anything you've restored all our faith in the Universe!" Catra's expression, tail, arms, and ears dropped all at once at this.

"Excuse me?"

"Don't you get it? You were the Universe's answer we needed!" She said perkily. "It's because of you our village was saved, you inspired us to save ourselves! We owe our thanks to you and to the Universe for sending you to us!"

"ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!" Catra growled loudly with a new height of annoyance filling her body. It was this stupid thing called "faith" Catra found ridiculous beyond all reason. It's what made these villagers stupid to her in the first place and most likely the thing that caused them to go furious at the thought that Catra wasn't She-Ra after all.

"Just let it go, Catra." Sensing the anger flowing from the cat, Bow rolled his eyes as he pushed her away, keeping her from attacking the next thing that spoke. Laughing at the scene, the two remaining allies stepped towards one another brightly.

"Sorry about her," Glimmer apologized, "but we're all extremely thankful for your help and assistance."

"Please, if there's any way to repay you, please tell me!" She practically begged. She refused to let these people go without any way to pay them back!

"Come join the Rebellion and help me reform the Princess Alliance."

"Um, are you sure?" Her request was met with just a speck of hesitation, which was far better than Glimmer expected. "Didn't that go horribly the first time?"

"It went horribly for our parents. But we have a chance to do it right. We're clearly stronger together." She showed the numerous townsfolk who were still celebrating, some of which began to run passed her for something. "Think what all the princesses united could do!"

Taking a moment, Perfuma returned Glimmer's suggestion with a curious smile. "Would I get to hit more people with flowers?"

"Absolutely."

"Then our answer is yes!" The final victory of the day had been claimed by Glimmer. Today was a great example of what the princesses would be capable of. This was just two of the princesses who united for one short battle on a Horde base. Picturing what they would be capable of with the rest of them united filled her with excitement! One that overlooked the small look of concern growing back on Perfuma's face. "Oh, but..."

"What?"

Perfuma rubbed her shoulder with a sense of guilt coming off her. "Mmh... is there a way we could repay Catra? I feel terrible for the way we treated her after all this. Perhaps a feast? Another festival? Something to let her know she's appreciated?" Looking passed her, Glimmer just smiled back as she stared off to the distance.

"Nah, I don't think that'll be necessary." Turning around, her expression matched Glimmer's look of joy as she saw the scene.

Before the two of them the princesses watched as Catra stood in the middle of a large open crowd. She wasn't in her She-Ra form, she wasn't showing off in any way, shape, or form, and nobody seemed to care as she looked around herself with confusion and unease. All the while Bow stood from the side with a proud smile on his face.

All around her the people cheered on her again, all thankful to her assistance and guidance in helping them find the strength to fight back against the Horde. They were just like they were before, all smiling and cheering on her despite knowing who she truly was this time around. They didn't care she wasn't the She-Ra from the past, they didn't care how intimidating she looked up close. She was accepted by all the people around her once again, even as she let out another sneeze.

For Catra herself, she didn't know what to feel this time around. The last time she wanted to be accept and accepted being accepted, it ended horribly for her. They were vicious to her, loathed her from the sight of it, and didn't want anything to do with her. And how were they now?

The same way they once were! They were happy to see her, they wanted to see her after all the help she's given regardless of her selfish desire out of all of this. She found several of the kids playing around two, one clinging on each arm with the familiar five-year-old on the right arm, and a small baby behind her playfully reaching for her wriggling tail. It was a weird sensation to be admired like this again, unsure of whether she should accept the feeling of pride and warmth once again.

All she did was look back to a smiling Glimmer, shrugging to her with a questionable expression.

"I think she already knows."

...

...

Play.

Stop.

Rewind.

Repeat.

This is what Adora did for the last half hour of the two minute clip on the monitor.

"This... This can't be real..." She stuttered in denial, all to Shadow-Weaver's unknowing glee as she stood at her side. "Play it again!"

"Adora, I'm afraid no matter how many times you repeat it, the video will never change."

"B-But this is impossible!" Small stands of hair dangled in front of her face, Adora paying no mind as she saw through the tiny, unimportant, strands. "We... We offered them peace! Assistance! We gave them a chance to join us!"

She had no idea what she was supposed to be feeling at this rate. Anger? Sadness? Confusion? The one emotion she couldn't feel from this was happiness. Happiness and peace. How could she feel something? How could this something be happening?

She thought the rest of Etheria all desired the same thing; peace and order. She thought if the Horde reached out to any of them they would've welcomed the chance to end the conflict and the violence. She even gave the princesses the decency of chance for peace, and their response was violence! It was too awful for words, too shameful for action. She just stood there, seeing the proof right in front of her that she never wanted to see.

The very  _proof_  Shadow-Weaver promised to show her, unaware of the numerous arrangements she made to pull all this off.

"And do you see how they replied to our generous offer?" Shadow-Weaver questioned replaying the video once again. "They wage war against us. Not just the princesses, not mere soldiers, everyone. The men, the women, even those poor children. All of them are forced to wage war against their wills, the very people you said we shouldn't harm."

"This... This can't..." Adora lowered her head, staring at the console in front of her.

"Adora, my dear," she soothed, holding her shoulder in comfort, "do you understand now? Why we must continue to fight for the sake of Etheria? Why we must make sacrifices for the greater good? You asked me to show you proof, my dear, and here it is."

"...Eggghhhhh!"

* **BAM** *

There was no concern showing in Shadow-Weaver's eyes. Instead, they were filled with joy, and pride at the harsh growl Adora let out. Seeing her anger erupting before her, seeing her slam her fist into the console itself. It didn't matter that her knuckle blackened a little to this, it didn't matter she broke the console's buttons where she slammed it. The small dent her fist made into the machine was all the proof she personally needed to see if her plan worked.

"...Yes, Shadow-Weaver..." Adora replied directly without emotion. "I understand it all now." Without another word, Adora stormed through the doors of Shadow-Weaver's chambers, unable to keep herself from lashing out at whatever Shadow-Weaver had to say next. Waiting a few seconds to make sure she left, she turned her attention to the other monitor in her chamber, watching it come to life as it displayed an image. The person on the other end was blackened, save for his red glowing eyes and the small  _pet_  that sat in his lap.

This, was Lord Hordak.

"Well?"

"Everything went exactly as I detailed it, Lord Hordak." Shadow-Weaver assured, nodding.

"I hope for your sake that your efforts bare fruit." The disdain in his voice echoed through her mind and her blackened heart. "We just discarded a valuable source of energy for this one girl."

"I promise you, Lord Hordak, the results will be worth what little we have to give up in exchange for it, I promise."

"I don't want your promises, Shadow-Weaver, I want results!" The pet in his lap hissed as if displaying the master's anger. "Make sure to report to me the results of your next little expenditure. I hope I have to give up less than I did this time for the both of you..."

"Yes, Lord Hordak." Without so much as a blink, Hordak cut communications from the monitor as the entire screen went dark. There was no telling if he had a means to see her at this moment and anger built up in her hands, nagging to herself all the annoying things she just tolerated within the last few minutes. She hated everything about their leader, everything that spewed from his mouth. The Horde deserved someone more fitting for the role, someone who could truly snuff out the light from this world.

Someone like her precious Adora.

Deciding to take a moment to herself, she returned to the fountain behind her. Peering into it, she smiled at the scene it displayed, smiling at the last person she thought she would ever be thankful to.

"Oh, dear, dear, Catra..." She brushed a small wave of the water as she watched the pitiful citizens continue to cheer for that disgusting excuse of a creature. "You make this all too easy for me." With another grin, she empowered the fountain as the scene shifted to a view of Adora, one she was more than happy to watch all day. "Who would've thought the farther you were, the more useful you were to me."

She relished the sight of the anger stamped on Adora's face, Adora herself still fuming from everything she came across recently.

She wasn't fazed as the tears streaked from her face, it didn't change the look of anger that contorted on Adora's expression. All that was there was a newfound hatred for the princesses and everything they corrupt. The princesses who could shift the emotions and thoughts of their fellow citizens with nary a thought. Every last one of them that forced them to do the unthinkable and attack towns for missions that are absolutely necessary.

The very princesses that took her best friend away from her. "Sacrifice is necessary." She told herself coldly. It didn't feel any better. It hurt to say such things, it was painful to think of such thoughts. But if the princesses were as evil as Shadow-Weaver showed her, then there was no avoiding the conflict and discord this war would bring. She would burden that pain all her life from this moment onward, and carry it to her grave.

Unaware of a small darkness that was planted in her heart, one seeping with the negativity of all dark thoughts that plagued her...

...

...

"Ugh... dumb... stupid... queen..." Catra mumbled to herself as she made her way back to the bedroom.

Well that was a nice hour of talking her ear off she didn't need. As  _shocking_  as it was, the Queen was less than thrilled to hear about how Catra suggested and insisted on a mission to stop the Horde from sucking the life out of the Hearts Blossom and potentially preventing a compromising alliance between the kingdom of Plumeria and the Horde. While she was relieved to hear that everything worked out in the end, she was less than happy about the idea of her daughter being used as a fake prisoner without  ** _any sort of disguise_**  to hide her identity.

It didn't really help that Catra refused to let Glimmer herself plead a case to support her.

Because of all this, she had to stand through one of the most boring lectures she's ever had to ignore in her life, unable to sit a single time during the long speech the Queen seemed to like making everyone listen to. At least that's how Catra saw it. She didn't gather much from her hour long struggle of forcefully ignoring the queen, something about "think before you act", or "never drag my daughter into a base filled with Horde soldiers that would know her on a moment's notice" or something else. Whatever she was yapping about, it was long, tedious, and boring enough to make Catra wanna pull her ears out. At least by the end of the day she could return to a peaceful solitude known as slumber, the one thing where nothing bad happened save for potential nightmares.

That is until she finally pulled open the doors to her room and found a surprised-looking Glimmer and Bow staring all over the place.

"Sheesh, did you and the bed have an argument or something?" Glimmer asked looking at all the feathers around her.

"Oh yeah, forgot to mention. Might've murdered my bed last night." She replied casually scratching her ears.

That was the one detail she had forgotten after everything she went through today. Before she snuck into Glimmer's room for a potential sleeping buddy, as revolting as the thought made her, she attempted to get some understanding of sleeping by herself on possibly the world's most plushiest bed she's ever had the misfortune to come across. While it was disturbing to look at and made her question how it was going to feel, she did have to give it respect for how soft and comfortable it felt to her as she lied on top of it.

...For about three seconds. A single second afterwards, she found the bed attempting to practically devour her, sinking her whole body into the plushy cotton with barely her tail sticking out. With instincts kicking in and the bed refusing to acknowledge who the one in charge of this bedroom was, she mercilessly tore the bed limb to limb, shred to shred in this case, ignoring the hundreds to thousands of feathers that scattered across the air in the ensuing combat. By the end of it all there was nothing more than a single bed frame that stood before her, thousands of feathers scattered across the entire room. Some were even thrown into the empty bathtub and the potted plants from the ceiling.

"To be fair, it was in self-defense. Better question now, what are you two doing in here?"

"Well, since you've never slept in a room by yourself before, Bow and I thought we'd throw a sleepover, then you won't feel so alone." Glimmer answered cheerfully. Around the two she noticed several sleeping bags and pillows the two apparently brought.

"And... we're doing this why?"

"Well, you know... to celebrate and stuff! After all, we did achieve a great victory today!"

"And Glimmer got grounded for going against her mother's wishes." Bow added.

"F-For one week," Glimmer quickly interjected, "which is three weeks less than usual! And she'll consider reforming the princess alliance, so that's another plus for us!" The enthusiasm was shared by two of the three occupants, with the latter looking less than caring about it. "So, we decided on a victory party, via sleepover!"

"And we can do it tomorrow too if you want!"

"Uhhhh huh... Later." Catra muttered as she turned away.

"Oh Catra, come on," Glimmer whined grabbing her arm, "we're just trying to show a little appreciation." Despite every bone telling her to run away, she couldn't help but look back at this.

"Appreciation...?"

"Well yeah!" Bow smiled walking over with a firm pillow in hand and another he was holding behind his back. "We don't care if you don't consider us friends yet or anything, we still appreciate everything you're doing for us." Catra took the pillow he offered with uncertainty.

She wasn't a stranger to appreciation, heck she gave it herself when she felt someone deserved it. Even if she's only counted up to several times in her life on one hand. But after the events of today it felt a little weird to hear that by two of the newest allies she's made within the last few days. Sighing to herself with a roll of her eyes and droop of her ears, she finally resigned herself to whatever fate this sleepover business had to offer. "Fine, fine, I'll try this whole sleepover thing." She replied to the others' delight as she took a pillow. "Just keep it down, I'm a light sleeper."

"Caaaaan do!"

* _whomp_ *

"Ha!"

"..." The same look of excitement on Bow's face wasn't shared with the magicat he struck with a pillow.

* **whack!** *

"Ow!" He yelped rubbing his head again. He could still feel the other one she gave him during the mission resurfacing. "What was that for?"

"Well what did you expect? You attacked me!" Catra hissed a little.

"Catra, he was just having a pillow fight." The glittery princess said, showing her own pillow.

"A... Pillow fight?" This concept was never mentioned in the Horde. While there were times kids would play around using their imagination with various things they could find, not once did anyone think of using a pillow, and not just because it wasn't allowed.

"Yeah, you know, a pillow fight? You just hit each other with pillows and all that. It's a great way to tire yourself out before bed."

She reexamined the strange softness in her hand. This? This was supposed to be used as a weapon of play? How? How was there supposed to be any enjoyment to be had by hitting anyone-

She quickly looked back. "So wait, I can hit you guys with this as many times and as hard as I want to, and I can't get into trouble?" A bead of sweat slowly dripped from the back of Glimmer's head.

"W-Well, I wouldn't exactly put it like that but uhh..." There was no longer any room for talk as the two saw the grin growing on her face. History would look back on this day and regard it as one of the bloodiest (featheriest) battles ever sustained through the annals of human history, that lasted for many many nights and several more sleepovers.

It was a weird way to sum up the day for herself. She went from being worshipped and praised to hated and loathed to worshipped and praised again. It felt like it lacked any luster or meaning though when she was praised by the same people who despised her the first time around. She didn't mind it of course, but there was just some emptiness to it compared to the first time, some feeling keeping her from understanding if this was the same kind of praise she delighted in as a sign of comfort.

There was one thing she knew for sure though, as she chuckled alongside Bow and Glimmer, the three of them using their specialties to make the Pillow fight more interesting by the minute. She had a lack of understanding of what it meant when other praised her that weren't these two, but she could understand a bit of appreciation when it came from her allies. Going through all this just to try to ease her a little, to make her stay at the castle a little more manageable. She had to admit coming from these two...

It felt nice to be cared for.

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

**_A/N: And by golly I can't remember the last time I wrote so much in 24 hours... actually I can! It was one of my rwby chapters I had to split into two parts (which I regretted cause the first one without the 2nd part came with significant backlash... one of the reasons im posting this all at once instead of 2 separate parts). You think this is scary? THE OTHER ONE NEARLY HAD 20K! And that was in 10 hours!_ **

**_It's clear I had a really fun time with that one ^^._ **

**_Lol, anyway, thanks again for the huge amount of feedback and support folks! Another shoutout to Nightmaster003 as I have this wonderful intro to play at the beginning of my episodes now ^^ I know its not as fitting and someone actually did answer my question on that at one point, but I really am considering placing the intro at the beginning of all chapters maybe... idk, i'm still debating with myself._ **

**_Also this is probably the last friday I make a post unless I do miraculously get done with my other school work over this. I keep getting distracted by this on fridays so from now on, unless finished early again, fridays are a no-go-for-posts day._ **

**_Coming up next we'll be finding ourselves with a very fun seafaring adventure, as well as, as im sure 99% of you are excited to see, another confrontation between Catra and Adora..._ **

**_Anyway, thanks for everything guys and remember to leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed! See you soon! And by that I mean either sunday or monday as the weekends are usually the busiest/longest hours of my job._ **


	13. Episode 5: The Sea Gate Part 1

_**A/N: Hey folks, MK here as always ^^! Not much to say here so there's going to probably be several paragraphs as always XP.** _

_**Bit of a shorter chapter this time around- side from thinking it's alright given the last massive chapter I posted, just felt like the right place to cut off at the end for the first part. Thanks as always for the constant support from everyone and I hope you continue to enjoy the episode regardless of it's length.** _

_**Enjoy!** _

_**(Woot woot, actually wasn't much to say this time ^^!)** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

"Nooooooo!" Catra cried out as her claws scraped against the rugs.

* _skreeeeeek!_ *

"Nnnggghhh! Come on!" Glimmer grumbled as she continued dragging her by separate feet with Bow.

"I don't wanna!"

* _skreeeeeek!_ *

"You said you would help us on the mission, remember?" Bow grunted as he pulled her inch by inch.

"I said you needed a captain, I never said I would go with you!"

* _skreeeeeek!_ *

This is the annoyance the two found themselves in for the last fifteen minutes.

A week ago Catra began her first mission with Bow and Glimmer. It was nothing more than a simple delivery mission to provide provisions and resources to the kingdom of Plumeria, after the Horde had cut them off and drained their land of materials. It was one of the first missions Catra took part of since joining the Rebellion and the results were... still something she was processing throughout the last week.

As of this morning, the three of them found themselves on another mission that Glimmer had proposed at the last Council Meeting. Knowing that the princesses united would be the greatest fighting force the Rebellion needed to turn this war around, she proposed a diplomacy mission to Salineas, the kingdom known for it's great naval fleet and bountiful fish, in order to recruit the next princess into their cause.

Needless to say, the mother was a little less than skeptical about everything. She was outraged to hear about the details of the last mission, specifically one involving Glimmer and Bow pretending to be prisoners captured by Catra so they could infiltrate the Horde base, all for the sake of destroying a machine that was sucking the life out of the forest of Perfuma's kingdom. While she was relieved and overjoyed to hear everything turned out all right, the idea that Catra endangered her daughter even further made trusting her a bit more complicated.

Still, they knew if the princess alliance was restored then there would be a chance to fight back against the threatening Horde, no matter what grievances she had against the ex-Horde. So, despite her better judgement, provided with Glimmer's encouragement, she allowed the three of them to partake in this next mission to the Salineas Gate, all for the sake of recruiting the princess Mermista, and bringing her into the Rebellion.

The details themselves involving the mission were pretty simple too, so things were looking up for awhile! They knew they'd be safer if Catra/She-Ra went with them, they knew they needed to find a glorious sea vessel as well as where to find it, and they realized they needed to find a mighty sea captain that could direct sail them to the heart of the heart of Salineas itself with relative ease. Things were looking great!

There was just one small problem two of the three were currently dealing with- Catra.

Almost immediately upon realizing she was actually going to be  _joining_  them on the mission, the hero-in-training looked as if she had a massive heart attack, bolting back to her room after the meeting was adjourned and locking the door shut. Unfortunately for her, doors and locks proved ineffective when you were dealing with a princess that could teleport. For whatever reason, reasons that became obvious when they remembered her cat-like qualities, Catra had no interest in the slightest to join them on their voyage through the ocean in the middle of the sea to some place she's never been to before.

Since then Catra found herself being dragged forcefully throughout the castle as she sunk her front claws as deeply as she could get them into the rugs, refusing to budge an inch and forcing them to spend the last fifteen minutes dragging the cat through the castle on a mission they technically started half an hour ago!

"Catra come on, you're acting childish." Glimmer grumbled.

"Oh, really? Maybe we should see how you react if someone threatened to toss you into a volcano!" Catra hissed back. "I'd like to see you willingly go along with it!"

"Ok, now you're just exaggerating. Nothing bad is going to happen, the seas are totally safe!" No matter how calmly she spoke, it did nothing to erase Catra's fears. "You can swim, can't you?"

"Of course I can, Pinky," it was one of the basic necessities that were taught to all the children, "I just really hate water. I don't know how cold water is to you guys but being soaked in it myself is like being thrown into a freezer!"

"Come on, Catra, just think about it." She looked back as Bow gave her a comforting look. "We're going to the land of Salineas! Vast open seas, plenty of fresh air, and, Salineas has all the best fish you could eeeeeeat~"

"Really... you're going to try that..." Catra spoke completely unamused. "Duh, ok, why don't we sing songs on the boat while we're at it?"

"Yeah!"

"For the love of..." If it wasn't for the fact they were the only thing keeping Catra along the ground, she would've happily facepalmed with one of her hands.

Glimmer herself was starting to get annoyed with the situation. Every minute they wasted was another minute something else could be happening and another opportunity for the Horde to launch an attack on one of their allies! After what happened with Perfuma's kingdom, there was no telling what they could try to pull off next!

And despite her better judgement, she knew they needed Catra. Not just for the mission in and of itself, but to actually go on the mission in the first place! If she didn't have Catra with her, her mother would've been less than agreeable with Glimmer going out into the open sea with just Bow in the first place. On top of that, they still needed She-Ra's power and appearance to convince the other princesses to join them, at the very least increase the chance of them coming along.

With time being of the essence, as well as the untimely embarrassment this was causing for her and Bow with the numerous guards they passed along the way, Glimmer found herself left with little choice.

She had to use the  _secret weapon_.

"You know what? You're right. You don't have to come with us at all." Glimmer announced with a smile, dropping Catra's foot. Both her and Bow looked back to her in disbelief at that.

"I... don't?" She wanted nothing more than to believe everything she was hearing. The only problem was who she was hearing it from.

"Nope. Not at all. Come on, Bow." Bow looked back between the two of them as Glimmer dragged him along. He knew she was up to something, he just had no idea what.

Something was wrong here. Glimmer never let Catra have her way, at least not as much of the way as Catra wanted it. She always commented and yelped at every little thing Catra did around the castle, from climbing atop the balconies from the outside, climbing the drapes across the walls when she found a perch with a great view, and nagged her to no end about putting her feet on the table in the middle of meals. The annoyance came to no end!

Now, she was offering to let Catra have her way for once in every way she wanted, going off and telling her how she would leave without her too. What on Etheria was she planning?

"Ok, I'll bite, what are you doing?" Catra demanded to know as she got up and caught up to them.

"Oh, nothing, nothing." Her mouth and her facial expression was telling Catra two different things. "I figured if you're going to be like this the entire way to Salineas we might as well let you stay here."

"Y-Yeah, you should!" She smiled proudly.

"Yup, this is all your call." She nodded back. "You're the one in charge, and you are She-Ra after all so who are we to say no?"

She bumped Bow with her elbow a little to give him the same idea. "Huh? O-Oh, yeah! We can't force you to do anything you don't want to, so who are we to argue."

"Mhhm!" Catra nodded crossing her arms. "It's about time you dweebs learned who's in charge here!"

"And we most certainly did." The princess replied with a small curtsy. "So you can stay here in Bright Moon Castle by yourself and my mother while we continue the mission."

"Ha, you're darn right you should..." A vast amount of color and glee drained from Catra's face as her ears drooped. "Wait... what?"

"What? You didn't think you'd be here by yourself, did you?" Of all the things Glimmer could remind her of, this was the last thing she wanted! "It'll just be you... my mom... in a castle... along with all of her royal guards. Knowing her she probably won't allow you to leave the castle either, which means you'll be forced to spend some quality time with her here and there."

It was at that time Catra finally realized what she was doing. She couldn't believe someone like her would stoop so low either. "...You wouldn't..."

"Wouldn't what? I'm not doing anything. I'm just reminding you that you won't be alone around here." There was evilness behind those sparkling eyes, Catra just knew it. "If it makes you feel any better, we shouldn't be gone for that long."

"Yeah!" Bow joined in. "I'm sure we'll be back in a couple days, if not a few weeks. But, oh..." He looked semi-worriedly to Glimmer. "If we got lost at sea, we might be gone for months on end!"

"Oh, that would just be terrible! We could be gone for nearly a year before we ever made it back. And my mom would probably be so mad at whoever let us go off on our own. I've seen her give lectures that lasted for literal days, and hoo boy, they aren't pretty." She shook her head at this in exaggeration. She knew of Catra's two great est weaknesses other than water: Her mother, and getting talked down to by her mother.

Neither of them cared about the twitching brow of death Catra was glaring at them with. Catra has never felt more hatred and contempt for anyone in her life than she does at this very moment. Here she was, She-Ra, ex-member of the nefarious Horde, the person that would've probably cut these two on numerous occasions if they were all in the Fright Zone, being blackmailed by two of her so-called "allies".

"So basically, you're threatening me by saying I either have to go with you or I have to spend who knows how long with your mother?" Catra stated bluntly.

"Threatening? No, I would never threaten anyone. I'm just pointing what may or may not possibly happen around here while we're gone. And you know how easy it is to anger my mother half the time, right?"

"Why are there claw marks all over the hallways?!" As if on queue, the three looked passed Catra in the direction of the Queen's voice, the forcefulness and anger of it already sending chills across Catra's body. So now she found herself with all of the above concerns involving Glimmer's mother, including another thing her mother could get angry about, like the claw marks Catra made when she was forcefully dragged through half the castle. "Catraaaaaaaaaaa!"

She had no choice.

"...I really really hate you."

"I know."

...

...

**_The intro starts with Shadow Weaver in the Black Garnet chamber spying and glaring at a image of Catra. Than the image dives into the water of her scrying spell._ **

**_~ We're on the edge of greatness ~_ **

**_Where we have Catra at Bright Moon looking both determined and forlorn out into the distance._ **

**_~ turning darkness into light ~_ **

**_A scene of kid Catra and kid Adora training together in the fright zone under Shadow Weaver. Before being replaced with a image of Adora glaring at a heart broken looking Catra who's on her knees across a battlefield._ **

**_~ We're right beside you ~_ **

**_But than Glimmer and Bow teleport to Catra side raising her spirit back up, as shown with her surprise blinking when Gimmer offers her a hand, than she smirks accepting the help as she takes the lead ahead of them._ **

**_~ Ready to Fight! ~_ **

**_Catra raises her sword, transforming into She-Ra in a glorious flash of light_ **

**_~ (fight, fight, fight fight) ~_ **

**_Then She-Ra rushes off into battle with Glimmer and Bow following right behind her._ **

**_~ We're gonna win in the end! ~_ **

**_Mermista rises out of a tide, blasting Horde soldiers with water._ **

**_~ We must be strong, And we must be brave ~_ **

**_Perfuma burst from the ground, capturing and tying up Horde soldiers with vines._ **

**_~(we must be brave) ~_ **

**_Frosta rides an entire wave of frozen water, freezing Horde tanks in their tracks._ **

**_~ We're gonna find every bit of strength that we have ~_ **

**_The scene shifts to Hordaks throne room where the evil shadowy figure sits upon his throne, his red glowing eyes being the only noticeable part of him, surrounded by notable members of the Horde, consisting of Adora and Catra's squadron, Shadow Weaver, Adora, Scropia, and even Entrapta._ **

**_~ and never let go ~_ **

**_The scene shifts to an epic clash between Catra and Adora, the She-Ra gritting her teeth as she presses her sword against Adora's electrical baton, as the Force Captain herself grins with chaotic excitement as the red jewel from her headband shines._ **

**_~ (Oh ah Oh) ~_ **

**_Adora and Catra push each other off as they back up into their friends- Entrapta and Scorpia for Adora, and for Catra Bow and Glimmer._ **

**_~ We must be STRONG! ~_ **

**_The scene ends with a final shot of both sides looking across the field, a transparent image of Catra and Adora's faces filling the sky as the colors are split between them;_ **

**_A majestic darkness shining into light upon Catra's side, and a horrid light seeping into darkness on Adora's half._ **

...

...

Seaworthy Cantinas, the greatest establishment in the history of merkind.

Whenever one had troubles or woes to deal with, the average person turned to their favorite beverage down at one of these places. The present one located right off the cliffside of a dock yard, the trio of diplomats made their way through the doors as they continued their search for a ship with a stalwart captain.

They couldn't just go with any run of the mill kind of captain either. They needed someone who looked like they knew the sea like the back of their hand, but also didn't seem vile enough to hold malicious intent. While the cantinas tended to attract customers of all shapes and lifestyles, they were almost always occupied by at least one or two sea captain that could brave the mighty seas and it's many terrors.

If there was ever a time one needed to find themselves a moment of peace, or those looking for mercenaries or allies of any alignment, the cantina was the solution to all of life's greatest problems. It was also home to a dozen or so cutthroats half the time but thankfully, as the evening light was still over their world, they had little to fear for the time. .. hopefully.

Peaceful or not there were still plenty of ruffians to go around. From merman and merfolk just having a good time and refreshing drinks with each other, to other brigandes and thieves matching wits and cards against each other in a manly game of Go Fish. While there wasn't anything to too ominous or worrying about the partygoers, nevertheless, the group remained cautious as they examined the great house of fun.

"This is so cool!" Bow squealed at the sight of the awesome-looking place. How could he not be excited to be in the same room as dozens of other shipwrights and captains, regardless of who was hitting each other after losing a card game! "Seaworthy is just like I imagined it! Everyone here looks just like a pirate."

"Focus, Bow!" Glimmer clicked her fingers to grab his attention. "We're here to find a sea captain."

"No pirates?'

"No pirates."

"Arrr..." He moaned drooping his arms.

"I don't see what the big deal is between one or the other." Catra commented, trying to ignore the hungering smell of fish. "If we need to get to Salineas why not just pick one?" Her eyes shifted to the side as something caught her curiosity.

"Yeah, see!" Bow brightened at the agreeable magicat. "Catra has the right idea!"

"Ok, you, never agree with Catra!" She told him before turning her attention to the other party member. "And we can't risk asking a pirate for help when we don't even know if they'll betray us or not."

"Uhhh hello? Who cares if they'll betray us or not?" She grinned pulling out her sword. "She-Ra here, remember? I can handle any of these guppies with one arm."

"Yeah, and how are we going to navigate the ship then without their help?" All the enthusiasm Catra had quickly dropped along with her ears at the realization.

"Oh yeah..."

Rolling her eyes, Glimmer made her way over to the server across the counter. Even the staff here alone had a rugged look to them, the pink woman in front of her having surprisingly large muscles for a person who wiped and served tables all day. And there was something rather unsettling about this one having a fishing hook tattooed against her bulging left arm in a cantina full of merfolk. "Uhhh hello? " She smiled nervously as the server gave a small glare back. "Heh... we need a sea captain that can take us to Salineas?"

The barkeep was quick to answer as she pointed across the room into one of the nearby booths. There, the group watched as they saw half a dozen merfolk gathered around one table as a large green one grunted like his life depended on it. Drawing closer, they saw the man arm-wrestling with someone more human, one donned in a blue coat and white shirt with a red bandana around his neck. With his dark brown pants, leather holsters, and spurs on the ends of his boots, he looked like a mix between a pirate and a cowboy put into one.

With cheer, the man cried out in victory as he finally slammed the large green man's arm to the table. The merfolk all around him groaned in dismay as they walked away, the stranger cheering for himself as he leaned back in his seat. "Ha ha! Drinks all around! Put it on my friend here's tab!" The man laughed as others walked away. He flicked around the tips of his moustache as the three made their way over to him. "Ah, children, no doubt you are here to partake in more of my glorious tales?"

"Huh? Oh no, we were told you were a sea captain?" Glimmer looked him over.

"Indeed!" The man planted his feet on the table without a second thought, posing before the gang as heroically as he could. "I am the one, the only, Sea Hawk!"

"...Sea Hawk? ...That's the coolest name ever!" Bow cheered pumping his fist.

"Yes! The one and the same! He who hunted the seven wonders of the seas, he who battled the mighty Kraken when only a board of his ship remained, and he who saw the dreaded terrors of the deep and councurred them all! I am the Legendary Sea Hawk!"

"..." Glimmer didn't know what to make of this. With just a few short lines and a couple words of dialogue Sea Hawk somehow became more full of himself than Catra was capable of.

"Awesome!" Bow's eyes shined like never before, the stars in his eyes glistening with glee.

"Look Captain, sir? I was wondering-"

"Please, just call me Captain Sea Hawk." He insisted, leaning in his bench again.

"Sorry. Captain Sea Hawk, we're interviewing potential captains to take us to Salineas." She explained taking a seat. "Would you like to apply for the position?"

"Hahaha," he laughed again, "apply for the position? I am the one and only Sea Hawk. I'm offer only."

"Offer only?" Catra pulled over one of the over chairs as she sat in it backwards. "You have the right taste but terrible self-advertising. Saying your name is Sea Hawk doesn't tell us anything about your qualifications. For all I know you're just a hack."

"A hack? A hack?!" He choked. "I once ran the 50-klick Galebreath Gauntlet in less than 20 klicks."

"Yawn."

"I maneuvered the Serpentine with nary a chip in the paint of my bow."

"Oh, wow, congrats on the pain job." She rolled her eyes.

"My shanties are considered so desirable, that sirens fling themselves into sea at the sound of them."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure if I-" She paused briefly as she leaned over to Glimmer. "What's a shanty?" She whispered.

"Basically just singing done by sailors." She whispered back.

"What? Ugh, I think I'd throw myself overboard too at the sound."

"I admire your flattery young one, but the sea is my only mistress." Sea Hawk replied.

"I... wasn't trying to flatter-"

"And because I can tell you're wondering," he continued, "my moustache is naturally shiny."

"It  **is**  shiny! You're hired!" Bow decided, earning a quick slap in the arm from Glimmer. "Ow!"

What were they supposed to say to this? What was the most appropriate response? None of them were thinking the same thing and were nowhere near considering how the other felt about this mysteriously brash and prideful man.

Glimmer didn't know how to respond to someone of his caliber. Despite her experiences this past week with Catra living around the castle, even she wasn't as open with herself like this guy was. Bow on the other hand was in too much awe at the man's greatness. He was just one detail away from practically being a superhero, having all the right and cool things to say, dressing like he was donning a hero's costume. All he needed now was a superpower and the awesomeness would be complete!

As for Catra, her one minute experience with this man was a little more than she could ask for. "...Suddenly staying with your mother seems a lot more tolerable. Later." Catra said as she tried to walk away.

"No." Glimmer said flatly, grabbing her tail to Catra's annoyance. "So, are you available for hire then?"

"Me? Hahaha, what makes you kids think you can afford me?" He asked leaning over the table a little.

"I assure you, Captain Sea Hawk, money is no object." How could it be when the fate of the world was at stake? On top of that, riches were one of the few perks one had to look forward to when you were a princess. Without so much as a thought he dug through the opening of his shirt, grinning as he handed a small slip of paper to the hiring princess.

"Behold my fee." Taking it with a bit of queasiness, the three leaned over as she opened the folded paper tab. Revealing it's contents before them, Glimmer and Bow were devastated at the sight of the unreasonable demand of money. Out of the three, Catra was the only one who didn't drop her jaw at the sight, finding herself actually surprised as she let out a whistle.

* _Fweet!_ *

"I can buy myself a nice castle with that kinda money." She commented.

"Eh heh... money might be an object after all." Having enough of the irritation presented to her, she stood back to her feet along with Catra as she glared at him. "You know what? Fine! We'll just find ourselves another Sea Captain."

"Good luck with that. You won't find another soul who knows the treacherous sea routes to Salineas like I do. I brave it often to visit my close personal friend, Princess Mermista." As fast as he turned them away he quickly reeled them back in with the announcement.

"You know her?"

"Do I?" He questioned in a joking manner. "Maybe I do, maybe I don't. It all depends on how much my services are worth to you."

Grimacing at the sleazy bargaining, Catra whispered over to Glimmer's ear as she stretched out her claws. "Just give me two minutes with this guy and I can get him to agree to anything." While Glimmer was a little curious in how effective she could be against her seeming counterpart, she couldn't abide to possible torture of any kind, not even to her enemies. She smiled as she came up with another idea, planting Catra in the chair in front of her and pushing her to the table.

"Why not another offer? You and Catra, right here, one on one. If you win, you get everything you asked for and then some. If you lose, you take us to Selineas free of charge." Perking up at this, Catra smirked as she set her elbow firmly on the table.

"Sounds good to me. Unless, of course, your afraid of bring beaten by a little kitty..."

What kind of fair bet was this? Either he won and got everything he demanded and then some and took them to Selineas, or he lost and took them to Selineas free of charge. It all came down to a simple game of arm-wrestling against the mysterious cat girl that sat before him, grinning like a predator that just cornered it's prey. For all he knew she might've been capable of throwing him out the building in one toss, it would explain why they're so desperate to settle this in a match of strength!

But, his pride was at stake! As a captain of the nefarious seas of Etheria, no man or woman has ever or will ever best him in a game of arm-wrestling! He's taken on creatures that would make little children wet themselves, he's scaled the coasts of the most hazardous terrain. He, was Captain Sea Hawk! And he would never allow his dignity to fall to the likes of these three troublemakers!

"Very well, I accept your challenge! But know this lassie. For all the men and all the women who have faced me, none have ever won a single match!" With a yank of his hand and a firm grip in the cat's, the match had begun!

As Glimmer and Bow looked over her with cheer, Catra had to admit- for a guy that was clearly full of himself, he wasn't slouching and skimming on the details either. He had a great amount of strength in that showboating arm of his, forcing her to focus intently on her own defense until she felt him give way.

"Go Catra! Put him in the dirt!" Bow cheered. She was actually finding herself kind of wishing she could go She-Ra right now given how long this was taking.

"Come on, you can do it Catra!" Glimmer cheered as well.

"Nnngghhh!" She grumbled, gripping the table with her other hand to concentrate.

"Ha! This is the best you got?" He provoked. "I once beat a Tyrosaur with biceps the size of my head, in an arm-wrestling match that lasted two weeks!"

Sea Hawk himself was just as impressed with the magicat, if not more so with the young girl's strength. For such a young one, to last this long against the likes of him was nothing but impressive. She had that fierce determination in her eyes, the grip that held a thousand weapons, the strength of a mighty bull! Why, just thinking of how glorious this victory would be when he finally won, he could imagine all the wonderful celebrations this would lead to-

* _thud_ *

"Huh?" No, it couldn't be! He refused to believe it regardless of it being right in front of him!

"Hah!" She grinned, folding her arms behind her as she leaned back in her chair. "How's that for a lassie?

"Haha! Yeah!" The two behind her congratulated, Glimmer high-fiving her as Bow patted her back. With all that had happened up till now, Sea Hawk didn't know what to say. He was beaten, for the first time, not just to a girl but to a child at that! He couldn't allow his credibility to be at stake, not after all his glorious wins!

"W-Well, truth be told, I let you win so as to, ahem, boost your confidence." He revealed.

"Oh, really?" Catra looked over the wad of paper as she flashed it in front of him. "Such a shame too, we probably would've given ya a little something." He coughed a little to clear his throat, already filling with regret and grief over his newest loss.

"Y-Yes, well, all is in the past." Jumping over the table, he acknowledged the others as he stood before them. "Truth be told, I've been wanting to go to Salineas anyway." Reinvigorated, he threw his arm over Glimmer as he pulled her in to his embraces. "Come on, kids, with me! Forward to adventure!"

This was definitely going to be the strangest day so far of Catra's time in the Rebellion, not to mention the most annoying. She was going to be spending who knows how many days at sea, surrounded by the dreadful water she despised so much, and stuck socializing with these three for who knew how long until she managed to rip her ears off from going insane.

What kind of kingdom was Salineas going to be anyway? Was it going to have some town filled with nut jobs that worshipped a goddess to the point where they would turn on her if she ended up being anything different? Because she already had enough of that with the last town she visited and she was  _ **not**_  going to go through that scenario again! Sure, she did find a small bit of comfort when they appreciated her again in the end, but it felt hollow and empty after the harsh feelings they left her after the first time.

She was so focused on these thoughts that she failed to pick up on the fact they were being spied on. Up above the floor atop of them, looking over the railing, was a lone shadowy spectre, one that relayed all the necessary details to it's dark master...

...

...

"So, Catra appears to be in Seaworthy..." She spoke, examining the image displayed with Adora at her side. While nothing of Adora's appearance said otherwise, yesterday had been a dark turn for the young girl who was once pure of heart.

Peace was what she thought the Horde stood for, what the Horde fought against the evil princesses of Etheria to achieve. After the botched mission of Thaymor, she requested for Shadow-Weaver to find any and all proof that what they were doing was justified, unable to think of the numerous towns they've attacked up till now and who knows how many innocent people caught in the crossfire. It just wasn't something she thought possible!

Thankfully, or not, Shadow-Weaver was more than eager to accept the request, spending no more than a day to find all the necessary  _proof_  that Adora longed for. What she found was simply more troubling than what she had started with.

Unaware of Shadow-Weaver's underhanded tactics and ruse with the proof she displayed, she watched as a hapless village, one that looked no more threatening than a simple bird among the skies, attack one of their Horde outposts with fire in their eyes and anger in their actions. They attacked with everything they could get their hands on as they beat back her fellow soldiers and allies, capturing who knows how many troops and doing whatever unthinkable things Adora dared not to comprehend! What made this scenario even darker for her?

This was their response to peace. They offered this village peace and a chance to unite with the Horde in order to restore peace and unity to Etheria, and this was their response. Violence. Incomprehensible, unnecessary, violence. She couldn't tell if the villagers were aware of their actions or, more likely, if the evil princesses that ruled them pulled the strings to goad them into fighting with their sinister magics and trickery.

It was then, only after witnessing the carnage and violence herself, that Adora hardened her resolve. She had nothing but hatred for the princesses across Etheria, the people who tricked and enslaved others for their own selfish reasons, and the ones who took her best friend from her.

She still didn't know what form of trickery they had placed on Catra, she couldn't tell if they were controlling her magically or with lies like the rest of the simple citizens. All she knew was that they angered her to no end, and out of all the people she wanted to show mercy, they were nowhere on her list.

At least not the ones in currently in the Rebellion.

"Do you think we can bring her back?" Adora asked hopefully.

She admitted, it did pain her a little to trick her precious Adora in this way. She was destined for greater things than Hordak could dream of, and she was the closest thing to a daughter she truly had within this place. But as it stood, all of this was required to bring about Adora's rise to power. "I'm afraid until I know more about her situation, I can not help her."

"T-Then let me go to Salineas, Shadow-Weaver!" She insisted as she stood respectfully. "Please, you have to let me catch up to her. Maybe I can bring her back, even if I have to use force! Plus, it would be a great boon if we can either destroy the Sea Gate, or convince the kingdom of Salineas to join the Horde. In either scenario, we could approach Bright Moon Castle from two sides if we succeeded."

There was that spark again, that one little spark that revolted Shadow-Weaver at the after everything that happened, all the proof she gave Adora, she still had a strong semblance of sincerity and care for the other citizens of the world, and was willing to find allies wherever they may be. It would take time to truly blacken her heart of everything she cared about, and she was a very patient woman. "I think that would be a wonderful idea my dear." Her eyes allowed Adora to feel the smile coming from the motherly-figure. "But are you sure you're ready now?"

"Yes, Shadow-Weaver." Shadow-Weaver was intrigued by the certainty of her voice.

"Then what will you do if you encounter hostiles?"

"Restrain first, use force if necessary." There wasn't any hesitation, no thoughts of the alternative, not a twitch from her fingers or the corners of her eyes. She was clearly seeping in to the teachings of the Horde, however little at a time it may be.

"And, if you encounter any princess who's part of the Rebellion?" Adora's face hardened with a scowl.

"No hesitation. No mercy."

She was so proud.

"Excellent, my dear."

* **pat-paT-PAT-** *

Their attention shifted to the door briefly as another thought occurred to the dark witch. "Ah, yes, I almost forgot to mention Adora. For this mission I'll be sending you along with several other cadets as well as another ally."

Adora watched as a figure appeared from the darkened hallway, being met by a hulkish figure covered in insect-like scales across her chest and around her shoulders. She had a very intimidating presence to her, the figure standing over a foot taller than Adora, almost two feet, as well as supporting massive and durable claws where her hands should've been. The figure's smile alone already put Adora on the defensive, feeling like she could strike at any point.

"Adora, I'd like you to meet Force Captain Scorpia." Shadow-Weaver introduced. "She'll be accompanying you for the mission to make sure everything goes smoothly."

"You don't trust me?" There was something about the wording she used that made Adora a little hurt.

"Of course I trust you my dear," she assured stroking her cheek, "what I don't trust are those blasted princesses. As it stands you're still fresh from the grounds as a Force Captain, with only one mission under your belt. And while I believe you're more than capable of, others would prefer you being assisted by someone else who's been in the field many times." She glanced back to the silent white-haired girl. "That's where Scorpia comes in."

"I see." It made sense to her. After all, like Shadow-Weaver said, she's only completed one mission so far, to rescue Catra from the princesses, and that was a total failure. With a nod, she walked up to the large figure as she held out her hand. "Greetings, Force Captain. My name is-"

"Adora-ble!"

"Huh-?"

* ** _Craaack_** *

"Ack-!" Adora's face scrunched up as she felt the massive pair of arms wrap around her, lifting her off the ground as she was crushed in her titan-like grip. Come to think of it, asking to shake hands with another person with scorpion claws wasn't much better than this. "I see we got a hugger..." She squeaked. All the air that was pushed out of her came rushing back again as the scorpion girl dropped her again, Adora rubbing a few new sores she felt around her ribcage.

At least making a new friend didn't look like it was going to be challenging.

"I'm counting on the both of you to make sure the mission proceeds smoothly, and to have each others back." Shadow-Weaver directed, Adora following along with a respectful salute as always.

"We won't fail you, Shadow-Weaver." With one last nod, she turned around with Scorpia as the two made their way for the door.

"Ah, Adora, one more thing." She called out again, floating over as Adora turned back curiously. She watched as the witch of darkness dug through the opened sleeves of her large robe, searching for something. "I was hoping to give you this earlier as a reward for your first successful mission, but... well..." She couldn't bring herself to speak ill of the girl's failings or emotional state. Blinking to herself at the touch, she pulled out a small rectangular green box, about half the side of her arm, as she handed it to Adora. "For you."

"For... me?" This was a nice little surprise as Adora took it with gratitude. Very rarely did Adora ever receive a gift from someone in the Horde, almost every time being from Shadow-Weaver herself as she was raised by her. Those occasions themselves were even more rare as there was a mere handful of times Adora ever received a gift. Opening the box curiously, she didn't know if she should be grateful or confused at the contents.

It was a large woolen red wrapping, adorned with a single red gem in the center.

"It's a... headband?" She said a little questionably. Before she could touch the mysterious gift, she flinched as Shadow-Weaver shut the box closed without a second's notice.

"This item is to give you an edge in your fight against the princesses, my dear. If you ever find yourself in need, wear it upon your head. But you must  _only_  do it if and when absolutely necessary." She warned. "It will give you a significant boost to your combat capabilities, but it will affect your mind and your emotions in turn without proper training."

There was no lying to her Adora like this. If she was going to give her an item, she needed Adora to know all the risks that came with it, less she be surprised by it later on. With Adora having little reason to trust so many people after the events of Thaymor, Shadow-Weaver saw little reason to lie to her about it's drawbacks. The more she assured Adora and assisted her like this, the closer Adora would be drawn to Shadow-Weaver, and the more trust she would have in the only person she had left in the Horde.

"I... I understand. Thank you for your generosity, Shadow-Weaver." Adora replied with a small bow, returning down the hallway once more.

Shadow-Weaver grinned a little as she turned back to the fountain, continuing to watch Catra and the rest of her allies as they entered the docks. Every little thing Catra did just helped to push Adora one more foot in Shadow-Weaver's arms. Whether Adora succeeded or failed in her mission was irrelevant. The girl would indefinitely require the use of the headband she had given her, and that alone was more than enough to make this mission a success.

Adora would be one step closer to everlasting darkness...

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**A/N: Thanks to all the people who've been a great boost of moral support! Once again i apologize for the lack of size this time around, like I said, just felt like it was a good cutoff point (otherwise I'd be looking at another obnoxious near-13k-word posting, which, while I don't mind, cuts into my real life where i'm supposed to be working Xo but writing's just so much more fun...*sigh*)** _

_**By the way, I'd be extremely flattered if anyone was to start doing fanart based on this series. I noticed in the past people with very successful or very popular OC's fics, they usually did fanart which gathered a large following of people- like Nyx from MLP and such. If anyone was to start doing said fanart, I'd be more than willing to point them out in the shoutouts (as well as possibly reward them via a spin-off chapter or something based on this fic of their creation ^^).** _

_**Anyway! As always leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!** _


	14. Episode 5: The Sea Gate Part 2

_**A/N: Fun cat fact of the day: Why do cats hate water? Because apparently the oils of their fur build up and absorb water much faster and larger than humans do, and because of it it makes them colder!** _

_**Why am I mentioning this?** _

_**...no reason...** _

_**ENJOY!** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

"Ahhhhh~" Adora breathed in the fresh air as the ship sailed across the sea. She was fortunate Shadow-Weaver could provide them with one of the finer sea vessels for this mission, at least compared to that other run down vessel that sounded like a vehicle breaking down every five seconds.

This would be Adora's first full-fledged mission since the incidents of Thaymor, the first one she felt fully prepared for and was ready for the unexpected compared to last time. She wasn't going to let anyone get the better of her or catch her off guard. She was going to recruit the princess of Salineas, or she was going to crush her along with the Sea Gate that guarded her kingdom.

Violence was still a subject she wasn't prepared to deal with when the time came for it. She was hoping to resolve most if not all the issues she could without resorting to such methods, except for anyone from the Rebellion. They took her best friend, through whatever methods of their evil cunning and sorcery. And there was no way she was going to forgive or trust any of them until she could get to the bottom of this.

What troubled her most about the ordeal was Catra. She didn't know what sort of manipulations they pulled on her, and half the time she questioned if they actually did manipulate her themselves or not. Just seeing everything that was going on in Thaymor, mixed with Catra's surprising concern to rescue a small child she likely didn't know for long, it was just too weird. She always knew Catra had good in her, but with how straightforward she was being with it, it just left a strange felling in Adora's chest, a strong uncertainty that almost hurt to think about.

And that didn't include the troubling words she had to give Adora, the memory still fresh in her head as if it was yesterday.

_"But... But how am I supposed to know you're telling the truth? How do I know this isn't some elaborate trick? I mean why would you even work for them willingly to begin with?"_

_"Isn't it obvious?" Catra's face brightened as she said this. "Adora, this is our chance to get everything we wanted! The Rebellion's queen is going to give me a Kingdom, they won't have a choice. We can have our own land where we call the shots, we can do whatever we want, rule whoever we want!"_

What kind of trickery did the princess use? Did they even use trickery at all? The way Catra spoke to her, the way she seemed so willing to join them just to get what she wanted. Was she actually under their control at all? Was she doing this for herself like everyone else said?

"You enjoying yourself there?" A voice spoke up from behind her. Looking back, she snapped out of her thoughts as she smiled back to the other Force Captain, one specifically assigned to assist her by Shadow-Weaver.

"Oh, hey Scorpia." She greeted as Scorpia leaned on the ship's rail next to her. She smiled as she looked out into the vast ocean, feeling the breeze blowing through her hair and the sound of the birds who flew through the sky.

"Oh, I just love boats. Don't you?" Scorpia commented as she leaned against the rail next to her. "Wind in your hair, ocean on every side, miles and miles from the nearest dry land, watery death awaiting at the slightest mishap."

"Heh, yeah... would prefer to avoid the latter of that but I know what you mean." The glory and excitement she felt was a little smaller now due to her commentary, though it didn't ruin her fun.

It was at the time Scorpia noticed a slight solemn look on the other captain, a quietness as she stared out into the ocean. "Everything all right, Adora?"

"Huh?" She snapped out of her look as she was addressed. "Oh, yeah, sorry. I was just thinking about-"

"Catra?" Scorpia answered for her, earning a small nod. "You guys must've been pretty good friends, huh?"

"Mhhm," she nodded again, "we grew up together through most of our lives. Every day we would dream of getting out of the Fright Zone and being able to see the open world. Fighting alongside the Horde, fighting the princesses that corrupted everything. It was... nice..."

"Must've been pretty close then." Scorpia's stinger wagged a little with glee. "Most people I meet usually don't have nice things to say about her."

"Yeah, I'm more than aware of it." She remarked, remembering how openly Lonnie talked down about her. "It's not that I don't understand either. Catra was... a little blunt towards everyone else, and she got annoyed pretty easily. But she was a really nice and sincere person when I first met her. She was shy, innocent, she actually cared about others no matter how scared she got."

"I'm betting it didn't last that long though?" She was a little regretful at her question as she saw the small frown growing on Adora's face.

"No. Just... one day she just... changed. She became cold, distant to everyone else." She found it a little saddening to think about. Remembering the usual brightful cheery face just switch to an uncaring cold expression out of nowhere. "She didn't even care about who needed help unless I got involved in it myself. She didn't want anything to do with anyone else from that point on. And she wouldn't even tell me what was wrong or what changed... Sometimes I wonder what she would be like at all if we weren't friends, if she never met me to begin with. Maybe her life would've turned out better without me..."

"...Well that's dumb." Adora was caught off guard at the blatant feedback from the smiling Scorpia. "You think she'd be better off without you? Based on what you told me, I think she owes you a lot more than you're willing to admit. You were there for her when she was distant to everyone else, and you think it's your fault that she turned out like this?" She turned around as she continued, leaning against the rail backwards. "I don't know what happened either. Maybe it was your fault or maybe it wasn't. But you at least took it upon yourself to stick by her side to make up for whatever mistakes you could've made. If you ask me, she couldn't ask for a better friend."

Adora really didn't know what to say as she smiled warmly to this. She didn't think someone as rough-looking and tough like Scorpia would be as sentimental as this. She practically knew the exact thing to say when she needed to hear it most. It actually reminded her of Catra a little bit, seeing how tough she on the was on the outside yet sincere on the inside.

"Heh... thanks Scorpia." Adora smiled back.

"No problem... so when are we going to Salineas?"

"What do you mean? We're already on our way, aren't we?"

"Nope. We've been going off course for the last ten minutes." She announced.

"And... why didn't you tell me this earlier?"

"Oh, because the scary lady in red told me to follow your  _directions_  all the way through. She even joked about how she would "declaw me" if I spoke once out of line too!" There was something about the way she said that with a clear smile on her face that made it a little unsettling.

It was nice to find a new friend in another Force Captain, possibly someone else she could trust while trying to piece together what was going on around here... even if a little clumsy.

...

...

"Welcome aboard the Dragon's Daughter Three!" Sea Hawk announced several minutes after they set off.

These were the moments he cherished the most. Excitement, adventure, and entertainment! The three E's, at least according to him! Out here a man like him could be anything he wanted to be! He could be vigilant, he could be a coward, he could be a notorious thug, he could be a righteous hero! Out here away from the rest of civilization among the populace where their laws and legislations ruled the land was nothing for a man like him.

Here, he was a man who was free, along with his new temporary crew that consisted of Catra, Glimmer, and Bow!

Sure, he might've lost a game of arm-wrestling to the cat who seemed a little less than comfortable looking off the sides of the ship, but that didn't matter to him anymore! Here one could turn their life around with just a simple victory, a climactic fight against the legions and various creatures of the dark abyss below them. And it was here he knew he would reclaim his honor!

"Do I even wanna ask what happened to the first two?" Catra asked with a moan, not taking her uneasy eyes off the surrounding ocean.

"Tragically, they went down in flames." He mourned.

"How did that happen?" Bow asked, eyes alight with stars for the fourth time since meeting this man. Whatever reasoning Sea Hawk had had to be a glorious tale of heroism and terror!

"I set them on fire." There wasn't a care in his voice at the reply. Groaning, Catra shook off his brash enthusiasm as she walked towards the other side of the ship. With gusto, he stood at the very bow of the ship, pointing directly to the sea of opportunities. "Now, onward to adventure!"

"Bet he's not exactly what you expected, huh Catra?... Catra?" Glimmer looked back when she noticed a distinct lack of snarkiness in return.

...

The sword. This one simple object she stared at into her hands. Each and everyday she would think about how her entire life changed the moment she touched this stupid blade. Made by the First Ones, the supposed settlers of Etheria and the ones who created advanced technology. This was supposedly one of their crowning achievements of advanced history, and now it was completely within Catra's grasp.

Man was it a piece of garbage!

Every time she needed to use it, every chance that came when it felt the most necessary, the stupid sword wouldn't answer her calls no matter how dire it was. Whether she was saving an entire village from the oppression of the Horde, fighting against a behemoth-sized man with muscles twice the size of his own head, it never answered her calls when she needed it most. Not even after her long harrowing journey with an old hag did it answer her call, not at first anyway.

To this day she's only ever gotten the sword to answer her call twice, and one of them was completely by accident. Was she missing something? Did it work at specific times of the day or once every few days? Given the two or so days between her first time using it and last time using it, it seemed the most plausible. But she felt a strange power coming from the blade at all times, like it was telling her she could use it whenever!

Whatever the case may be, she took a stance with a deep breath, holding the blade before her as she begun swing it in rhythm along with her quiet voice. "For the Honor of Grayskull... For the Honor of Grayskull... For the Honor of Grayskull..."

Practicing just swinging a sword like this was a bit embarrassing but what other choice did she have? She didn't know what was needed to activate the sword on command and until she did the sword would be useless as any other sword. She needed to find a way to get it working when she really needed it, something that would get the sword work every time she asked for it. Maybe she just had to feel a certain way about it? Maybe she needed to feel a specific amount of joy, sadness, anything to get the blade working?

* _poof_ *

"Hey Catra, what are you do-IIIIHHH!" Glimmer jumped as she teleported in front of her. Both she and Catra nearly had a heart attack as Catra stopped the swing just inches away from the tip of her nose.

"Ugh, what do you want, Pinky?" Catra grumbled, turning around as she continued her practicing.

"Well, if you don't plan on stabbing me for asking," she sighed briefly before walking over to her right side, "I wanted to know what you were doing or if you were okay."

"I'm fine." She replied without skipping a swing. Glimmer watched for a bit as Catra continued to swing her sword, chanting the infamous line with every swing.

"You still can't get the sword to work right, can you?"

"No, I just like walking off in a random direction to swing a sword for no reason." She retorted sarcastically. Honestly, given Catra's personality, Glimmer wouldn't be surprised if that truly was the reason. Just going off on her own to swing a sword to blow off some steam. It seemed to match pretty well with her personality now that she thought about it. "Was that all you came here for?"

"No, actually. I just wanted to know if you wanted to talk."

"About what?"

"Well... anything, really."

Catra took a short break from the swinging as she turned to her at this. "What do you mean?"

"I mean about you." She clarified. "Catra, you've been with us for awhile now and we barely know a thing about you."

"Yeah, consider yourself lucky to know what much." She mumbled.

"And I really want to know what your life was like just in case..."

"In case of what?" It was one of the few times Glimmer went silent when speaking to her.

"...In case of another mishap like at Plumeria." She was met with a small scowl from Catra's face as she went straight back to practicing. She knew she was still harboring confusing feelings from that day, most of which resulted in anger now whenever it was mentioned. She knew it wasn't all bad at the end of it, seeing how unsure Catra was when she was cheered for again by the end of everything, but it wasn't something easy to bring up. "I don't want to rush into things again thinking you were just being egotistical because of all the things you did. I don't want to assume something about your life by accident to regret it later."

She couldn't tell if a single word was getting to her as Catra continued to practice with the sword, not that she would blame her either. She knew there was some small miniscule growth from Catra's character, seeing how she didn't threaten Glimmer or anyone else to leave her alone the minute they approached her within the last few days, yet she never seemed to move passed that either. She kept things to herself in almost all conversations unless someone was talking to her directly about something, and half the time she ignored them anyway.

"Please, just tell me something?" She continued to plead.

"Mmmmh..." What was she supposed to do here? She was trapped on a boat surrounded by water with nowhere else to go. For a moment she wondered if this was all planned or if she was just being paranoid about everything? What would be the point of it anyway if she just told her something about herself? Would there be any benefit to it?

...Wait a minute.

"Tell you what, Pinky. If you do something for me, I'll tell you one thing about myself of your choice." She already regretted it as she saw the lights grow behind Glimmer's eyes.

"Really?!" This was great! She could tell she was definitely getting closer to them as a friend! Step one down, ninety-nine to go! At least she hoped so because she was just as quickly startled as Catra shoved the sword in her face.

"ONE. THING." She emphasized. "Help me figure out how to get this stupid sword to work."

"Oh..." She rubbed her chin as she looked over the sword.

To be honest, she didn't have a single clue about the sword, not anymore than Catra did at least. From what little she did know about it, it was a sword created by the First Ones, and, according to her mother, it was supposed to be powerful too. The First Ones were supposed to be an advanced race, seeing how they created the technologies and the ruins that the kingdoms continued to study to this day. For such an advanced society you'd think they'd have an easier method of using the sword and calling on She-Ra.

Sure, nobody she knew made the sword. Who knows what was going through the minds of the First Ones when they first developed the sword? Maybe She-Ra wasn't a single person? Maybe that was just the names of all the warriors back then, She-Ra being a title one had to obtain through heroism or right?

Whatever the reasoning was, there wasn't a single bit of evidence or past knowledge that could help her figure out how to use the sword anymore than Catra could. But she wasn't about to give up her one chance to get to know something about her friend!

"Um... Hmm,..." She looked all over the sword from the tip of it's blade to the bottom of it's hilt. "Maybe it needs something to trigger it?"

"Like what?" Catra said with a slight growl. She would prefer if Glimmer didn't state the obvious or the things she's already tried.

"I don't know, like... mmh... Ok for starters, what did you do the first two times it worked?"

"How should I know? They were both random." She crossed her arms leaning against the rails of the ship. "The first time around you guys were in trouble and the sword practically nagged me to help you."

"And the second time?"

"I don't know, you guys were getting talked down to by your mom?" She shrugged. While it wasn't entirely the true case at that time, she'd prefer keeping the situation professional around here. She didn't want to go on with some emotional sappy episode about how she was "true to her feelings" or some garbage. Especially since it didn't work the last dozen times she tried it. "I mean you guys weren't in trouble, so I don't think that has anything to do with it."

"But you might've been worried about us?" Glimmer suggested. She was a little intrigued as she saw the faintest of blushes on Catra's face.

"I-I was just worried cause if you guys got into trouble then there was no telling what would happen to me!"

"Uh huh, suuuuuuuure." She smirked.

"Keep it up and I'm not telling you anything."

"Sorry." Taking one more glance over the entire sword, she was struck with a possible realization as she handed it over to Catra. "But maybe that's the key to using it?"

"What do you mean?" Catra tried to contain her curiosity and hope for this.

"Well just think about it. The last dozen or so times you tried to use it, you were using it by yourself when you were alone and trying to defend yourself, right?"

"Yeaah...?"

"So, maybe try thinking of defending someone else for a change?" Her suggestion was met with a strange, unsure, skepticism from Catra as she looked at the jewel of her sword. Come to think of it, practically every time she did try to use it was whenever she was by herself, and half those times when she was with someone else or surrounded by a dozen other people. It was like that too when she defeated that force captain who was sucking the energy out of Plumeria's Hearts Blossom, even if there was a town she was trying to fight for. She wanted to use the sword to defeat her enemies or when she prioritized someone else for whatever reason.

She never really considered it was just a matter of when she was trying to defend someone else.

"So... just think of defending someone else or something?"

"I don't know, maybe?" Glimmer was just as sure of it as Catra was, which is to say not at all. "Just try it and see if it works.

"Huff, fine..." She puffed, standing her ground again as she raised the sword above her head. If that really was the method to getting the sword to work, then she was willing to try anything around here, no matter how humiliating it might be. Swallowing the little bit of pride she was forfeiting, she took a deep breath as she cleared her mind of everything that didn't have to do with defending people. "For the Honor of Gr-NGGGHHHH!" All at once, Catra's entire body shivered violently as goosebumps spread across her entire body.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?!" What just happened? Did Glimmer's suggestion actually make things worse? Oh gosh, what is she going to tell her mom if she ended up breaking She-Ra?!

"Aggghhh!" Catra garbled as she dropped to her knees. She was squeezing her ears for dear life as if they were going to pop off if she let go. "So...HORRIBLE..."

"Horrible?"

"-I am, I am!"

"Huh?" It was at that time of silence that she finally picked up on the sound of a strange singing.

It was horrible for sure, no doubt, but by the way Catra was acting, she was behaving like someone was running a saw blade through her ear drums. On the other side of the ship, jumping from point to point with Bow admiring each and every one of his leaps, Sea Hawk gazed upon the scenery with his cutlass as he sang his triumphant song. Like many other qualities to him, the entire song was about Sea Hawk himself, no doubt boasting about his greatness once again.

"If you want to ride on the waves of deepest blue,

Through perilous winds, Then I got you~"

"You're kidding, right?" Glimmer questioned looking back to the trembling Catra. "I mean it's not the best song I ever heard, but it doesn't sound that bad. It's actually kinda catchy-"

"No, not that!" Catra hissed, pointing off into whatever direction the source of her pain was coming from. "Whatever's making that atrocious scratching noise!"

"The scratching noise...?" Looking more closely, she finally realized what the source of Catra's true pain and suffering was. Alongside Sea Hawk as he continued to sing, there was Bow, always present at his side with a violin in his hands. Personally she found that more debatable than the singing itself. Bow might not have been the world's best musician or anything but the music he was playing was anything far from horrible. It wasn't even close to being considered bad! "That's just a violin, Catra. Haven't you seen or heard one before?"

"Do you think I'd be pulling at my ears like this if I had?!" She continued to growl, slamming the side of her head against the wooden ship so her ear was pinned on one side while using the other two hands to squeeze the other. "Hurry up and tell them to turn that racket off, Pudgey!"

"Mmmmh!" Glimmer marched over with a small blush as she grumbled.

Oh how she wished it didn't stick with her. Oh why oh why did that one stupid guard from Plumeria have to make that one single comment about her size? Ever since they came back from Plumeria, Catra came up with the incredibly funny name, to her at least, "Pudgey" whenever Glimmer annoyed her more often than not.

Half the time, she was never annoying her.

She used it whenever they were eating meals together, they used it whenever they passed each other in the halls when she was grounded for the last week, and she used it just to get a reaction half the time she was minding her own business in her own room. She never thought a day would come when she actually preferred being called Pinky but here it was.

"Hey guys." Glimmer greeted as they paused their song.

"Oh, hey Glimmer. Something wrong?" Bow asked curiously.

"Nope!" Glimmer shook her head with a smile. "Catra just wanted me to ask you guys if you could play your music louder."

"WHAT?!" She grinned as she heard Catra's shout.

"In that case, who am I to deny a fair maiden of my wonderful vocals!" Sea Hawk decreed as he took a deep breath.

"I am Sea Hawk, I am I am,

I am Sea Hawk, I am I am~!"

As expected, along with Sea Hawk's catchy tune, Bow did everything in his power to increase the volume of his beloved instrument, the very one Sea Hawk had carrying around his ship for situations such as this. While he wasn't as enthusiastic about playing an instrument for just the fun of it, if Catra liked his music so much, then he would play like his life depended on it!

Neither of them were aware of the smirk Glimmer was giving back as she looked off into Catra's direction. At this point the cat was slamming her head against the floor in a vain attempt to pass out, trying to do anything to drown out the noise, including drowning just to do it.

_Maybe next time you'll think about calling me Pudgey!_

"I'M DROWNING YOU IN YOUR SLEEP!"

...

...

Crooked shaggy rocks. Broken ships and debris scattered all around them. Torn apart sails that look like they've been here for years.

"Something's wrong..." Glimmer muttered checking over the map from the Crow's Nest. "According to the map, we're way off-course."

For the last half hour, following the  _wonderful music_  Sea Hawk and Bow displayed for ten minutes straight, the crew had worked around to make sure everything was maintained and kept in working order as they sailed. Unsurprisingly, Catra didn't want anything to do with Glimmer other than cut her into little ribbons on the next possible chance she got. So, knowing she would never be able to pull it off without someone noticing, she decided to spend her time keeping the lookout atop the Crow's Nest, unsure if Catra would follow through with any of her threats.

And for awhile, things were going great! Granted she heard Bow crying his eyes out for two minutes when Catra suddenly bashed the violin on the ground, and partly over Sea Hawk's head, but the three seemed to quickly get over the issues as they set up a table along the ship using several boxes and clothes they could gather. From there, the trio spent a dozen or so minutes having several different rematches in a glorious game of arm-wrestling.

From her point of view, it appeared that nothing quite like a game of arm-wrestling could make one forget about their past arguments. Or, the more likely case, they were having too much fun trying to best each other in a display of strength.

Chances were the latter.

Teleporting from the Crow's Next, she reappeared next to the rest of the crew as they were finishing their next match, the victor being Catra once again.

"Ha! That's three in a row!" She cheered.

"Ghhh best 4 out of 7!" Sea Hawk grumbled with demand.

"No! No more arm-wrestling!" Glimmer stated slamming her hands on the table.

'Tch, typical..." Catra groaned internally. "I start having fun and you have to ruin it."

"Just forget about your fun for a second! I spotted a ship graveyard over in the distance and we're heading straight for it. Is anyone worried about this?"

* _crash!_ *

"Ah!" The rest of the crew sprang to her feet as Glimmer let out a scream. "What was that?!"

"Ah ha! We're here!" His moustache glistened as Sea Hawk stood upon the makeshift table with one foot. "We're here!"

* ** _CRASH!_** *

"Ahh!" The group screamed in unison as they were tossed several feet around the ship in all directions.

The boat was suddenly flung in the air as the crew found themselves flung several yards into the air, feeling and seeing a massive fin smack into the right of their ship. With haste in his veins and pride in his heart, Sea Hawk quickly stepped up to the rails of the ship again, staring down the terrifying abomination that swam around them.

"The Serpent of the Sea! I knew he'd be lurking in these waters!" As he continued to mumble whatever idiocies he had to say, Catra stared back at the sword itself, looking once more into her reflection.

"I need to think about defending everyone..." She mumbled looking around.

 _Let's see... Everyone's in peril... The ship needs to be saved... And those two are going to die..._  Compared to what one should feel when they had such thoughts, Catra felt a wave of glee as these thoughts entered her head, her heart calming as she held out the sword.

"For the Honor of Grayskull!"

_ All around her lights of a dazzling displayed danced across the scenery as her entire body shimmered with a sparkling glow, save for her eyes that remained pure light. With the humming of her sword, she brought the sword to her face along with her illuminated hand, crossing them side by side until they formed an X in front of her. _

_ With a silent breath, she began pulling the sword and claw against each other on opposite ends, scraping her claws against the mighty blade which danced with a sparkling light. As she did, little by little her outfit changed into a majestic white color, growing little by little along her body as she pulled the blade away from her claw. By the time her claw reached the end of her sword, her entire outfit had finished changing, now sporting a white colored vest with a yellow light image bursting from the center of a light-blue gem, along with a white colored short skirt across her waist. _

_ Finally, she brought her empty hand to her face. She held it there as a golden light enveloped both her wrists, forming a beautifully golden set of bracelets. As a final piece, slowly pulling her hand away from her face as her helmet changed to a golden color, the spikes on the end growing several inches longer as they curved out against her form, just as golden pads stretched from the shoulders. _

_ With this, her transformation had come to an end, and She-Ra had been formed. _

The rest of the crew were taken back by the appearance of this golden light. Having seen it only twice to this date, even Glimmer and Bow were surprised to see Catra had finally transformed into She-Ra again, the warrior princess that the Rebellion had needed and longed for for so long.

Just like the rest of them, Catra looked over herself with shock, one that was quickly replaced by an overwhelming waterfall of glee. She couldn't help the excitement building up in her, seeing how she finally cracked the code. After so many headaches, so many annoyances through her life, she finally discovered a power and the means to finally summon it!

"Catra..." Bow stuttered to speak. "You... You finally transf-

"Yahoooooo!" Any comments from the peanut gallery fell on deaf ears as Catra quickly rushed the giant monster before her. With no care about the others she passed and little concern for her own safety, she leapt to the air with sword in hand, continuing to grin as the ferocious demon of the beast clashed it's teeth against her mighty sword. She didn't even care when she was plunged into the murky depths below into the freezing cold waters. This was her moment! And she was having a blast!

"Is that... normal, for her?" Sea Hawk asked, unable to take his eyes off the sight as the two disappeared into the water.

"Believe it or not, it's a bit unusual for us too." Bow commented. "This is probably the third time we've seen her do it." He smiled back to Glimmer who continued to look in amazement. "Can you believe it? She finally got it to work!"

"Did she take my advice?" Glimmer questioned.

"Pfffft!" Catra spat out the sea water as she rose to the surface again. "I got him-! Err wait-! Whoa!" She let out another yelp as she was dragged under again.

"So your friend... doesn't need help?" Sea Hawk asked slightly disappointed.

"Nope! I think she's just fine." Bow answered chipperly, unaware of the captain's dismay.

Why did no one tell them this? Why did no one warn him he was going to be traveling with a fellow hero of all things? All the glory, all the riveting details that he was going to have the young ones tell about himself were all dashed away by the sudden reveal of the hero before them.

If they had told him that earlier, he would've gladly turned down the offer beforehand! Why would he want to travel alongside a fellow hero who was going to hog all the glory for themselves? Sure, he wasn't one to usually turn down the young ones when they requested it, whether or not they beat him in arm-wrestling, but why was he needed if another fellow hero was in their midst? Was he needed for anything for that matter?

After waiting another several seconds, the three watched as air bubbles rose violently, followed by a still-excited Catra who was still grinning.

"Ok, now I got him!" She announced swimming to the ship. "I can barely feel the water like this." Just one of the many perks she had to look forward to with being She-Ra, she supposed.

"Awesome job, Catra!" Bow congratulated. "Now hurry up and get on the boat!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming, I'm coming." She wondered what other perks she had to look forward to as She-Ra. With her already superb agility heightened to greater lengths, the vast amount of strength her new form obtained, and her defenses increased to the point where she could barely feel the water, there was no telling how much She-Ra benefitted her. "Just give me a min-"

...

...

_"Alright, everyone, settle down, settle down." Shadow-Weaver directed with as much kindness as she could. It was hard to forcefully switch her personalities on a dime. "I want everyone in bed by the time I reach the door." The kids gathered around the bunkroom as they turned in for the day, all dressed in matching white shirt and grey pant PJs. After another long grueling day of education and training, like most five year olds went through on a daily basis, the kids were all finally washed up and ready to settle in for bed._

_"Can you tell us a story before bed?" A smiling five-year-old Adora asked running up to Shadow-Weaver._

_"Well..."_

_"Please! Please! Please!" The kids around her began to beg in unison. Normally she would've been more than happy to silence the little pests that practically ordered her to tell a story like this. But when the request came from the adorable angel that stood happily before her, how was she to say no?_

_"Huff, I spoil you too much." She said, softly patting Adora's head. No one was unaware of Shadow-Weaver's favoritism towards Adora, and everyone was too smart to point it out. "All right, one story children, and then it's off to bed." The kids all around her cheered in tandem as they gathered around the floor in front of her and on the edges of the bunkbeds, the right hand of Lord Hordak pulling up a chair as she turned to the only child she cared about. "Adora sweetie, would you like to sit on my lap again?"_

_"Huh! Come on, you wanna sit in the front?" Adora asked the girl behind her._

_As usual, Adora's face brightened at the chance as Shadow-Weaver always allowed her to. But her excitement quickly faded as she looked back to the smaller child behind her, one that made Shadow-Weaver's blood boil to a burning point._

_A small, miniscule, rodent seen no more as mere vermin, who went by the name of Catra. Ever since Adora came across the young child, she's been nothing more than a distraction to her. Whether it was training in the gyms or playground yards, studying across the numerous classes that taught her mechanics and how to fight, or simply to eat lunch day by day, she was the one and only thing Adora ever talked about. Not to mention the severely unneeded attention she gave the girl._

_She couldn't understand why Adora was so drawn to this little pest. She was always the sheepish one in her classes, she was the one that was rightfully picked on by almost everyone within the Fright Zone, and, fitting her qualities, she was considered a scaredy cat when it came to anything dangerous. The only times she ever got the bravery or courage to do something was when someone else was in need of help, and that alone was a rarity around here when the kids picked on each other for helping one another._

_Like always, the quiet girl fearfully shook her head, hiding behind Adora as the other kids stared and looked at them. Shadow-Weaver's hatred for the young girl was known by all and felt only to a few. And while Adora knew of Shadow-Weaver's harshness to her, she didn't really see it as any different to her harshness towards everyone else. To her, it was just Shadow-Weaver being Shadow-Weaver, completely unaware of how personally she despised Catra._

_Thinking for a few seconds after seeing her friend's shyness, Adora smiled back to Shadow-Weaver as she shook her head. "Umm I think I'm good tonight. Thanks though!" She replied, sitting at the edge of the group of children with Catra sitting next to her. There was a brief moment of silence as Shadow-Weaver's hatred seethed, bottling up whatever rage she was filling so as to not scar the children for life._

_"Fine." She said with a small hiss. Catra could already feel the anger from the witch suffocating her, knowing she just made things worse. Deciding to move forward, the children watch with excitement as Shadow-Weaver began using her magic. She manipulated the shadows within the palms of her hands as she put on a personal display, showing shadowy versions of everything she was depicting. "I believe you children know this one."_

_"Once, many eons ago, this world was ruled by terrible creatures of power, the ones you know today as the evil princesses."_

_"Booooo!" Many of the children exclaimed, just as Shadow-Weaver expected._

_"They used their evil magics to spread chaos across the lands, ravaging anything and everything they came across. They burned down cities, set fires to homes, devoured the flesh of little children like yourselves." She didn't skim on a single detail. She could feel the fear coming from some of the children surrounding her. "No amount of armies could stop them, no technology was advanced enough to fight them, and no amount of hiding could avoid them. There was no avoiding the princesses forever. You either submitted to their eternal rule, or you faced horrible death!"_

_Adora smiled as she patted Catra's back soothingly, hearing the young girl gulp quietly._

_"But then, passed the stars and beyond the moons, a lone warrior came down from the heavens. One who stood for honor, decency, and unity throughout all the cosmos. You know him today as Lord Hordak."_

_"Yaaaaa!" Like with the boos, the entire room filled with cheer from almost everybody at the mention of his name, seeing a heroic-looking shadowy figure being displayed by Shadow-Weaver._

_"He saw all the corruption, all the lies and turmoil that the evil princesses spread. Together with a select few heroes, he began his war across Etheria, slaying monster after monster, princess after princess, until finally, he came across the last one where he rules today. Many of his friends and allies had fallen by the time he reached the last princess. But with their sacrifices in his heart, and their courage living on in his blood, he finally struck down the mighty princess, and claimed the land you know as the Fright Zone."_

_"But why are there more princesses then if he killed them all?" Another random girl asked, clearly never hearing this story before._

_"Because just like vermin and rats, the princesses always find a way to return." Shadow-Weaver explained. "They continue to hide in the shadows, even to this day. Waiting, plotting, organizing everything around them so that one day they could strike back against the Horde!" As opposed to fear as many of the children would have felt, the kids instead displayed simple smiles of pride and respect. "That's why each and every one of you has an important role within the Horde. One day, you too will find yourselves fighting against these creatures of darkness. And, if you work hard enough, you may earn the Honor to work alongside Lord Hordak himself!"_

_"Yaaaaa!" The children all cried out in cheer again as several rings of applause burst throughout the small gathering,._

_What an amazing story! It was full of heroism and evil monsters, just like the children were always told about! They knew Lord Hordak was a wonderful being, and each and every one of them felt proud to be living within the Horde, knowing the sacrifices and effort Hordak went through for their safety and livelihoods. Each of them owed Lord Hordak their lives and not one of them planned to let him down!_

_Sure the days may be hard from time to time. And yes there were days a kid wondered if learning how to fully customize a shock baton from scratch was the best way to spend their childhood. But they would have nothing if not for Hordak's generosity and wisdom, they would be suffering if they didn't have him watching over them! The fact of the matter is, they wanted to prove themselves to Lord Hordak, they felt like they needed to in order to feel fulfilled and give their life meaning! They would happily die for Lord Hordak, and some of them were ready to even now after hearing such a great story!_

_"...Are all the princesses really that evil?" All heads turned the speaker of the question, including Adora. No one had ever said such a horrible thought, such a questionable thing to say. It was safe to say Catra's fear was overwhelming, feeling the intense gaze of everyone she spoke in front of now. "I-I mean... isn't there like, I dunno... A nice one or two?"_

_This right here. This little rodent summed up every single reason she was detested by Shadow-Weaver. She didn't know her place, she didn't fall in line without questioning others. She didn't take everything and accepted it as it already was. She just asked whatever questions she had to ask like she owned the entire place._

_At least that's how the other children saw it._

_"You don't think Hordak's story is true?!" One of the boys asked while gasping._

_"N-No, not like that! Just that... you know... Maybe there's a princess out there who might be nice. I mean if there's plenty of bad people out there too, isn't it possible that one's good... maybe...?" She wondered, second guessing a little as she tried to reiterate. To Shadow-Weaver's surprise, many heads looked around the room with the same look of curiosity. Was there actually any good princesses out there? Was one of them actually good and helpful?_

_Without any hesitation, the magicat suddenly screamed as she was pulled off her feet by magic, pulled over with immense speed as Shadow-Weaver grabbed her by the throat._

_"Such insolence!" Shadow-Weaver shouted angrily, scaring the children not even half as close to how much she was scaring Catra. "You would dare question the honor and duty of Lord Hordak himself?! Do you not appreciate all that he has given you- no. Sacrificed for you?!"_

_"I-I'm sorry! I'm sorryyyyy!" Catra cried as she flailed around her feet. This was the absolute terror Catra feared most. The anger within her eyes, the hair spiraling out of control, the magic that went berserk throughout the room. This was the definition of true terror. "I-I didn't mean it, I'm sorryyyyyy!"_

_"You would be nothing more than a rat from the gutter in any other kingdom, and you would dare to question the righteousness of Hordak's Horde?" Almost every fiber of her being was redirected towards the small figure pulling at her robe down below. It took all of her power to change her persona to someone softer, trying desperately not to take it out on the lone figure that she cared about._

_"She didn't mean it." Adora assured with small pleading eyes. "It was just the slip of the tongue. Right, Catra?" Without saying a word, Catra nodded repeatedly like her life depended on it._

_Mostly because it did._

_This stupid cat was one of the few things she would decimate on a whim. People like her, things like her, were what ruined the Horde around here. They were a plague that gave false ideals and unnecessary hope to the other children and citizens of the Fright Zone. With people like these around, their entire kingdom could come crumbling down._

_With a growl in her tone, she dropped the child where she stood, brushing passed the terrified Catra who quickly ran into Adora's comforting arms._

_"Consider any and all future story times officially cancelled!" She announced, half the room filling with whining and moaning. As the door automatically opened, she shot one last look to the cat girl as she left. "If any of you have a complaint to make about all of this, you can thank your fellow cadet for the trouble she's caused." And without another word, she left, leaving the hefty automatic doors to shut loudly with the amplified silence in the room._

_All eyes turned to the two girls as they glared with unbridled rage. Because of her, their story time was forever over! Thanks to her Shadow-Weaver was definitely going to make their lives harder! That one stupid girl who continued to cry into Adora's comforting hands ruined the best days they ever had to look forward to, all because she was a little too curious about the world. They would all make sure she paid for this later, through whatever means and whatever excuse they had._

_The only one who had any compassion still for the young girl was Adora. She knew she couldn't blame Catra. It was just a story after all, and it's not like none of them ever had the same question pop up into their minds. She was just the first to speak about it openly. If anything, she was more proud of her for being so brave enough to actually ask something everyone else was too afraid of saying!_

_But that did little to ease the minds of her fellow cadets. They were all enraged, they were all fuming, At least like this for the time being, Catra didn't have anything to fear._

_She just hoped nothing bad could happen to her comforting friend..._

...

...

FREEZING! That's the immediate sensation that was sent all throughout Catra's body as she snapped back to reality.

 _Where the heck am I?!_  Catra hastily looked around in a panic as she felt a strange floaty sensation. Everything around her had a dark blue hue to her surroundings. What just happened to her? Normally when she had these stupid visions pop up she came back to reality wherever she stood. Looking around her, she felt a strange floaty sensation as she saw her outfit. She turned back to normal, her She-Ra transformation apparently having worn off much sooner than her second time around.

"Agghhhh!" Catra nearly choked as she opened her mouth. Seeing the dozens of air bubbles that escaped her lungs as she clamped her throat tight quickly sent an overwhelming fear through her mind. Dark blue hues, a strange freezing sensation throughout her person, air that floated directly above her? There was only one place this girl could possibly be.

 _I'm in the ocean!_  She screamed to herself. Without a second thought she quickly swam to the surface with all her might, rushing to get back to the fresh clear air as her body shivered.  _Of all the stupid times for this thing to give me a vision!_  She didn't know how long she had been down here. Did she just sink all the way down while the visions played out? Why of all the times did this stupid sword have to give her a vision while she was underwater?

Better yet, why the heck did it have to turn off her She-Ra form at any point while she was doing it?! How much air did she have left? How much did she waste while she was stuck as She-Ra earlier? There were too many questions and not enough time to answer them! With every stroke and kick of her body her senses dimmed little by little. Whatever amount of oxygen she had left was running out with every movement.

 _I-I can see the surface!_  That was the only bright side to all this, literally in this case. She must've been fifty or so yards away from the top, yet however close she got the farther it felt like she was.  _Come on! Come on!_  She kept shouting to herself. Fifty yards became forty yards. Forty became thirty. And so on and so forth. She was almost there, she could see the surface coming closer to her by the second! She had ten yards left!

Then it happened.

Her body betrayed her as it suddenly convulsed against her will. No matter how hard she tried to fight back, her body opened up all the airwaves her body contained. All at once her lungs instantly filled with water, her body's weight increasing as she struggled just to stay afloat where she was now. Paralysis spread through her entire body, lights were fading in the corner of her eyes. She couldn't fight back as everything slowly came to an end.

Finally, everything stopped around her. She couldn't move. She could barely think. She couldn't even register what was going on. All she knew was that her body had given out, and she was slowly descending downward to the ocean once more. Of all the ways she could possibly die on this adventure, why did it have to be like this? She should've stayed at the castle like she wanted, she knew something bad would happen on this trip.

Not until a shadowy figure splashed into the water from above her, barely seeing it through the corner of her eye. While she lacked any sensation of touch, she felt herself slowly moving upwards again as an arm wrapped around her. Something was moving her, someone else had came to save her. One figure at present came to mind as she blearily saw the darkened figure that dove in to save her.

 _Adora...?_  Was she hallucinating? Was it really her? She couldn't tell what was going on at this moment as more and more lights continued to fade around her. It was almost at it's final bit of light when the two finally reached the surface at long last.

* _splash!_ *

"I got her!" She could hear Bow shouting. Immediately she began coughing out the water that filled her lungs, little by little, just as Glimmer quickly reappeared in the water at their side. Grabbing the two of them, she used all the magic she could muster as she teleported the three again, reappearing several feet above the ship itself before they landed on it with a solid thud. Like a fish out of water, Catra flopped around as her body collapsed, this time emptying it's contents of all the water that filled her body as air returned little by little to her.

"Hack-! OUgh-ough!" She coughed violently, cupfulls of water pouring out of her mouth one at a time. She felt a hand patting her back as it tried to help her breathe out the water, recognizing the firm palm of it to be none other than Sea Hawk himself.

Her entire body was still soaked, she was freezing beyond compare. Somehow she felt colder as the air breezed around her body, her skin tingling at each sensation. Her hair itself was drenched like the rest of her body, soaking passed her face as she felt live flow into her at long last. She couldn't believe she had actually made it, despite the improbable odds. Here she was, alive and well.

Well not exactly well, more on freezing like never before followed by a dizziness from nearly drowning.

But alive.

"Are you okay?!" Glimmer kneeled to her side quickly as she helped pat her back.

"Ack-! Ough...I'm...ough... I'm fine..." Catra rasped, her voice a little sore from the salt water she forcefully inhaled. Looking around her various things began to dawn on her.

First off, these visions were a world renowned pain at this point. After her experience a minute ago, she could officially state that when and if these visions appeared were unpredictable. During the few times she's had said visions within the last week before this mission, she had the fortune of them not popping up unexpectedly or inconvenient times. At most, she probably found herself having a vision once or twice in the hallways for several seconds.

Now she was realizing that it didn't matter what she was doing or where she was when these visions occurred, and that could prove very problematic in the future.

Secondly, her She-Ra form went off way too early compared to last time. There officially had to be some bug with this stupid sword at this point because the second time she went She-Ra, she found herself in her state for nearly a full day, twenty-four hours to be exact. Here, she lasted maybe several minutes before it wore off, and that's not including whenever it passed off while she was having a vision.

Lastly she realized...

"Y-You guys... saved me?" For whatever reason to her, this apparently warranted the two to smile back to her.

"Of course we saved you," Glimmer said brightly, "we're a team!"

"Yeah! The Best Friend Squad sticks together!" Bow declared.

"...Ok I'm throwing myself overboard if you call us that again..." It was strangely humorous hearing that from Catra. Unlike most of the times, there was always a small hiss to her tone whenever something annoyed her. Here, she just spoke a bit more commonly than usual, like she was purposely making a joke.

True, they wouldn't put it passed her if she would actually do it, but all the same it was a nice change of pace.

At the same time, Catra didn't really know what to make of it. Why did they bother to help her? Why did they look concerned when she saw them? At the Fright Zone she would've easily drowned as the others watched on and laughed, less Adora saved her. Here, these people who meant nothing to her dove head first to save her from a watery grave, despite everything she said about them and thought about them. Whatever miniscule chance of positivity she could've come up with was swept away as another thought occurred to her.

 _It was just the stupid sword..._  She told herself. It was clear their intention was just for the sword, why else would they try to save her? They didn't care about her, it's not like they wanted to save her. They just wanted the sword in case they could unlock it's powers for the next person who wields it. That was the only reason they saved her, it must be the only reason they saved her.

...Right?

"Well done, lads!" Sea Hawk cheered pumping his fists. "Clearly the lessons I've taught you have brought us a great victory today-!"

"Oh would you just knock it off!" Glimmer yelled as Bow helped Catra to her feet, her body still a little numb.

"I'm sorry?"

"We're trying to save Etheria and all you care about is whether or not we're impressed with you. Catra almost drowned today just because you were trying to boast your own ego!"

"W-Well... I wasn't aware she had any conditions or anything... but uhh..." This wasn't exactly the turn he wanted things to take. First the cat girl transforms into some heroic figure with an outfit and transformation then immediately charges at the first thing that endangers them? How was he supposed to know she had some sort of swimming condition? It's not like he asked her to charge the giant monster herself anyway.

And it's not like he didn't feel guilty about it either. Like Glimmer said, someone almost died because he wanted to show off. He never meant to put the lads in any dangers, not the likes of children who looked up to him! This was something completely on him that would take time to get over, and longer than that to possibly earn forgiveness.

"I need this mission to go right or my mom will never give me another!" She continued to rant pulling her hair, forgetting Catra's senses despite them still being partially numbed.

 _Yeah, that's what I thought... Just the mission..._  It was weirder saying this time around. She couldn't explain it, she didn't know why, but for a moment thinking those thoughts actually made her a little sad... why?

"Come on, we'll get you some warm towels." Bow said with her arm around his neck, helping her walk away.

"Whatever..."

"Just get us to Salineas. You've wasted enough of our time." Glimmer ordered, still a little angry.

Strange thing was, regardless of all that happened, Catra was still a little bummed out. Not of her botched "heroics", not due to the fact her stupid She-Ra thing messed her up in several different ways, and not because of her recent questioning, but something else entirely. She hated to remind herself of it, she hated how she nearly forgot all about it, and right now drowning seemed like a slightly better alternative to the latter. She knew there was no avoiding it though after everything that's happened.

She had to answer a single question from Glimmer...

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**A/N: Another funtastical chapter complete! (side note: Funtastical's an actual word? Cause spell check doesn't catch it :O!).** _

_**You know I was contemplating to myself how I can show my appreciation to the fanbase of both the series and MY series, and as opposed to sending each reviewing 1 Million dollars, cause let's face it, who the heck wants THAT of all things XP, I decided to make the next chapter a little interactive for everyone! How? Simple!** _

_**You guys get to choose what's the one question you want to ask about Catra's past ^^! I kid you not, originally going through this I fully intended for Glimmer to ask a specific question, but seeing the nice and awesome feedback I keep getting from fans, I think I'll treat them to a chance to ask the magicat herself practically.** _

_**Now the question can be about anything or ANYONE (hint hint) except Shadow-Weaver, mostly because she's the one person she never mentions. But it can only be ONE question. Now I have to go to work for the entire day, so you guys should have plenty of time to decide on the one question you have- and I only accept the question from people who REVIEW FIRST XP Sorry but i just love the feedback I keep getting, so keep the question at the end of your reviews if able. If you dont want to ask and just want to review, that's just as fine ^^** _

_**By tomorrow I'll tally up any questions I get and answer either the most-asked question of the bunch, or whichever question seems the most interesting in the event of a tie ^^** _

_**With that said, hope you all enjoyed today's episode/part cause I know I did! I had a heck of a fun time with the latter half of this myself ^_^!** _

_**As always leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!** _


	15. Episode 5: The Sea Gate Part 3

 

**_A/N: Hooftah, another fun chapter down! Sorry for the wait on this one folks, been busy with a bizarre work schedule + school. On the bright side I got the entirety of tomorrow off (Yay) but sadly no day off next week (Boo), but overall I might/should be able to finish the last part to this episode tomorrow too._ **

 

**_I'd also like to take this moment to bring up a recent reviewer I met named "Farla". I don't know much about him/her, but after much prodding they were...*kind* enough to leave a review on my fanfiction dot net version of this story. And I use the term kind loosely because the review itself was rather...well... just look at it._ **

 

**_I'll be 100% honest, I actually really like the review despite how degrading it is ^^! I feel so giddy for some reason just to meet someone who claims to be a die hard fan of the show to review my work... in a rather questionable way, but it's nice to know that the fanbase is strong with it. Now i'm not here to start a fanfic/author war, and not just because i would win *cough cough* (lol jk XP) but because she did bring up something several times that I wanted to address._ **

 

**_Do you guys think I'm doing Catra's character all right? I know I have her a bit different from the show and I accept that. The problem I want to address though is whether or not you guys find it enjoyable. Based on what they said I seem to be taking her character out way too much (which says a lot for someone doing the same thing apparently...) and I don't want it to be distracting from the original. i mean I want her to continue the personality I gave her, but my overall question is whether or not you guys enjoy Catra this way.  Are you having fun with the fic, are you not having fun? Just let me know and I'll change it. If you are having fun, then I'll keep it the same ^^_ **

 

**_With that said, I do recommend supporting Farla's work on fanfiction/Ao3 of She-ra. It's another "What if Catra stayed after thaymor" story, and while I can't say it's the best (not out of rudeness, I mean in detail wise- and no I don't think mines the best either. So far my absolute fave She-Ra fic is by someone named X-ross or something, they do the same plot but it's really touching and fun. I think it's the best so far and support their work too ^^), it's still an enjoyable read. And don't give her a hard time over what I said above here. I'm actually thankful for Farla for pointing it out so he/she's all good as far as I'm concerned ^^_ **

 

**_And with that out of the way, enjoy!_ **

 

**_..._ **

 

**_..._ **

 

**_..._ **

 

 

 

 

 

Catra - WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE

 

Subject has been charged with multiple accounts of treason to the Horde, including but not limited to:

 

-Sabotage of Plumeria's Energy Plant

 

-Defection

 

-Attacking fellow Soldiers 

 

-Refusal to disclose essential information involving possible ancient First Ones Technology

 

-Resisting Arrest

 

-Aiding and abetting the Rebellion

 

Subject has been deemed dangerous to fellow members of the Horde and should be approached with caution. Subject has been seen attacking fellow Horde Outposts on several occasions and reported as suffering possible dementia as a severe side effect from personal encounters with the Princess' magic. All Horde members are to proceed with capture with caution but are not advised to avoid unnecessary force. Subjects capture is deemed secondary to termination. Any and all members of the Horde must report to higher ranking officials or Lord Hordak directly if they obtain any information deemed necessary to assist with her capture.

 

Anyone caught assisting with the defector will be deemed a liability and charged personally. All members are to report suspicious behavior of fellow cadets and officers to higher officials immediately. 

 

 

 

 

"Mmmh..." No matter how often Adora reread the transcript, the data on the electric manifest refused to change. Sitting in the small cabins below the deck, leaning against the bed with her eyes focused intently on the data pad. This is all she could to occupy her time until their arrival in Salineas.

 

Wanted dead or alive? Charged with treason? How could they consider her a threat as severe as this? She wasn't a traitor, she wasn't at fault for any of this! She was a dear friend and fellow ally, she was just like everyone else in the Horde! Sure, she had attitude half the time and an uncaring characteristic the other half, but it's not like she was at fault here.

 

It was those stupid princess'! They had to be the ones responsible for everything, they must be the ones responsible! Adora  knew they had to be at fault here, who else could it be? Maybe they caught Catra herself with their magics, maybe they cast some intense illusionary spell over her to make her follow their orders? That had to be the reason! There was no other reason Catra would ever work for the Rebellion!

 

Or was there? In Thaymor she seemed fully aware of what was going on around there, and she was right about the place being nothing more than a simple town, even if they were harboring weapons that were unknowingly smuggled in by Shadow-Weaver. Did that mean she was telling the truth? Was it just one of the many tricks orchestrated by the princesses? She didn't know what to think anymore! She knew the only person she could trust at this point was the closest thing she had to a mother figure throughout her life, the only one who seemed to be helping her with this.

 

Shadow-Weaver.

 

It was at that time her attention turned to the small box she kept in her Horde jacket, pulling it out to examine the contents again.

 

"How is a headband supposed to help me?" She wasn't inconsiderate of the gift. If anything, she was more than overjoyed to receive such a gift, any gift for that matter, from anyone in the Horde. Shadow-Weaver continued to give her trust to Adora, she knew that perfectly well. She enjoyed her company, she had high expectations of her, and she continued to shower her with sympathy throughout all that's happened. She was the only one she could trust at this point so she was sure this was meant to help! The question was how?

 

Taking the headband out herself, she felt along the fabric as she rubbed the small gem adorned in the center of the headwear. It had a strange smoothness similar to the robes Shadow-Weaver wore on a daily basis. Did she make this herself out of the same material? Did that mean it had a more personal touch to it than Adora could notice? It was strange. Just holding it in her hands like this, knowing it came with strange side effects that Shadow-Weaver warned her about. It was... 

 

Huh... now that she thought about it, staring into the gem itself, was there any harm in wearing the headband already? I mean she was told it would affect her mind and her emotions too but who knew in what way? Would it make her blind, would it make her feel constant sadness? Come to think of it, there was nothing wrong with a bit of practice, right? There was nothing to say she couldn't hold it closer to her head. It was strange, it made her feel... comfortable on the inside. She could see her own reflection coming off the jewel itself, despite being the mere size of a thumb. 

 

"I guess it... wouldn't hurt to try it a little..." She told herself with a small smile. 

 

Hey, she was smiling, imagine that! She was worked up about all the stress she had going through her mind till now and just holding this band this close to her face was already relaxing her. Was that the side effect she warned her about? Relaxation? Why would she worry about something that made her relax a little? It was funny just thinking about it. "Heh... heh... that's a laugh..." She didn't know Shadow-Weaver had a dark sense of humor...

 

_Ha! Shadow-Weaver! Dark! Man, what a tease!_  And what was with this headband? It felt great being this close to it alone! How good would she feel if she just put it on her head for a second? After all, she was a Force Captain now, so of course she would be expected to have some practice with it, right? Collecting both ends in both her hands, she unfolded it as she raised it towards her forehead. She was already happy just having it in her hands like this. Who knows what could happen if she actually wore it for a cha-

 

_*knock*_

 

_*knock*_

 

_*knock*_

 

"Ah!" Adora yelped suddenly dropping the headband to the floor. She shook her head of the small fuzziness she felt, rubbing her forehead a little to ease the tingling. What just happened? She opened the box, she felt the headband itself, and then she... It....

 

_*knock*_

 

_*knock*_

 

_*knock*_

 

"Hey, Adora?" Scorpia could be heard calling from the other side. Shaking her head clear of whatever was troubling her mind, Adora quickly scooped the headband back into the box, stowing it in her jacket again, and made her way to the door.

 

"Hey Scorpia," she greeted back with a smile, "is something wrong?"

 

"Nope! Just wanted to let you know we reached Salineas!" Eyes widening at the news, Adora quickly brushed passed her as she ran her way upstairs where the rest of the crew, Kyle, Lonnie, and Rogelio, we're waiting. The ship itself was hidden among the rocks almost half a mile out from the Sea Gate itself, the ideal location to spy upon the kingdom.

 

"It's the Sea Gate, Force Captain!" Kyle stated as he handed her a brass spyglass.

 

Looking through it herself, she was amazed at the sight of the massive structure. It was one giant archway that blocked access into the kingdom from any sized ship, practically five times the size of their own boat. It also appeared to be held in high regard given it's design, the archway itself consisting of two opposing mermaid statues holding tridents against one another. And it was within the gap of that archway a massive barrier stood, glittering with beautiful white lights as the sunset shined behind it.

 

She had to admit. For a kingdom of water like this they really knew how to design their structures.

 

"That's the Sea Gate?" Adora lowered the spyglass, seeing the large barrier easily enough from where she stood. "I thought it was going to be some giant wall or an actual gate. Did anyone else know about this?"

 

"Well sure, a lot of us did." Scorpia replied as she came up. "Didn't you get the details at the Force Captain Orientation?"

 

"Orientation?" Why was she the last one to know about these things? "We have Force Captain Orientations?"

 

"Yeah, a few from time to time. I think Shadow-Weaver said you were excused from it due to the problems you were having with your friend."  

 

Oh, great. Another thing she can add to the stress she's been going through. Not the fact she wasn't aware or informed about Force Captain Orientations from anyone, but the fact she wasn't told of it because of the issues she's been going through since Catra's defection. This pretty much summed up to a matter of her stress keeping her from preforming at peak efficiency, and the last thing she wanted was to slow down or become problematic for the Horde.

 

"What are your orders, Captain?" Kyle asked as he stood at attention with Rogelio and Lonnie. Looking back to the gate itself, Adora took a few seconds to come up with a plan.

 

She wanted to try and align with any people she could save from the Rebellion's clutches. She didn't want to have a repeat of the last time this happened in Plumeria. If they attacked first they could dash any chance of a possible alliance and if they waited too long the Rebellion could easily recruit them. Was it even worth trying since they maintained the Sea Gate for them anyway?

 

 

"Wait..." Adora quickly brought the spyglass to her eye again as something caught her attention from the corner of her eye. Looking passed the Sea Gate itself, she saw what appeared to be another small ship coming through the small fjord from within the kingdom itself. No matter how small the image was after zooming in as far as she could, the one thing that did was the sight of a familiar friend at the helm of the ship. "Catra!" She gasped.

 

Catra. The Traitor. The Defector. The one person everyone said betrayed the Horde and doing everything out of her own selfish desires. She knew she was innocent in all this, she had to be. There was no way the same friend she grew up with was this same backstabbing traitor that everyone else claimed she was. It wasn't Catra's fault she was here, it wasn't Adora's fault she was here. She knew exactly who was responsible for all these misgivings and the one person she needed to direct her anger at.

 

The very princess that approached Catra from behind. 

 

She still couldn't piece together what she did to her. Maybe she manipulated her through trickery without magic, like how they fooled Adora into thinking Thaymor was a completely innocent village? Or perhaps there was some spell being played on her that kept her from realizing what she was doing? A simple spell that could erase her memories could do wonders too. All Adora knew at this point was that she was responsible for Catra's defection. Her and the rest of the Rebellion that continued to sew chaos wherever they went. 

 

"...Captain? Your orders...?"  He didn't want to push his luck and anger the captain anymore than she seemed. They already learned from Lonnie's experience that you didn't want to push it when it came to Adora's anger. It wasn't so much that she herself was intimidating, entirely, it was the person who raised Adora more personally that they didn't want to anger.

 

"...If the Rebellion's already reached the kingdom, then there's no point in trying to call out to the princess of Salineas." Adora stated as she collapsed the spyglass in her hands. "Get the cannon ready. We're taking down that barrier if it's the last thing we do!"

 

"Yes sir!" The three cadets saluted before running to their stations. 

 

Turning back, Adora was still seething with anger as she knew what awaited them on the other side. Her best friend, and her personal enemy. If she could catch the both of them in one shot then this entire trip will have been worth it, though it wasn't her key priority at this rate. Her first and primary objected was to capture and bring back her dear friend alive through any means necessary.

 

Even if it meant she had to drag her all the way back herself.

 

...

 

...

 

"Catra?" Glimmer called out as she slowly approached from behind. The other girl was still shivering a little as she continued to dry off with the warm towels hugging her. 

 

 

It was a bit annoying when she thought about it in the long run. 

 

After all, she finally got a stupid She-Ra transformation to take form for the third time after finding this sword, using her newfound strength to fight off a sea beast the captain lead them to for the sake of pride, and what happens next? She nearly drowns because of it! Why couldn't a single good thing stay a good thing whenever she came across it? Whether it was finding the sword, being praised upon by the locals of Plumeria, or getting her transformation to work a few minutes ago, every time something good happened it was immediately followed by something worse, like how she thought these two were concerned for her for a brief moment.

 

She was surprised to find herself suddenly being rescued by the two just as her body gave out and she began to drown. Bow jumping headfirst to dive in after her, Glimmer teleporting them back to the ship, it all seemed too unreal to her. Didn't they hate her because of all her insults? Weren't they fed up with her like everyone else she knew? It was for a single second she actually thought these two genuinely cared for her, and what followed this immediate thought?

 

Glimmer makes the mistaken comment to the captain she was shouting at about how she needed this mission to go right.

 

That one single comment confirmed to her how she was seen on this mission. She was nothing more than a means to an end, a tool to be used in their war against the Horde. And honestly, that's the way she was fine with. That's how it's always been all her life and she didn't bother caring about it now. LIke her, she found them as a means to her own end. If fighting with the Rebellion got her what she wanted then so be it. At least then she wouldn't need to worry about unnecessary thoughts. 

 

"Hey, you doing okay?" She asked.

 

"Oh yeah, just fine. Nothing like a good drowning to make you feel better." Being used to the sarcastic attitude by this point, Glimmer simply smiled at this. If she was well enough to joke around then she was doing all right. "What do you want?"

 

"What do you think? I came to check on you after-"

 

"I meant your question!" Catra restated a little peeved. 

 

"My question?" With all that's happened up to this point she actually forgot about it. How could anyone remember anything after having a panic attack when a friend of theirs nearly died on a mission?

 

"We had a deal, remember? Help me get the She-Ra thing working, I'd tell you something about me?" 

 

"The deal to... Ooooh that!" The realization grew upon her face as she remembered the details. "What about it?"

 

"Do I have to spell it out for you? What question did you want to ask me?" 

  
"Heh, you don't have to worry about it, Catra." Glimmer smiled. "You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to."

 

"Tell me what it is already!" Catra yelped. 

 

What was irritating her this time? Usually she wasn't annoyed or bored with a conversation this early into it, she usually waited until someone gave her a piece of information and then she snarled at it. Here, she just fumed a little at the greeting alone. How close would she come to attacking someone for having a conversation at this rate? "Catra, is... is something wrong?"

 

"I'm fine." If it was anymore clear that she was lying, she'd turn invisible. "I just want to get this question stuff over with, that's all." She took the time to dry off her hair with the towel as her body dried off. From the looks of it, they were going to reach the shore any minute from now and she didn't want some other princess yelling at her for getting the floors wet.

 

"Well...do you mind if I think about the question first then?" She wanted to know specifically _what_  to ask. The last thing she needed was to ask something that offended her or got her angry at everything again. There were too many things she was curious about Catra's life, the life of anyone who grew up in the harsh environment of the Fright Zone. How did they live, what was their life like, what did they teach them all their lives? Simple obvious questions like those were the most likely to get a reaction out of her.

 

And not a friendly one either.

 

"Just come up with something before the day is over, ok?"

 

"Deal." 

 

"Land Hooooo~!" Sea Hawk exclaimed as the ship came up to the coast of the kingdom. 

 

Salineas, the kingdom of water. Known for it's powerful naval fleet and it's vast variety of seafood. From here, the kingdom could obtain and export nearly any sort of fish to the neighboring kingdoms, as well as aid the Rebellion directly from the sea. With it's massive Sea Gate guarding the kingdom itself, they were the last line of defense between the Horde and destruction from the sea. 

 

Looking around the scenery, Catra gazed around her as her ears twitched from side to side, as if trying to locate something that she couldn't see. "Is something wrong?" Glimmer asked seeing the strange look Catra was giving off. She waited a few seconds for any sort of reply until Catra finally turned to her.

 

"It's way too quiet around here." She stated. 

 

Taking the lead the two followed after Bow as he jumped from the ship to the rocky coast, being the first bit of solid land any of them have touched in nearly a day. There was a stirring silence throughout the place like Catra said. There wasn't any people, there wasn't any noise among the winds, there wasn't anything. For a kingdom known for it's massive watery structures and infamous sea gate, you'd figure somebody would be walking around and maintaining everything.

 

It wouldn't be as troubling if the city itself wasn't so massive. Looking at the structures that stood before her, Catra was amazed at the severe lack of people. Most of these buildings alone were the same size as any of the massive watchtowers in the Fright Zone, and not a single one of them housed a single person.

 

At least not anyone she could pick up on.

 

"Where is everybody?" He turned to the others with the same unknowing look.

 

"Hmm... Very odd indeed." The captain scratched his chin looking around. Though it was sunset, there was still enough daylight out for this place to be bustling like any village. Even the village guards would be making a patrol around here so there should've been at least two or three people present. "If I know the Princess Mermista, and I do, something's amiss-"

 

"Halt!" Everyone looked to the nearby archway of stairs that lead deeper into the village. There, from the center of one of the many tall buildings, was what appeared to be a lone guard, flailing his trident around in proclamation. "Halt I say!" He wasted no time running as fast as his feet could carry him down the stairs. Catra could hear the man panting heavily from this far alone as he reached the stairs to the docks. Whatever kind of guard he was he took his job very professionally, not slowing down a single step until he reached them himself, panting heavily and out of breath as he sweated. "What's your business in Salineas?"

 

"We've come to speak with Princess Mermista." Glimmer stepped forward as she answered.  

 

"Tell her Sea Hawk is with them." Sea Hawk quickly butted in pushing passed her. "She'll be excited to see me." 

 

...

 

 

"Ew, who let him back in here?" That was one way to formally greet a man who seemed very keen on meeting her. Lazily insulting him while leaning against her arm on a throne she didn't seem to care about.

 

The throne room they stood within was pretty much everything and anything Catra could expect from the Princess of Salineas. The throne itself was decorated after the finest sea-based fauna you could find in the ocean, with giant corals and barnacles stretching across a watery pond surrounding the throne. All the walls and floors were colored in an oceanic blue coloring to them with many hues between light to dark, along with several variations of clam and sea shells decorating the exteriors of the floor along the edges.

 

The walls in particular also had their own artistic designs to them. It kind of reminded Catra of the painted walls within the Meeting Room back in Bright Moon Castle, dozens of different displays being depicted on several of the walls. And on the back walls themselves, there were bright pink lines that strewn across several portions of the wall, each centered with what appeared to be a bright white pearl.

 

All in all, it wasn't that bad a touch for whoever this princess was, especially for one who had the right kind of attitude to Catra.

 

"Princess!" Oh how wonderful it was to see her again! No maiden should be without the wonders that is Sea Hawk's person, and without skipping a beat he hastily ran up to her throne, kneeling respectfully with his arms swayed out.  "Oh, it's been too long. I've dreamed of you night and day since we parted."

 

"Uh huh," she moaned as if half asleep, "and who are you?" She referred to the approaching members of the Rebellion behind him. 

 

"My name is Glimmer of Bright Moon. We've never met, but our parents fought in the Rebellion together." 

 

"Oh yeah, I remember hearing about the old Princess Alliance." It was like everything she said was emotionless and bored at the same time. "My dad said it was a total disaster."

 

Ouch. No wonder she frowned at that.

 

That was a way to strike a soft spot on Glimmer's person. Of course the previous alliance was a disaster, she didn't need a reminder of it! So many good and innocent people were lost to the Horde scum that wiped them out. Every person she lost was like a quick needle to her heart as it reminded her immediately of her father. It didn't matter if she knew them as well as him, it didn't make a difference if she was friends with the people she lost or the worst of enemies. She didn't want anyone to go through the same pain her and her mother went through. 

A single constant pain that came back every single time it was mentioned.

 

"I didn't think it was possible, but your beauty grows greater with each passing day." If words could make someone gag Catra would'e thrown up a dozen times by now as she listened to Sea Hawk's continued displays of affection. Thankfully the guard at her side, the same one who lead them here, was decent enough to elbow him away. 

 

"Would you quit it? I'm trying to talk to my new friend Twinkle."

 

"Pfffffft! Ok, she's officially my favorite person in this room!" Catra chuckled, getting a reaction out of a blushing Glimmer.

 

"But you just met her!" 

 

"Yeah, and she's already my favorite person, _Twinkle_. Pffffft..." She sneered. Glimmer couldn't help but feel a little irritated and jealous. After all the times she and Bow have worked on trying to get Catra to open up and think of them as friends, she instantly goes on to say how the random person she met not a minute ago was her new favorite person. And now she had a new nickname to look forward to, oh joy.

 

"Butler, can you bring us some hors d'oeuvres." She ordered. The same man who was once the princess's right hand guard quickly swapped out his spear for a small towel over his arms, proceeding with his orders without a second thought.

 

"Ooh! Hors d'oeuvres!" The captain squealed leaping to the side of her throne.

 

"For everyone but Sea Hawk." She added. 

 

"Your guard is also your butler?" Bow wondered exactly how many jobs a single guard can have. He was more curious as to why a single guard would have more than one to begin with.

  
"I'm a little understaffed right now. Everybody fled because the gate is falling apart or whatever." She explained walking away from the romancing Sea Hawk with her trident in hand. 

 

"What?!" That might've been the very first time the three said anything in unison. 

 

"Yeah, I know, right? It figures I'd inherit a kingdom that's crumbling, but it's totally fine. I'm handling it." With a swish of her trident, the waterfall next to her cleared up, allowing the group to see through the window directly to the Sea Gate itself. Nothing she said just now convinced them of her words, the princess turning her backs to them as she stared out the window. Seeing her reflection, Catra noticed the small look in her eyes. It was one she was all too familiar with, having seen it in the mirrors herself plenty of times. "It's just kind of inconvenient, because the Horde won't stop attacking us."

 

"Why is the gate falling apart?" The other princess sped a little to the window, looking at the failing gate and Mermista. 

 

"I mean, who knows?" She shrugged back. "But it's getting weaker every day. And if the Horde tries to attack us again, we're pretty much dead." 

 

"The Horde is the reason we're here.We want to rebuild the Princess Alliance. None of us stand a chance on our own, but we might be able to stop them together."

 

"Hah, sure, because that went _so_ great the first time." Mermista scoffed as she walked back to her thrown, the waterfall descending over the window again.  "Why should I help Bright Moon? It's not like they've ever done anything to help us."

 

"Mermista, if I may." Sea Hawk spoke up, preparing to sing. What little fear Catra had building up inside her from the atrocious song quickly went away with Mermista's insistence. 

 

"No! No more shanties. Why did you bring him here? He is so **annoying**!" She teethed.

 

_Ok, it's official. She's the first person I like around here._  Catra grinned to herself.

 

"I thought you said she liked you?" Bow looked back to him with confusion.

 

"We have a rich, complicated past..." The depressed captain hinted a little.

 

"If by that you mean you got us kicked out of the Dolphin Social for challenging the doorman to a duel, then sure." She clarified. 

 

"Iiiiii don't recall doing that." He tried to pass off as he fell into her lap on the throne.

 

"And that time you set our gondola on fire in the Tunnel of Love." She also added, throwing him off her legs to the ground. Like everything else he did he was quick to spring back to his feet with as much dignity as he could display.

 

"Heh heh heh... that I do recall..." He blushed.

 

_The Tunnel of what?_  Catra shook her head as she walked away. She could only put up with so much nonsensical talk between the two before she started to hate both of them, and she refused to put Mermista on the same list as the rest of them!  Besides, there had to be a better way to spend their time than just bickering like this. She had her She-Ra transformation down now, realizing she needed to think of defending others other than herself, so she knew that could help a little.

 

Provided she didn't have to wait for it on cooldown or something.

 

It was at that time her attention was drawn to the murals along the wall, her vision getting glued to the sight of one as she compelled herself to walk forward. There was a... strangeness... going on here. Looking at it like this from top to bottom, she felt a weird tingling sensation going through her mind. It was just like the time when she first met Bow and Glimmer. It was the same day she found the sword, and stumbled upon...!

 

"This is First Ones' writing." Catra realized, quieting the rest of the room.

 

"...And... who is she again?" With the annoyance that was in the form of Sea Hawk, she almost forgot to ask about the strange cat girl that Glimmer brought along with her, wondering who she was and why she was wearing a Horde outfit. "What is she doing?"

 

"Oh, that's Catra." Bow replied with a smile. "She has a magic sword." Noticing the perplexed frozen stare she was giving off, Glimmer ran up to her side with curiosity. 

 

"What does it say?"

 

Catra remained silent for a bit as she was entranced by the mystical mural. Without thinking or knowing what she was doing, she slowly brought a finger up to the mural, reaching out to touch it. "I... I don't know... It just...It's coming to me slowly... something about a gate siphoning it's power from... the Salinean Runestone. Something must've happened to disrupt it's connection to the power source." 

 

"We suffered numerous attacks from the Horde in the past." Mermista commented. "Maybe it shook a wire loose or other over time." 

 

"Do you think you can fix it?" Glimmer asked a bit hopeful. 

 

"How should I know?" Unlike her previous witty remarks or stern looks, Catra kept her attention on the mural. She couldn't bring herself to physically turn and look Glimmer in the eye when she said that. "Everything else about it is either jumbled or taking too long to translate to me. It's like it's.... Ngh....Aggghhh!" Pain shot throughout her head as she squeezed her head, falling to her knees.

 

"Catra!" Glimmer cried out worriedly, kneeling next to her as Bow ran over to the pair. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

 

"Nggghhhh!" What the heck was this? This wasn't like the time at the ruins and this wasn't another issue involving random visions. At least she thinks it wasn't that. It felt like someone was drilling something straight into her head from every angle inside and out! Some bizarre numbing pain shooting throughout her brain, feeling as if it was reeling from one side of the pink residue to the other, bolts of lightning briefly but painfully streaking throughout her mind. 

 

"Should I get the butler in here?" Mermista got to her feet as she ran over, noticing the seriousness of the situation. 

 

"Ngghh....N-No... No, I..." Then it finally stopped. Opening her eyes again, Catra stared at the mural once more, still seeming to be entranced by it's depictions as she had earlier. Something clicked within her mind without her control, something she wasn't expecting and the last thing she thought she would receive as a solution to the crisis at hand. Slowly getting back to her feet, Glimmer preparing in case she collapsed again, she stared at the others with a look of certainty on her face. "I think I know how to fix it!"

 

"Wha-You can?" Was Mermista supposed to be impressed? Confused? This random Horde girl who strolls on in here with another princess says she has the solution to all her problems and she's supposed to accept it with no questions asked? 

 

"I mean... sort of..." Catra glimpsed over the mural to recheck everything. "I don't know if I can fix the barrier itself, but I might be able to restore it's connection with the runestone."

 

"Mermsta, we really need your help, and you need ours. If Catra can repair the gate, will you please consider joining us?" It was the only chance she had to ask her. If she said no to this arrangement there was little doubt anything could convince her to join the Princess Alliance. 

 

With a groan, one that didn't really spark much more emotion into her tone, she replied. "Ugggh... I don't know... I guess. But he has to leave." That was her condition as she pointed to the captain who brought them so far. 

 

"But... where am I supposed to go?" For the first time since meeting him, his voice cracked a little with worry and sadness.

 

"Maybe wait with the boat, okay, buddy?" Bow suggested as politely as he could, directing the captain to the door as calmly as possible. "We'll take care of the gate." 

 

...

 

...

 

 

"No... not here...mmh where is it?" Catra mumbled to herself as she felt along the massive statue's arm. 

 

There were many twists and odd turns this day was bringing the group. The first would have to be the Seaworthy Cantina they had to go to in order to find themselves a sea captain. Out of the many possibilities, there was only one who had enough experience and social standing to take them to Salineas, and that was the self-proclaimed infamous Sea Hawk himself.

 

The infamous part was a little questionable after the several shanties and misdirections the crew took, like to the ship graveyard where the captain wanted to show off his prowess in order to impress the young shipmates. That went about as well as expected; terribly. While they managed to fight off the massive creature itself, thanks to Catra finally transforming again into She-Ra, it was a bit of a hectic turnabout when a vision went off in front of her again and the next thing she knew she was drowning a hundred feet underwater. 

 

Not the best vision she's had the pleasure of seeing so far.

 

Then, after reaching Salineas, they enter what appears to be a town that's more barren than the ship graveyard was, the populace all but evacuated and having swam for their lives as the kingdom started to crumble. The Sea Gate was the one source of protection they had against the terrifying Horde and their invading armies, and it was finally revealed how it was starting to lose any connection to the source of it's power, the Salinean Runestone.

 

Until now, everything else seemed pretty simple in explanation and complexity. Why? Because Glimmer was still trying to figure out why she and Catra were standing atop one of the mighty Sea Gate's large structures, one of the humanoid statue's arms to be exact, as Catra continued to feel around the ground with her hands. It was about twenty yards above several floating platforms that led up to the  Sea Gate, where a lone relic seemed to be expelling it's mystical powers from the center of the gate to form it's barrier.

 

"Would you mind telling me again what you're looking for?" It was times like this Glimmer was thankful for her teleporting powers. She didn't want to imagine being up this high without some way to break a fall if she slipped. It also made carrying the toolbox in her hands much more manageable. 

 

"I already told you, I don't know." Catra repeated as she continued feeling up to the hand. "Something in my head is just telling me what to do one piece at a time. If I knew everything to expect, I'd be telling the rest of you in seconds to get this done faster." 

 

"What's telling you? Is it the sword?"

 

"I don't know. It could be a split personality for all I know!" She paused for a few seconds as she stared off into space. "Actually that would explain the blackouts and the visions now that I think about it..." Brushing the tips of her claws against the back of the hand, her eyes widened as she felt an unusual scrape. "Ah ha!" She quickly began tapping several invisible codes that flashed up for a second with each click.

 

Glimmer continued to watch in wonder as Catra fiddled with whatever she found. She didn't know if it was something useful or something dangerous. The only one who did at the moment was Catra and, as she shouted several times, she needed everyone else out of the way as she did her confusing work. Waiting another several seconds, she started hearing what sounded like the strange screech of metal as the stone parted several feet to each side from the back of the statue's hand. 

 

To both their amazement, within the exposed statue itself, there laid several dozen wires and machinations of unknown origin or identity. Each one seemed to be alien to the princess with several pieces protruding in a strange manner in some areas, other areas having a strange glow of energy running across it.

 

"Jackpot!" Catra declared victoriously.

 

"Whoa... it really is First Ones' tech!" Glimmer exclaimed, kneeling down over as she placed the toolbox at Catra's side.

 

"I'm guessing they made the gate first and built the statue around it afterwards." Catra suggested as she grabbed one of the wires while digging through the toolbox. It was so weird seeing Catra suddenly turn into some sort of mechanical expert out of nowhere just by staring at a mural.

 

"So now do you know what to do?"

"Once again, no." Catra never took her eyes off the various technologies she was fiddling with. "It's seriously just one thing at a time. I don't even know what to expect next until it pops into my head. And as soon as it does, the other thing goes away!" She didn't know what half the things she was pulling were, she couldn't tell why she was unscrewing what bolt with her hands. All she knew was that if she was going to fix this thing, she needed to do whatever her brain was telling her to at this moment. 

  
Even if it meant pulling the wrong wire by accident.

 

* _bzzzt_ *

 

"Yeowch!" Catra yelped a little bit as she nibbled on her burnt thumb.

 

"Are you going to be okay working on this? A lot of this tech is still old. Some of it might still be unstable."

 

"Ya think?" She rubbed her thumb a little soothingly as she went right back to work. "If you want to help give me some space here. This is going to take a couple minutes." 

 

It wasn't just Glimmer that looked over the situation with confusion. Down below them, on the closest floating platform that reached the center of the gate, stood Princess Mermista and Bow, the two hanging back as they watched Catra work in unison. With Glimmer still nearly a day's worth of travel away from home, they couldn't recklessly have her expend all her energy to teleport all four of them to the top of the arm with them. It was fortunate enough Catra managed to easily scale the statue's structure alone, meaning she had a way to get herself back on top if she ended up slipping and falling.

 

"Are you sure she knows what she's doing?" Like everything else, Mermista asked this without a single care. 

 

"She has a few... quirks... from time to time, but she's always pulled through." Bow's assuring smile left a little hint of nervousness behind his own voice. Out of the many things he has seen her do since joining the Rebellion, technician work isn't one of them. For all they knew she was suffering some strange vision-induced sleepwalking, which, after everything else so far, wouldn't surprise him. 

 

At the same time, Glimmer's focus shifted to the docks where the ship previously landed. To her surprise, having a great vantage point from atop the arm, she saw the legendary captain Sea Hawk, master of the oceans who braved the mighty seas, conqueror of monsters and capable of swooning woman with a single shanty, untying his boat from the dock post without hesitation. Grumbling to this, she looked back to Catra for a quick second. "Will you be fine up here by yourself?"

 

"The quieter it is around here the better." Catra spoke as she refused to take her eyes off the repairs. With that assurance, Glimmer teleported from the statue's massive arm to the bow of the captain's ship, catching him off guard.

 

"Eek-!" He shrieked.

 

"Where are you going?" She puffed with hands at her side. 

 

"I'd really appreciate it if you stopped doing that!" Whoa, that was a total shift in his voice. Every word he just said sounded like it was in-between a cry, the screech behind it blending with his feelings of turmoil. 

 

"Are you leaving without us?" She guessed correctly as she earned a hearty sigh from the captain.

 

"It's for the best," the one reasonable thing he said all day and right as he was about to leave, "I keep getting in the way of things. It's time for old Sea Hawk to be where he belongs, alone." That was... actually sad to hear from the once chipper captain as he walked along the rails. It's like resigning himself to reality brought out his true emotions and standards. "I wasn't always like this. Where I'm from, I had friends, a crew. Every day an adventure more daring than the last. The fact that I kept setting my boats on fire was considered charming. But here, I can't get anyone to take me seriously. Huff, you have no idea what that's like."

 

"...Actually, I kind of do." Glimmer mellowed, leaning against the rails beside him. "Everything I've done up to this point was to prove I could be responsible, mature enough to help in this war. Even after all we've done up till now though, nobody will take me seriously."

 

"What? You? But you're a princess."

 

"Try being the daughter of an immortal queen when your powers are *sparkles*." To prove her point, she showed off her _fantastic_  sparkling-ness with a wave of her hands.

 

"Glitter..."

 

"Glimmer!"

 

"We've just met, but I can tell you are a brave and powerful soul." He smiled. He was surprised to find the person who yelled at him a near hour ago to be so relatable to his own troubles. It's like looking in a mirror, albeit if he was a princess, with every word she said. He could hear every word and feel every emotion behind it. It was rather endearing to think he had any similar qualities to someone of royalty. "Anyone who'd underestimate you would live to sorely regret it."

 

"Thanks Sea Hawk." She returned with her own smile. "And you know what? You still have friends and a crew. Reporting for duty, Captain!" She saluted. 

 

 

Who was his to kid? She was absolutely right! He was THE Sea Hawk! He was THE one and only true captain of the legendary seas! Where he went, adventure followed. Where he journeyed, thousands were in awe at his prowess. With a crew at his back and friends at his side, he knew there was nothing the illustrious adventurer that was he couldn't accomplish! For he was Sea Hawk, the greatest Captain Etheria has ever known!!!

 

...

 

"So this over here... remove this..." Catra continued to mumble to herself as she fiddled with the controls. 

 

It was really strange how this was working out. The information she needed to fix this thing came in her head one after the other, and then mysteriously vanished. She had no idea what she was doing and whenever she completed the previous step she forgot all she did to accomplish it. Sure, she was picking it up by herself as she kept a side memory of the details of what she did, but she just couldn't figure out what her mind was trying to tell her or how it was doing all of this.

 

* **chunk** *

 

"Huh? Oh you gotta be kidding me! Ghhhhhhh!" She growled angrily as she took out another panel. What kind of advanced prehistoric race were these stupid First Ones supposed to be?! After about several minutes of playing telephone with her own mind, rewiring the last wire and removing the eighth bolt, she thought she would be done! It shouldn't take that long to get a stupid gate this advanced up and running again if the first settlers of Etheria were as advanced as everyone said they would be. And what did she get instead?

 

Another stupid hatch behind a false panel with even more confusing technology! It lead a few inches deeper into the hand and had a shockingly more advanced system by the appearance of it. Several of the screws were completely different from the ones she's seen everywhere else, there were at least several different meters displaying various scales of information, and last but not least, this stupid contraption was apparently on a rotation with every stupid side to it having even more confusing and irritating mechanics! 

  
In short, she just wasted several minutes of her life to fix something that wasn't what she needed to fix! Given the complexity of the various sides, there was no way she was ever going to keep track of everything in her memory. If there was any solace to all of this it was that it seemed to be the core to the advanced Sea Gate barrier and the key to fixing whatever was wrong with it. At least the sight of a dozen flashing and dimmed lights informed her there was something legitimately wrong with all this.

 

"Everything okay up there, Catra?" Bow yelled up.

 

"I just wasted several minutes to open a fake hatch!" She yelled back, peeking over the side. 

 

"There's a hatch up there?" Mermista yelled. As a child she often had fun exploring the sea and the kingdom a dozen times over. She's been all over the kingdom through the city itself to the surrounding ocean around it, and not once did she ever come across something like Catra just described.

 

"Yeah, I think it's the thing that channeled the connection between your Sea Gate and the Runestone. I think I can get it fixed in a few minutes."

 

"...Uhhh Catra?" The bowman grew nervous as he looked at the sea behind him. "I don't think you have a few minutes..." Her and Mermista looked back to the direction he was facing, growing shocked at the same sight that worried him. 

 

Beyond the tide, making it's presence known from behind the shaggy rocks, the three gasped at the sight of the mighty battleship that displayed the infamous Horde symbol on the mast. There was no telling what it was capable of or why it came all the way out here on it's own. All that worried them was how it was daring enough to come all the way here without any sort of support, the presence of it alone showing off it's incredible strength.

 

"It's the Horde!" He shouted as Sea Hawk and Glimmer approached from the other side with the boat.

  
"What?!" Why did the Horde suddenly show up like this? What was their plan to come all the way here by themselves?

 

Meanwhile on the ship itself, Scorpia could be seen pulling a massive lever attached to the side of a giant canon in the center of the ship, the canon itself being about fifteen feet long and eight feed wide. With one mighty pull, the canon charged up it's powerful attack before releasing a giant burst of energy in one shot. Reacting quickly, Bow grabbed Mermista as he ran off to the other platform next to them, narrowly avoiding the explosion that took out the platform itself. Waiting for the ensuing dust to settle, the two looked back in fear as they saw the decimation left behind from it's one blast.

 

Not even a pebble of the platform remained.

 

Turning back to the three other cadets, Scorpia gave them direct orders as she charged another shot. "You guys know what to do. Continue forward and don't slow down for anything!" With a salute the three rushed to their battle stations as they prepared for the oncoming war against Sea Gate itself. Following this, she watched as another blast went off from the canon, striking the Sea Gate's barrier directly. The blast was powerful enough to leave a brief melted hole in the barrier, slowly reforming as it repaired itself. Unfortunately for Catra, the amount of energy it exerted caused several surges of electricity to run rampant throughout the core, sending several thousand volts through her body in an instant.

 

* _ **Bzzzzzzzt!**_ *

 

"Ahhh!" She screamed pulling herself away from the mechanism. She shook off the pain as best she could from her slightly burnt hands, grumbling as she turned towards the others on the lower platform. "You guy's mind taking care of that! I can't leave the gate like this or the whole system could explode, the Sea Gate with it!" She didn't bother waiting for a reply as she quickly got back to work, realizing how little time she had left to fix this entire mess. 

 

Nodding to each other Bow and Mermista ran down the other platforms till they were near enough to jump into the water safely. As she did, Mermista used her magic to create a set of fins where her legs were, ready to take on the Horde with everything she had to protect her kingdom.

 

As for Catra, she bit bottom lip with tension as she wiped her brow. She fixed one of the sides already, at least she hoped she did, as she directed her attention to the next side. With one side down and another three to go she was sure she could get the Sea Gate fully function again, provided she didn't end up incinerated from a direct blast by the canon. Wiping the sweat from her brow, tail swishing back in forth as she tried to keep her composure, quickly reached in for another one of the tools, frantically trying to feel around for any sort of item that could help her unscrew and tighten several nuts she found loosened from the core's panels.

 

"Gehhh where is it?" She looked down to the toolbox as she became agitated. 

 

"Is this what you're looking for?" A familiar voice asked as it handed her a screwdriver.

 

"Oh, thanks Adora." Thank goodness she was here. It was always handy to find Adora at her side like this as she fiddled with the mechanism. Having two people on the job definitely made it easier when... Catra's eyes flashed open as she hastily turned around, unable to believe what she was seeing.

 

It wasn't a vision, it wasn't a hoax. It wasn't an illusion, a hallucination, it wasn't someone in disguise. She recognized the scent of the one friend she had in this world, she recognized the look of those eyes that nobody else could duplicate. This was her, the real thing, standing right in front of her, equipped with a large stun baton on her back and a hook rope over her shoulder.

 

This was Adora. The real thing. The person she hasn't seen since the incident of Thaymor. And right now, she was responsible for the attack on the Salinean Sea Gate.

 

"It's been awhile, hasn't it?"

 

 

_**...** _

 

_**...** _

 

_**...** _

 

_**A/N: What's the most evil way to end a story? On a cliffhanger that people have been waiting to see since day one X)! Mwahahahahaaaa!** _

 

_**Lol, anyway thanks for all the positive feedback as always guys. And I know some bits above here are a bit chappy. Keep in mind i was working on this in the mix of several days and at random intervals so I had to keep coming back and forth to it here and there so some parts might be a little wonky.** _

 

_**Btw if you know any other fanfiction-like sites be sure to let me know! I might consider posting on Deviantart at some point, idk, but for now leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and can't wait to see you next chapter!** _

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	16. Episode 5: The Sea Gate Part 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for our first confrontation between Catra and Adora! How will things play out for our two favorite characters? Let's find out...

_**A/N: You folks would not believe it, but I did. I actually wrote this on the same day I finished my last update. 8K words after the near 3k I added to the last chapter!** _

_**Why am I not posting them both at the same time then? Because idk if it'll register if I post 2 on the same day, and even if it does, this gives me a legitimate excuse to take an entire day off for myself ^^ Day of relaxation here I come! (No i dont get stressed writing these stories but, you know... can't disappoint the fans XP)** _

_**Yes people. I had a lot of fun with this one. And I do mean a LOT of fun. You folks are hopefully in for a fun right too, because we enter PART 1 of our first Catra & Adora Confrontation!** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

"Adora..." There were not enough words in the dictionary to convey the number of emotions Catra was feeling right now.

Ever since Thaymor, what happened to Adora and could be happening right now to her was one of the few things constantly on her mind. The girl who attacked Thaymor under false pretenses, the friend she knew since childhood to be filled with curiosity and innocence anyone else would gladly take advantage of. The only person she was close enough to call a friend throughout her life, the very same still fighting for the Horde.

The one person in charge of the operation on the attack of the Salinean Sea Gate.

She didn't think she would bump into her again, at least not this soon. It was like looking at the ghost of someone she knew couldn't possibly be dead, the vision of something she never thought she would get. Here upon the very arm of the a giant statue, one that covered the core piece of ancient First Ones tech, the very same she was trying to fix to restore the Sea Gate, was her dearest friend, alive and well.

What was she supposed to say at a time like this? Hello? How's it going? She was more worried about what could be happening to Adora after calling off the attack on Thaymor and now she was here before her, with that simple smile on her face that Catra found special compared to anyone else's smile, and the look of determination like she could take on the very world. What was going on here?

"Hello, Etheria to Catra, you in there?" She teased a little, poking Catra's forehead to snap her out of the strange stare. Shaking her head forcefully she cleared her mind of questionable thoughts as she regained her focus.

"Adora, what are you doing here? Why did you come all the way to Salineas?" Catra needed any sort of answer to prove it was her.

"What do you think? I came here to rescue you!" Her answer didn't ease the worry Catra felt in the back of her mind. Something was wrong about this whole situation. "We caught wind you were heading here and I came to bring you back home!" She smiled grabbing Catra's hand softly. "Now come on, if we leave quickly enough we can get out of here before the princesses catch on-"

"What? No!" Catra shook her hand away to Adora's surprise. "I mean why are you here attacking the kingdom itself? Did you forget everything that happened the last time you went on a mission?"

A look of certainty and firmness crossed Adora's face at this. "The mission on Thaymor was also to rescue you, remember? And it wasn't for nothing either. They were hoarding a whole bunch of dangerous equipment there Catra, the entire village was just a ruse!"

"You're saying the village housed dozens of dangerous weapons and were using the town itself as a simple cover for it's operations?" Did Adora see the small nitpicks behind this entire issue?

"That's just it, Catra, they weren't aware of it!" It hurt her just to think of the sickening details of it. "The princesses were using it as a base of operations without the town even knowing about it! Nobody in that village was aware of what was going on and the princesses were willing to risk their lives as a living shield to protect it! That's how it's been to every village the Horde attacked!"

"The princesses? Who in their right mind fed you that garbage? That has to be the stupidest explanation I ever heard!"

"For your information, Shadow-Weaver told me, thank you very much!" She yelled a little angry.

"Oh, pffft. That explains it." The unsurprised look as Catra rolled her eyes added on to Adora's irritation.

"What do you mean that explains it?"

"II mean you should think for a moment, Adora! Whatever Shadow-Weaver told you was a complete lie! There weren't any weapons or junk at the village, it was just a simple village having a festival that you invaded. Unless you're going to convince me they planned on strangling us to death with their streamers and other decorations, there was nothing violent about the place."

"Do you think I stupidly believed the first thing Shadow-Weaver told me?" Catra had to bite her own tongue to refrain from answering. "She showed me the manifests, I saw the caches myself! Everything she said was word for word!"

"Oh my gosh, Adora! Even if what you said was true it doesn't mean you're right about attacking a simple village."

"Stop putting words into my mouth, I didn't say it was right!" The tension building up between the two close friends was starting to thicken a little. Every sentence that came to them one after the other added on to a small bundle of fire, one that grew with every stick they threw into it. "All I said is that they had a reason to attack the village, I never said it was the right thing to do! Besides, it's not like we have a choice in all this. The princesses have done this numerous times to the other villages and we can't sit back and stare while they gather more forces and weaponry to take us down."

"Adora...ugh..." Catra twisted her ears a little as she tried to remain calm. This was her one single friend she was talking to and the last thing she ever wanted was to make an enemy out of her. "Look, I know I can't explain it to you right now, but you have to believe me! I'm telling you the truth, you know I wouldn't lie to you."

"Catra, I want nothing more than to believe you." A small frown formed on the blond's face. This was Catra, her best friend in the world, who's gone through who knows how much torture and possible brainwashing to believe she was on the right side. She wanted to take her words seriously of course. It was hard to though when you knew the person you were talking to weren't being themselves. "But I can't take your word over someone else's after all that's happened. How am I supposed to trust your word over the others?"

"Because I can prove it!" Adora tensed a little as she saw Catra pulling the sword from her back.

* _ **Boom!**_ *

The two covered their faces as the smoke from the most recent canon-fire exploded against the barrier near them. There wasn't going to be any comfortable way of talking to her when there was an actual war going on all around them.

"Adora, give me one chance. One chance, right now, and I can prove what I said to you." Catra pleaded. Looking into her friend's pleading eyes like that, how was Adora supposed to say no? She seemed so sure of what she was saying whether or not she really was being brainwashed. Come to think of it, if she could prove in turn that Catra was in the wrong here, perhaps it would be easier to convince her to run away with her back to the ship.

"...Scorpia, this is Force Captain Adora." Adora stated as she spoke into the small watch-like radio attacked to her wrist. Scorpia listened closely as she heard the feed coming through on her end. "Pause your attack for just one minute, I need to check something."

"You got it boss!" Scorpia replied, chipper as always. With a nod to herself Adora turned her attention back to Catra with a small comforting smile.

"Ok, you win. Show me the proof you mentioned right here and now, Catra, and I'll believe what you said." The smile growing on Catra's face paused midway as she continued. "But you need to prove to me, right here, right now, that what you're saying is true. And I don't mean just with Thaymor either. If this all started with the sword then show me what you're saying is true. Otherwise you have to promise to come back with me to the Fright Zone. Deal?" She said offering a hand.

Taking a moment to herself, Catra smiled back as she shook with her free hand, "Deal." With the two smiling, Catra raised her sword to the sky again as she prepared herself.

 _Ok, same as before. This kingdoms in peril, my allies are in danger, and I need to defend them all._  Taking a deep breath, trying to calm the tension going through her heart at the present situation, Catra focused on the five most powerful words she had to say.

"For the Honor of Grayskull!"

"..."

"..."

"...Catra-"

"J-Just give it a minute!" Catra interrupted, a small twinge of fear growing in the corner of her eyes. "I said, For the Honor of Grayskull!"

"...Catra, it's-"

"H-Hang on, I have this!" She pleaded with a saddening look. "Come on you stupid thing, work!" Shaking it a bit, she focused with all her might on this one last try. "FOR THE HONOR OF GRAYSKULL!"

"..." It hurt. It hurt painfully to see her friend like this. Her dear friend, entrapped by whatever wicked spell the princesses had placed on her. She was trying so hard to prove to Adora that everything she said was true, yet here she was looking up at the sword with fear, worry, and shock.

 _No... No no no no no NO NO NO **NOOOOO**!_ Catra screamed inside her head, almost feeling a small tear forming in the corners of her eyes.  _This can't be happening! Please, I need this to work now more than ever!_  What was she supposed to do? What was she missing?! She did everything Glimmer suggested to her and it wasn't working! The one time she wanted the sword to work more than any other and it failed to work. There wasn't any glint in the small gem from it, there wasn't any sparks of power going off, there wasn't anything. All there was is a simple magicat who failed to get the sword working, despite doing the exact same steps the first time and succeeding then, when she needed it the most.

"For the Honor of-"

"Enough!" Catra's body froze as Adora embraced her in a hug. "I know you think this is real, Catra, I really do. That's why we need to get you home, right away!" For one of the few times of her life, she felt a small streak of tears running down her right cheek.

Why did she have to suffer this? This one blasted sword that never worked when she wanted it to, that never did anything for her except plague her with horrible memories she wished never returned. A single object that couldn't give her the one thing she wanted at this very moment. It was almost like what Adora was saying was true, yet she knew it wasn't. She knew the pain Adora was going through herself right now, seeing a small tear rolling down her left cheek as well. The two of them were in pain at this very moment.

It had yet to be determined who's pain was greater. All they knew was that they could feel each other's pain, and it was agonizing.

"Adora... I... I swear..." Catra couldn't bring herself to say anything at that moment. What else could she say to convince her friend? Ask the princesses she loathes in the first place for proof? That was about as smart as lighting a match in a room full of gasoline!

"It's ok, it's alright." Adora cooed, wiping the tear from Catra's cheek. "When we get back, Shadow-Weaver can fix you. You'll be as good as new."

All at once, the tension, fear, anger, and bile immediately rushed back into Catra's heart as she backed away from her. Shadow-Weaver said she would help? Help  _her_? "You... You said Shadow-Weaver plans on "fixing me"?"

"Yes, Catra, she can! She says she knows a spell that can remove whatever enchantment they placed on you! That's why we need to go back while-"

"I'm not going to that witch!" Catra snapped. "Are you aware of the stupid bounty she placed on me in the first place? Did you know she's rewarding people for bringing me back dead or alive?!"

"She didn't want to, Catra, she had no choice!" Adora insisted. "She was ordered to by Lord Hordak. If you want to blame anyone, blame him! Shadow-Weaver's actually trying to help you!"

"Oh, and let me guess. She told you that too?" She scoffed.

"Would you knock it off! Why do you keep accusing her like this? I know you two didn't get along in the past, but at least she's the one trying to help you!"

"Dogs and cats don't get along, Adora. Spiders and butterflies don't get along. What Shadow-Weaver has against me isn't a stupid case of  _not getting along_!"

"Catra, you have nothing to worry about, I promise! Even if she was angry about something, you know I'd never let her hurt you!"

"Yeah, cause that worked so well in the past! Did you even know how she- Nnggggh!" Catra clenched her stomach in pain, dropping to her knees as sudden memories resurfaced.

...

_"You think you're in pain now? I will show you what true pain is like for what you did to Adora!" Shadow-Weaver roared as shadows and streaks of red-colored lightning surged from her hands towards her._

...

"Ngggghhh!" Catra was still screaming through her teeth as she squeezed her head. She wanted the memory to go away, she didn't want to live through it like this! No matter how far into the future since it happened, the memory always resurfaced with the pain she felt on that day.

"C-Catra!" Adora cried out worriedly, kneeling to her side. "Catra, what's wrong? Are you okay? It's that spell they placed over you, isn't it!"

"N-No!" She grunted, wobbling as she got back to her feet. She took several deep breathes as she calmed down, trying to shake the memory and the pain out of her head. "I'm not under some stupid spell, Adora. I don't know how many times I can repeat myself."

"Well repeat it as many times as you want to after we get back to the ship." She grabbed Catra's hand again firmly as she began walking the two to the other end of the statue where they could climb. "If we destroy the Sea Gate as a result, I'm positive I can convince Shadow-Weaver and Lord Hordak not to enforce any kind of punishment. They might even give you a promotion for it if we're lucky enough-"

She came to a halt as her grip loosened, turning back to see the defector looking away with a small frown. From the look in her eyes to the way she gazed away from Adora, she could tell she wasn't planning to move any time soon after all the drama the two went through for the last several minutes.

"Catra?"

"Adora, I..." Her ears drooped a bit as she turned her head further away. "I'm not going back, Adora."

"W-What? But we had a deal!" She yelled angrily. "You promised you would come with me if you couldn't prove your point!"

"Yeah and I actually expected it to work!" Catra shouted back with her own anger. "I can't explain how this stupid sword works, I've tried it a dozen and one times practically every day and only got it to work a total of three times, including today. I can't show you the proof right now Adora, I just need you to trust me here."

Trust her? She was actually being serious. She wanted Adora to trust her? What in anyone's name made her think that Adora would trust her after all she's had to put up with till now? She was worrying frantically over her, she tried desperately to convince her peers that there were alternative solutions to this war, she spent all her trust in Shadow-Weaver who was the only person at this time to show her any form of proof! And she just stood there, after breaking a promise, and expected her to trust her of all things?

"You... you seriously don't plan on coming, do you?" Adora's heart quickened a little with distress at the proclamation. She didn't know what spell she was under, she didn't know if she could catch the same spell just by being near her or the sword she seemed so obsessed with. She just knew Catra was refusing to trust her own word in all of this.

"I'm sorry, Adora, but I can't go back to the Horde. Not now, not ever." She apologized with a solemn look of pain. Knowing time was of the essence she made her way back to the control panel with haste. If she could get the last who-knew-how-many steps finished, she might be able to fix the barrier in time and then convince Adora of everything.

* _zzzt_ *

With her ears twitching at the sound, Catra turned back to her friend, seeing the angered expression on her face as she had the Stun Baton at the ready in her hand.

"Catra," she spoke with an authoritative voice, "you're coming home with me. Now."

This couldn't be happening. Not to her, not to them, not at all. With how everything was playing out, it was almost poetic. Two best friends meet again after a period of time, both being on opposite sides, and now they were staring each other down. One with a fiery passion of rage in her eyes, the other with a deepening distress.

The two could feel the wind bristle against their knuckles as the tension reached their fingertips, their gaze never taking a hint off one another. What would be the point of fighting at this rate anyway? If Catra won, then what? She couldn't bring her back to the Rebellion and expect the Queen to show leniency, not with her personal encounters with her, and she couldn't allow herself to go back with Adora and submit to whatever horrifying experience awaited her by Shadow-Weaver's hands.

On top of that, neither of them wanted to fight! They wanted their dear friend to come back with them yet both sides were too stubborn to trust one another. Sure, one side was legitimately in the wrong but they didn't know that. At times like these Catra questioned if she really was under a Princess's control, a part of her wished she was so she wouldn't have to worry about the guilt.

This? This right here? Was the one thing Catra and Adora never wanted to find themselves in.

"Adora... I really can't... I'm sorry..." Catra didn't know how much longer she could keep apologizing. It wasn't for a lack of effort, she didn't have much time to fix the Sea Gate's core.

"...I am too." Adora kept her gaze intensely on Catra as she raised her wrist to her face again.

"Adora, don't-!

"This is Force Captain Adora, do you read me Scorpia?"

"Yup, loud and clear, Adora." A staticy Scorpia said over the radio. "What are your orders?"

"Adora, please, don't do it!" Catra begged raising a hand forward. Adora stared at her sternly, making Catra wonder what was going through in her mind. Was she going to listen to her? Did this situation warrant enough to hope for it?

There was plenty of hope present in this situation, none of which reached the two best friends.

"Take down the barrier and everything around it!"

"No!" Catra lunged the Force Captain as fast as she could, too little too late as Adora slipped the radio off her list and into the water below them. There was no going back from this point. Reacting quickly, Adora backed away several feet before Catra could swipe her, creating a good gap between the two as they stared at one another.

* ** _BOOM!_** *

Catra had to cover her ears from the sudden ring that went through it. As much as she wished against it, back at the Barrier the two stood in front of, there was a gaping melted hole in the bottom left portion of the barrier, the massive canon from the ship having fired another massive burst of green energy at the mystical wall. Like last time it slowly reassembled itself, though at a very much slower pace, as it reconstructed it's shield.

Also like last there, there was another surge of electricity from the control core behind Catra, the cat gritting her teeth with worry as she saw the sparks going off and several lights around it starting to dim. If she didn't work fast enough the barrier was going to run out of power, and something in her head told her she wouldn't be able to fix it if the entire thing was destroyed.

"Ahhhhhh!" With the sound of Adora's battlecry filling her ears, Catra quickly looked back in time to block the attack of her baton with her own sword, watching the sparks dance between the two of them as Catra narrowly avoided the baton from striking her head. Being up this close, seeing the anger in Adora's eyes, she knew they didn't have a choice. With a hiss Catra pushed off Adora's attack as she pushed her back once more, the blond member of the Horde not caring an inch as a few strands of hair danced in front of her.

Neither of the two allowed the other a moment of reprieve as they rushed each other, both growling to one another as their weapons clashed again with the sparks practically bursting from the impact of the two powerful weapons. Neither of them planned on backing down from this fight as they came here to accomplish what they wanted to do. They wouldn't let the other tell them what to do, and they weren't leaving here until the other answered their request.

And neither of them were going to take No for an answer.

...

...

Leaping from every ledge he could till he reached the ground level, Bow fired one of his arrows attached to a rope directly at the flag of the ship. With a secure line between him and the boat nearly twenty yards away from him, he leapt from the ledge as he slid against the rope using the bow itself to hang from.

With Catra's priority focused on the repairs itself, everyone else was preoccupied with disabling the ship that attacked them. The Sea Gate was the Rebellion's biggest line of defense against the Horde when it came to attacks from the sea. If they managed to destroy the mighty structure, one Catra revealed to be created by the First Ones' themselves, it would allow the Horde to not only invade the kingdom of water, but wage direct warfare on Bright Moon castle without going through the hazardous forest.

Landing upon the ship itself, Bow prepared himself immediately as he glared at the several cadets that were still stationed on the ship itself. With a grin, he fired one of the many arrows towards Kyle, pinning his shirt by the shoulder to one of the walls of the ship. Seeing how he was disabled for the moment, Lonnie growled to herself as she rushed towards the bowman with a smaller stun baton charged and at the ready, unlike the double-sided baton Adora was equipped with.

With the singular target coming after him, Bow ran straight towards her with another arrow at the ready. Right before she could land any form of strike he gracefully leapt over her as he fired another arrow several feet in front of her. In an instant the ground before her was encased in a solid form of ice. The cadet had no time to react as she was slid against the ground itself, finding herself sliding even after she collapsed to the ground until she slammed into the wall ahead of her. While it didn't disable her for as long, the impact was enough to daze her, and that was more than enough time to turn his attention to the canon.

There he could see the scorpion human hybrid that was Scorpia, the Force Captain preparing to load another shot from the ship's mighty canon. Straightening his aim he fired another arrow that bursted in midair just before it reached Scorpia, scattering Scorpia's vision in a hazy dust as she coughed the small particles from her throat. When her view cleared again, she saw both she and the canon she was touching were encased in a strange sticky blue sap. Whatever the strange substance was, it was going to take awhile for her to pull herself out of it.

He was given little time to continue his attack on the ship as he was suddenly tackled away, flipping over to his feet as he looked back to the attacker that was Rogelio. Like any seemingly all brawns lizardman like him, Bow expected him to charge him directly as he fired a minor explosive arrow at the reptile, hoping to knock him out from the blast of the explosion.

What he didn't expect was for the reptile to maneuver himself around the arrow as he charged so he could grab it with his arrow. It was thanks to Adora's attentive training regimes that he could react in time with the incoming projectile, flipping it around in his tail and flinging it back at Bow in a single second. With Bow's attention distracted by the brief display he was incapable of reacting fast enough as the arrow was shot back at him, exploding just two feet in front of him and blasting him off his feet over the rail behind him.

When his head cleared of the dizziness from the shockwave of that blast, he was startled to see himself being hurdled directly into one of the several bladed engines that kept the ship afloat for combat like this. He had no time to reach his arrows and nothing to grab onto that could prevent him from his deadly demise. His fate would've been sealed if not for the timely intervention of Sea Hawk himself the very captain Glimmer helped out of a slump, as he swung across a rope and grabbed Bow just seconds from a shreddy death.

"Sea Hawk!" Bow squealed a little with stars in his eyes. This was just like those moments in every hero story where the hero leapt into the scene, just in the nick of time to save the day! Granted, that would've technically made him the damsel, but it was worth the minor title if it meant he got to see a real hero leap into action before his very eyes. Grinning down to the young teen for a moment, Sea Hawk swung his way over to his ship, the same one Glimmer was currently steering along with Mermista.

"Bow! Are you okay?" Glimmer asked worriedly.

"I'm fine," he gave a smile with a thumbs up in response, "thanks to Sea Hawk here!"

"Hmhmhm, all in a day's work for a captain like myself." He exclaimed proudly. The four allies looked back to the ship as they could see the small sap Bow used to cover the mighty canon. To Bow's dismay, Scorpia was already halfway done peeling the sticky substance off of herself and the canon.

"That's not going to hold for long. How much longer does Catra n-" Glimmer paused as she looked back to Catra, seeing her friend battling a mysterious stranger. "Wait, who's that?"

"I think we have bigger problems, young ones." Sea Hawk stated as he pointed back to the other ship. Checking it again, her eyes widened as she saw Scorpia had finally removed the last of the sticky sap. With a grin to herself, the scorpion woman turned the canon a little into their direction, preparing to fire another blast of energy straight at them.

"Hold on!" Mermista shouted as she raised her trident. Gathering all the magic she could as fast as she can, she used the very oceans themselves as she pushed their small ship out of the way, narrowly missing the incoming blast that struck the rocky structures behind them. The crumbling rocks splashed fiercely as the waves pushed them further out closer to the ship. Finding herself forced to, Mermista gathered her magic again as she pushed herself passed the ship, barely scraping the rear of the side of their mast from under the Horde's battleship and thankfully before it could ram into them.

On the bright side of things, this apparently caught Scorpia's attention as she continued to her attempts at blasting the group out of the water. It didn't keep the ship from continuing towards the watery kingdom, but it would give Catra a couple more precious minutes of peace, at least as much as she could while dealing with her own situation...

...

...

"Agh!" Adora yelped as she was thrown off her feet again. Her heart nearly jumped as she felt herself sliding over the arm, rapidly flailing all her limbs to get herself back on top of the arm's flatter surface. With a sigh of relief, she glared back at her possibly-brainwashed friend as Catra twirled the baton in her own hands.

"I have a better balance up here, Adora." It was evident throughout the battle these two had for the last several minutes. While she could match Catra's strength against the ancient blade, she was helpless to fight back while maintaining her footing against the sleek arm at the same time. Half the time she found her shoes sliding across the ground and the other half she nearly fell over the side completely. If that wasn't enough to show off Catra's point, she looked to her clawed feet herself, seeing them scraping against the statue's exterior. "And a better grip up here than you do." Without giving her a chance to speak she casually tossed the baton behind her away from her friend, panic going through Adora's mind as she watched.

Nevertheless, it wasn't enough to dissuade the Force Captain from continuing to fight back, charging forward again as she attempted to strike Catra with her bare hands. At this, Catra simply caught her hands in her own grip, having sheathed the sword partway through the fight after watching Adora's continued fumbling. "Ngggh!" She growled, trying to claw at her. She wasn't willing to give up no matter how weaponless she found herself. She was going to keep fighting if it meant saving Catra from the Rebellion's clutches.

"Stop it already, Adora!" Catra growled.

"Why can't you understand I'm just trying to help you?!" Adora yelled, small ducts of tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

"I don't need help Adora, there's nothing wrong with me!" With a free leg she rolled back as she kicked Adora behind her several feet, somewhat regretful as she saw the several small tears her clawed foot left in her shirt, feeling thankful she didn't see any cuts or bleeding from where she kicked. "I'm not going back and that's final. Either join with us or go back home before you hurt yourself!"

"Ngggh..."

She refused to believe there wasn't anything wrong with her. This was her friend, Catra, the very girl she grew up with since they were children. No matter how much she changed she knew she couldn't be so heartless as to defect to the Rebellion without a legitimate reason. She refused to believe such things!

If that was the case, then everything people said about her had to be true! She was going it out of her own selfish desires, she didn't want anything to do with her or the rest of her friends, she didn't care about all the people she was hurting, the people that raised her! There was no power on Etheria that would make Adora believe it, and she wasn't going to stop fighting until she brought her home.

Adora gritted her teeth as she wiped the side of her bruised lip with her sleeve. As she did, she noticed the small green box slip out of her coat pocket, reminding her of Shadow-Weaver's warning of a last resort. Seeing the strange package from where she stood, Catra tilted her head at the mysteriously bowed package.

"What's that?"

Not wanting to give her a chance, Adora quickly scooped the box into her hands as she removed it of it's contents, the red-colored bandana blowing against the wind as Adora got back to her feet. "A precautionary from someone who cares about me." She stated, unfolding the beloved gift in her hands.

"Wait, you mean Shadow-Weaver?" Fear struck Catra's heart again at the realization. "Adora, what is that thing? What's it supposed to do?"

"I don't know, and at this point I don't care." Her words weer cold, emotionless, as she raised the band closer to her head. "If it helps me bring you home, then it's worth any risk." Closing her eyes, she surrendered herself to the mysterious band as Catra continued to panic.

"Adora, don't-!" She tried to run over to.

But it was too late. With the band around her forehead and the ends tied against her head, the gem socketed in the center of the beautiful cloth shined brightly with a red flash as it began to work it's magic.

"Ghh-! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Adora screamed in brutal agony as she clutched her head tightly. All around them, from Catra, to Sea Hawk's ship, to the Horde ship itself, all eyes were turned to the direction of the bloody cry of pain. Catra wanted nothing more than to run to her side to help her, to rip the horrid item from her worst enemy straight from her head, if she wasn't distracted by what happened after.

Shadows. Shadows from all over the place, be it the crevices in the structures and cliffs, the various shadows that rose from the sea, even copies of her own shadow split apart from it as it rushed under Adora, gathering in one solid spot as her shadow grew wider and rounder from the incoming shades. The darkness itself slowly started to grow upon her body, rising over her clothes as it slowly spread through the entirety of Adora's body. There was a strange atmosphere through the air, one paralyzing Catra's senses as she felt frozen in place.

Some instinct inside of her was telling her to be afraid, to fear whatever was building up within the Force Captain that continued to scream with tears rolling down her eyes. All Adora felt was pain, a terrible, agonizing, pain that continued to pile up to greater and higher lengths. Eventually, the darkness rose all the way to Adora's skull, covering the girl's body in a pitch blackness, as all the shadows seemed to seep into the gem itself. The last bit Adora Catra saw was her fearful eye as it was swallowed up in the darkness.

How was she supposed to help her? She didn't know if touching her could affect her own body, she didn't know if removing the headband, wherever it was in her pitchblack form, could make things worse. All she could do was wait until the darkness over Adora slowly spirited away, disappearing little by little until Adora's slumped over form could be seen again. Her head was down, her arms were drooped. There were no tears flowing from her face.

All she knew was that whatever happened just now could only lead to trouble!

"...Huh?" Adora popped her head up again, looking as casual as she did earlier with a look of surprise on her face. There weren't any tears in her face or hints of sadness as she looked at her hands and her own feet. "...That's it?" She looked all around herself as if expecting some sort of horrible transformation, like Catra did until right this moment. "Nothing else... happened?" It was weird. She almost felt disappointed to find nothing changed for some reason.

"Adora, are... are you okay?" Catra asked as she cautiously approached her.

"Yeah, I... guess I am... Was that all it did?" Seriously? That was it? That was...Lame! All that pain, all that screaming for literally nothing? She went through the worst pain she felt in her life, feeling like her skin was being set on fire and doused in an instant as the darkness spread throughout her body, and all it added up to was just a simple flash from the red gem of her headband? How stupid was this thing?!

"Good." Wasting no time, taking advantage of Adora's distraction, Catra quickly grabbed one of her hands as she used the other to grab onto the headband itself. Reacting just as fast, Adora grabbed the thieving hand with her own.

"What are you doing?" To Catra's surprise, her grip was much stronger than it was a minute ago. Almost...crushing, as a soreness spread throughout her arm. It was at that time she noticed an incredibly faint red hue within Adora's eyes. It was almost impossible to notice anywhere over a foot away from the girl, yet here Catra had an up close and personal view of her friend's eyes in front of her.

"I'm taking that thing off of you! If Shadow-Weaver of all people gave it to you it can't be good!" She grumbled, trying to struggle through Adora's newfound strength. Something was very wrong here. Earlier, Adora struggled to maintain the same footing and fight back against Catra at the same time. Here, she was standing perfectly in one spot while holding Catra's wrist like it was nothing.

"What? No! I'm not letting you take this from me!"

"Ghhh let go!"

"No!"

"Stop fighting me on this, Adroa, and let go!"

"I said...NO!"

* **Wham!** *

"Gah!" Catra howled with pain as she was suddenly thrown against the massive statue's upper arm, falling to the ground soon after.

"Whoa..." Adora could only blink to herself as she looked at her hands again. That was... new... Without any seeming effort behind it she tossed Catra nearly twenty feet through the air and into the upper arm like she was a ragdoll. Where did this new burst of strength come from? She barely felt any weight behind Catra as she threw her, feeling no heavier than forty pounds at most. Her fingers still tingled with the strength, the tips of her fingers dancing with the power that coursed through her.

"What... was that..." Catra hissed rubbing her back as she stood. That wasn't anything like Adora's managed before. Sure when they were kids she often got  _lucky_  in their spars, but even then she was never capable of something of that caliber.

"...Heh... heheheh..." Adora's face slowly twisted as a small grin formed in the corners of her mouth. "Heh heh heh...Tch hahahahaha!" Oh geez, this was so funny! She held her sides as she burst into laughter, looking at Catra like she was the funniest thing on the planet. "Oh! My! Gosh! That was so hilarious! Did you see yourself like that? You were like "wahhhhhh" when you were flying through the air!"

"Adora, what... what's wrong with you?"

"Wrong with me? Nothing! Hoof! I feel great! You wanna do some push-ups? I wanna do some push-ups! Let's do some push-ups! Come on start counting, I'll go first!" With the same grin of excitement on her face she dropped to all fours as she, as suggested, started doing push-ups.

In the middle of what was supposed to be a fight.

"One! Two! Three! Four! Oh come on, this is too easy!" She quickly switched from two hands to one hands. When that got too boring for her, she started to use both her fingers on each hand. As if that wasn't enough, she finally switched to one finger, placing it between herself as she continued her push-ups with that. "Nine! Ten! Eleven! Twelve! Come on, you gonna join or what?! Whoo!"

This was the best feeling in her life! She didn't know what was going on with herself and for the first time she had absolutely no care about it! She felt like she was on fire, took off the fire, hugged the fire, beat the fire to a pulp, and then set herself on fire to do the entire process all over again! Man, this was the best feeling in the world!

"Adora... you need to take a deep breath..." Catra instructed calmly as she slowly approached. She needed to figure out what happened to Adora, find some way to break whatever magic took a hold of her. But she soon gazed passed her as she saw the core she was working on sparkling a bit.

 _I need to get that thing working but..._  She huffed internally as she tried to prioritize the situation.

On the one hand, she could try to figure out what's wrong with Adora, waste who knows how much time either trying to convince her to stop this or fight her off, or on the other hand, try to fix the machine while goldilocks here messed around like a three-year-old. As much as she hated the choices, she knew she needed to fix the machine while it was still fixable. Besides, at least Adora did seem genuinely happy, and more importantly distracted, as she continued doing push-ups like she moving the planet itself.

Steadying her heart rate, Catra slowly moved around the girl, Adora seeming too focused on her own little stunt, as she got around the excited girl. With a sigh, she turned her attention back to the the core as she dug through the toolbox like before when this all started. Thankfully, she had two sides left to deal with, and the current one appeared to be halfway done. After a few more tweaks on this side she just had to deal with the last side and then-

"What'cha doin'?" Catra nearly jumped as she heard Adora whisper in her ear with mild curiosity. Unlike her previous state of being, she appeared more attentive of what was going on with a more semi-serious expression on her face. She didn't give Catra a single second to answer either as almost immediately she was lifted by the collar of her uniform, being pulled off her feet as she was flung through the air to the other side of the arm.

Unlike last time she was ready for it, twisting her body around as she landed on her feet. She didn't know what was going on with her erratic behavior, but as long as she kept her eyes on the girl, she wouldn't let her get the drop on her agai-

Where'd she go?

"Peekaboo!" Catra barely had time to register the sound of the voice as a pair of hands squeezed over her head, pinching her eyes shut tightly as she was lifted off her feet from behind her. She felt an immense pressure as she kicked around her legs, trying desperately to pry the grip off her eyelids.

"Ngggh! Let go!" Catra shouted. She couldn't believe how much Adora changed from this one single headpiece she was given. She was strong enough to toss Catra around with ease, and now her speed was fast enough to race behind Catra right before she landed.

And that was AFTER she tossed her!

"Nope! Guess again!" This wasn't Adora. Adora was sweet, innocent kind, she always preferred finding a way through things peacefully rather than through violence. The person standing behind her was nothing like that. She was violent, mean, laughed at the pain she was causing others. Who was this girl? "I'll give you a hint! It has "a door" in it's name! Heheheh!" She grew a more malicious grin as she leaned her head closer to Catra's ears. "Do you think if I squeeze harder, I'll hear a pop?"

"Nggggggggh!

* ** _WHAP!_** *

"Ahh!" With all the strength she could direct to her feet, she gave off a loud grumble as she swiped her clawed feet against the side of Adora's face, proving effective enough as Adora instantly dropped her. The second her feet touched the ground, she let out a growl as she drew her sword, preparing to strike.

 _That Headband's gotta go!_  She shouted to herself, raising the sword over preparing to strike the cursed object. There was no time for Adora to grab at or dodge the blade that was seconds away from her. Fearing it was going to strike her directly, all she could do was cover herself with her arm as she waited for the inevitable.

* _ **CLANG!**_ *

"What?!" The sound of Catra's gasp caught Adora's attention as she opened her eyes back up. Was she impervious too? She heard the strange sound of the sword colliding into something solid, something practically made of metal itself. Did someone else block the attack for her? Did some numbnut trying to ruin Adora's fun get in her way? That's when she saw the very thing that filled Catra with everlasting fear.

From the ground beneath her, a lone shadow stretched all the way along Adora's arm up to the tip of her fingers, an eerie dark haze seeping from all sides around it, as it formed a single magnificent blade-like appendage over Adora's arm. The blade itself looked genuine, like any great sword or axe you would find.

What troubled Catra so much about this was what Adora wasn't focusing on, not until she followed her gaze in turn. All around her, to the shock and glee of the Force Captain, nearly a dozen different tentacle-like appendages grew from the base of her feet, coming out of her own shadows. The tentacles danced around her, reaching up to her shoulders in length. As if it was an animal, Adora curiously touched one of the strange tentacles, the tentacles gently touching back with it's own curiosity.

With a thought forming in her mind, she swished her arms from side to side, watching as the tentacles all danced in unison to her arms. It made every passing second Catra watched all the more terrifying, watching as the blade-like appendage morphed back to a normal shadow-covered tentacle. She backed up slowly as goosebumps spread across her body, tail swishing back and forth as the fear built up inside of her as the lone tentacle danced alongside the other tentacles that swayed.

This wasn't a simple matter of Adora having a power all too familiar to her. This was a matter of Adora having a similar power to that of Shadow-Weaver. An  _evolved_  version of Shadow-Weaver's power.

"Heh... heheheh! These things are awesome, aren't they?" She chuckled. Smirking back to Catra personally, she continued to chuckle as the tentacles all began spreading along the sides of Adora's arms, six on each side, as they twisted and morphed into an incomprehensible form. Watching the massive sprouts of darkness forming along her arms, her eyes nearly bugged out as the pairs of six merged together along her arms, forming something completely different.

From the tips of her shoulder down to her very fingers, an entire mass of shadow had taken form and was given shape from the mere thoughts of Adora's mind. Catra watched in horror as the darkness slowly transformed until it became a solid form. Where once was Adora's regular everyday human arms, now rested two gargantuan arms, one on each side, with claws that stretched out to the size of Catra's sword, the arms themselves stretching passed Adora's knees.

She had strength. She had magic. Now, she had the ability to manipulate shadows into solid matter, and morph them into whatever convenienced her. And every single detail of this brand new shocking reality only filled Adora with more glee, growing one of the most sinister and twisted looks of amusement Catra's ever seen on a single living person.

"Now, let's have some  _ **fun**_!"

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

**_A/N: Ah so much glorious fun ^^ I really hope you people enjoyed today's episode cause I had a blast writing it!...hopefully i didnt' screw too many areas up or make it boring. And yes, this is surprisingly going to be over 4 parts (I mean would you want it any other way since we got our first Adora & Catra moment since Thaymor :P? Lol)_ **

**_Anyway, as always, leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you (hopefully) on tomorrow's conclusion!_ **


	17. Episode 5: The Sea Gate End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Thrilling conclusion to our first meeting between Adora and Catra. But will be leave better than when we started...?

**_A/N: Annnnnnnd another episode finally completed! Hooftah indeedily!_ **

**_Just on record, the latter half of the i had to slightly rush in the matter of three hours, so I'm really hoping that it doesn't feel too rushed. And if it does, bare in mind this is during the last 4 minutes of the episode, so if anything I should've written LESS than I did her XP._ **

**_With that said, hope you all enjoy the episode and the conclusion of our first Adora and Catra confrontation!_ **

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

* _Clang!_ *

"Ghh!" Catra grunted as she was lowered to one knee, trying desperate to push the massive claw off her sword.

She didn't think she'd ever find herself on the opposite side of a claw trying to cut someone. If anything, she always thought she'd be the one clawing someone's face off, not the other way around. What's more, it wasn't just anyone's claw in particular that she was dealing with either. It was the darkened claw that belonged to the one single friend she had in this world.

Adora.

The blond Force Captain continued to grin as she looked at her other gargantuan arm of darkness, flexing the tips of her fingers while ignoring the person she was playing with.

All this power, all this wonderful power she now had. To think, such a wonderful, lovely, gift like this came from the mother figure of her life, Shadow-Weaver. It amazed her that such a simple headband, one adorned with a red gem in the center of all of it, could fill her with this much power. Man she wishes someone gave her this power sooner!

This was the greatest feeling of her life! She felt so strong, she was so much faster than before. All the stress and misery she felt for the last several days, all the drama and sadness that she had to put up with, all of it was gone. She felt so much lighter for the first time, so free of all the burdens she had to put up with for most of her life. This power wasn't just a gift from someone, it was a godsend that relieved her of all the pain she felt.

For the first time in a long while, she felt happy. Joy.

It wasn't just the incredible increase of character that this band rewarded her with. It was also magic. Magic, one of the greatest of things that ruled over Etheria next to science, was now in her grasp. Well, more accurately, in her shadows. The strange power this headband blessed her with, all the dark energy this gem had harnessed from the mere shadows of her surroundings, be they the environment or the people around her. All of them were drawn in like bugs to a headlight as they swarmed over Adora and gave her this incredible gift.

The shadows moved however she willed it, mastering it's control in just a few short seconds. The tentacles that sprouted out of her shadows danced around her hands, swaying side to side as she played with it with a childlike curiosity. From there, she decided to test out her new power by creating the newly formed arms around her, covering her normal arms with massive gargantuan ones. Ones with claws the size of Catra's sword, one pitch black with the darkness they hailed from.

This, is what true power felt like. And as far as Adora was concerned, it felt almost as good as pinning the cat to the ground with one hand.

"Man... you have no idea how wonderful this feels!" Adora commented nonchalant, twiddling her fingers around.

"Yeah, I think I'm feeling enough of it!" Catra grumbled, trying to push one of the hulking hands off of her. Looking back to her, the sinister grin on Adora's face barely twitched with the excitement building up.

"Aww, what's w'ong? Poow wittle kitty can't stand?" In an almost mocking fashion, she pulled back four of her fingers while leaving one planted firmly on Catra's sword. To add insult to humiliation, this didn't lighten the load on Catra's sword. She only increased the pressure as Catra was forced to her second knee. Any more and she swore her knees were going to pop. "You know looking at it, I think I owe you one, Catra." The struggling girl looked to her at this remark. "If it wasn't for you leaving, I probably never would've gotten this power. Thank you so much!"

"Consider it my deepest reGRET!" With as much strength as she could kick with, she pushed off Adora's powerful finger as she leapt straight for the girl herself, intending on destroying the headband that started all this.

"Uh uh uhhh!" Adora tsked with a smirk. As quickly as Catra leapt for her did she just as quickly find a powerful grip tightening around her entire throat.

"Ghh!" Her airwaves constricting fully, Catra dropped her sword as she scratched at the mighty hand for dear life, trying everything in her power to get any sort of air into herself.

Adora noticed a small twinge of pain erupting from the shadowy fingers as Catra left her claw marks deeply into the massive hands. The marks themselves gave off a small purple glow at where they were sustained, the purple residue seeping out like blood. Apparently despite the fact these fake giant hands were over her real ones, she could still feel the pain of them being scratched as if they were her own. Pain was something she wasn't immune too, which she would have to keep in mind for future reference.

"Bad kitties shouldn't scratch people like that. It HURTS!" Shouting with a burst of rage, Catra found herself suddenly found herself being thrown across the sky, flying until she landed painfully against the wall again, only this time it wasn't the same one the arm was connected to.

She found herself thrown across the Sea Gate towards the statue on the opposite side, straight ahead from where the statue's arm was pointing. Despite the pain she felt from landing against the jagged cliffside, she found no time to sooth the irritation as she felt herself sliding down from the cliffside towards the ocean itself. Catra scampered with her claws, hastily scratching away until she found a firm grip on the other statue's smooth arm. She was somewhat in relief as she found herself on the same level as the other statue's arm.

Now she needed to find a way over to the other side.

"Don't go away yet, the fun's just getting started!" Adora sneered with the twisted expressions of a mad man. Looking back to her, Catra's pupils shrank as she saw Adora taking a running start straight towards her, jumping into the air as she leapt off the statue's hand towards her. Harnessing as much power as she could in those few precious seconds, Catra leapt up to the statue's upper arm, narrowly avoiding as Adora sunk her claws into her previous location with ease. "Oh come on, now you're teasing me! Heheheheh!"

With one arm after the other Adora pulled herself upwards towards Catra's location. It almost felt like she was just toying with her as she hummed to herself, the wicked glee she was getting out of this adding on to Catra's uneasy nerve. Not wasting any time to herself Catra continued to leap higher and higher from one spot to the next, climbing over the statue from it's shoulder, over the the ear, and eventually to the top of the head itself, all the while Adora was an arm's length from her, giving her no more than several feet of distance between her and the massive arms she pulled herself up with.

From there Catra sprinted towards the archway, carefully running over the jagged top that connected the Sea Gate itself. The salty air of the sea didn't faze her or her intended target as she made her way across, taking the split-second glance back at the wickening Adora that gave chase. The girl didn't look like she so much as blinked since this strange transformation began, her gaze focused solely on Catra the entire time.

"Adora, you need to snap out of it!" Catra shouted down as she reached the two tridents at the top of the arch. "This isn't you!"

"I know!" She cackled. Twisting the images in her mind and the focus on her arms, Catra watched as Adora transformed her right arm into a massive tentacle, culminating from the mass of shadows that stretched nearly ten yards. With a mighty push off the statue she was on she threw the dark appendage over to the other trident, reeling herself up posthaste as she easily got on the same footing as her prey and blocking her off from her path. "It's much better than me!"

Grabbing onto the trident's edge with her other hand, she attempted to swipe at the cat with her tentacle-like arm, forcing Catra to back behind the stone structure as Adora pulled herself over again. For the single moment Adora passed by Catra, the magicat could gaze perfectly into her friend's eyes. There wasn't anything of the original Adora there, not that she could see anyway. All she saw was a monster that was bent on her entire annihilation.

Pushing away the small bit of fear growing inside her, she jumped from the Trident's edge towards the center of the intersecting Tridents, several feet higher from her original spot. Seeing the weaker plaything continuing to run, Adora threw her long arm to the top of the trident again, pulling herself up as she looked down at her escaping prey.

"Oh, the itsy bitsy kitty climbed up the water spout~" She sang amusingly. The shadows gathered around her right leg as they started to amass into a new form. From the great merging of darkness, her foot took on a more massive form, at least three feet in length and width, and most definitely growing on in weight as it took on a solid form. Her mouth watering with anticipation, she jumped several feet into the air as Catra pulled her way to the other side of the tridents. "Down came my foot and  **CRUSHED**  the kitty out!"

* **WHAM!** *

"Ahh!" Catra screamed as she nearly became her enemy's footprint by a single inch. The impact of the great stompage sent a tremor all throughout the archway, causing Catra to fumble as she fell back over the archway. She barely had time to grab on to the ledge by a single hand, watching as the few bits of pebbles fell passed her into the watery depths below.

Grinning to herself, Adora casually lied down onto her stomach as she overlooked her friend in distress, taking as much joy out of this as a child watching a funny show. "You know that sounded way better in my head but that's just me." The shadows around both her arms and foot completely dissipated as she playfully grabbed onto Catra's finger one after the other. "This little piggy went to market~"

"Ngh!" She groaned as she felt her entire body sink deeper towards the ocean with the removal of a mere finger. Her hand trembled as she struggled to maintain her grip. "Adora, don't!"

"This little piggy stayed hoooome~"

"Agh!" If her arms weren't as sore as they were from crashing into the statues twice she would've swung her other arm over to the ledge. She knew it would've been pointless though as long as the blond princess of darkness continued to toy with her. She needed to come up with something and fast!

"This little piggy had roast beef~"

"No!" Any attempts she made at trying to scrape her feet against the barrier to pull herself higher was met with naught. With the barrier being as it was, her feet kept sliding against the perfectly-smoothed barrier, unable to form any sort of grip with the great wall.

Standing back up, Catra watched in horror as her shadows gathered along her arm again. It straightened out and sharpened into a massive blade, the very thing she used to block with the first Catra tried to cut the bandana from Adora's head. "And this little piggy got it's head cut off!"

...

* _Splash!_ *

"Ahh!" The part yelled as they dodged the last attack by a slimmer margin than the previous one.

While Catra was preoccupied with her friend-turned-psycho, the remaining defenders of Selineas were dealing with their own problems. For the last several minutes they found themselves preoccupied with Scorpia and the several other cadets that maintained the Horde Battleship that assaulted the Sea Gate.

After Bow's daring attack on the ship itself in an attempt to disable the canon, the group had found themselves sailing for dear life on their own ship, one puny in comparison to the size of the Horde one. Every time they got distance, Scorpia attempted to blast them out of the water. Whenever they tried to hide from the canonfire, the ship attempted to ram into them and crush them. They weren't safe at a distance or at close range. All they could do was sail as fast as they could, Mermista expending a large amount of her power just to keep dodging like this.

Sighing with exhaustion, Mermista gasped for breath as she pressed her hands against her knees. Leniency in this situation was a very brief but welcomed gift for the young heroes. They had about half a minute or so after each canon blast as the gun had to recharge to avoid overheating. It didn't make the mermaid princess herself feel any better though when she was the one pushing the waves themselves to help them dodge out of the way.

"Huff... huff... if anyone else wants to push the boat... huff... be my guest!" She panted.

"Bow and I can buy you some time if we hold them off on the ship itself." Sea Hawk turned to his first mate, Bow returning his suggestion with a firm nod.

"Are you sure you guys can handle them on your own? You'll still be outnumbered." The princess of Bright Moon wasn't prepared to lose more people at this point, the war taking it's toll on her emotions long enough.

"A lot better than we can like this." Bow retorted. Turning to Mermista, the princess nodded as the two jumped into the water. With the simple wave of her hands Mermista sprouted a large pillar of water, pushing the two up to the deck of the ship where they prepared to engage the cadets once more.

"At least they stayed distracted long enough for Catra to... Catra!" Glimmer shouted with worry.

Throughout the majority of the chase, Glimmer barely had any time to so much as check on the She-Ra-in-training herself, believing her to be able to handle whoever she was dealing with at the time. All that positiveness and belief crashed down to the planet as she saw the current state of her dear friend.

From afar, she could see her poor friend hanging on for her life as she attempted to get some form of footing onto the archway again. Standing right above her Glimmer could see the notorious Force Captain, the one who lead this entire mission and, unknowingly to her, the one who took charge of the attack on Thaymor itself. There she could see the deranged Adora raising a massive blade-like arm over Catra's head, ready to cleave her in twain.

Panicking, Glimmer quickly teleported from the ship, Mermista freaking out as she had to grab onto the ship's steering wheel, placing herself on the statue's arm that housed the control core to the Sea Gate. Gathering as much power as she could in both her hands, she combined her magics into one giant ball of energy, throwing it directly at the Force Captain's head before she could swipe the blade at Catra.

* _Whish!_ *

With dust settling and clearing over a few seconds, Adora blinked to herself completely unfazed, almost looking untouched, as she felt the strange ball of energy that attempted to blast her off the archway. Looking ahead, her previous emotional state of happy and giddy took a full one-eighty as it was replaced by a new emotional state.

Unbridled Fury.

 _It's her!_  Adora screamed to herself. Her, the one princess that was responsible for everything that was wrong with Catra, the one who turned both their lives completely upside down.

She knew she was the princess that started all this. She was the one who turned Catra against the Horde and herself with her cunning manipulations and dark magics. She was the one who made everybody think Catra was no better than a good-for-nothing traitor to the Horde, the person who defected to the Rebellion out of her own greed. The very person who thought she could blast Adora off her feet and into the dark waters behind her.

The person who took her best friend away from her, and turned her into a mere tool for the Rebellion.

"YOU!" Adora shouted in anger, wasting no times as the shadows took form in both her arms into the gargantuan claws they once were. Noticing her distracted state, Catra quickly looked back to who her new target was, gasping silently at who she saw.

"Pinky!" She yelled, Glimmer unaware that it was a warning to back away and not a cry for help. With a mighty roar, Adora leaped from the archway as she pulled back a claw, preparing to cut the princess to shreds. Glimmer gathered a mass of energy in her hands again as she prepared to fight back, unaware of the newly empowered state of Catra's friend. "Nooo!"

Pulling herself up just enough to get her feet on the the archway's side, Catra kicked herself off the Sea Gate with as much power as she had, bursting towards Adora as she pulled back her hand. Before she could swipe at the evil princess she felt a pair of arms wrapped around her arms, Catra crashing into her as the two of them bounced off the statue's arm and over the edge to the second largest platform located underneath them, the previous one destroyed by the Horde's attack.

With the two rocketing towards her Glimmer sidestepped out of the way as she watched the two plummet to the platform, landing with a harsh thud as the two landed on the platform with a loud crash, Catra rolling out off her friend with a groan. "Catra!" Teleporting, she reappeared at Catra's side, grabbing her hand, and then teleported back to the statue's arm as Adora appeared to be out cold. The two of them were out of breath, Catra for the injury and Glimmer for the burst of magic she used in the short amount of time, but still alive. "Are you okay?" She asked between breaths.

Rubbing her sore sides a little and wiping her chin of the bruises, Catra nodded back. "I'm fine. But you need to get out of here. You have no idea how strong she is!"

"But I can help!" She insisted. "Let me hold her off until-"

"No!" There was an unusual anger behind Catra's voice as she yelled. She wasn't yelling out of Glimmer's own safety, there was something else she seemed angry about. "Everything will be fine if I get the engine working again, but until then you guys need to take care of that stupid ship!" There wasn't a chance to voice her opinion or questions at this as Catra ran immediately passed her, seeming intent on finishing the repairs that she continued to get distracted from.

What was with her strange behavior? First the unusual anger and and now she was instructing her on what to do without a second thought or emotion to it. If anything it sounded like she was telling her not to fight Adora for a different reason, one they didn't have time to explain because of the massive ship.

Speaking of said ship, it appeared to be have given up it's chase for the smaller boat as it made it's way back towards the Sea Gate itself. Either it was fed up with playing cat and mouse, or the shipmates saw Adora in peril, rushing over back to the gate to assist her. Even as Bow and Sea Hawk fought atop the deck against several of the Horde's cadets, they still seemed intent on charging head first into the Sea Gate.

"We need something big enough to destroy that ship in one shot..." Glimmer muttered to herself trying to think. "Something like... like..." Looking around the surroundings, her eyes were drawn to the sight of Sea Hawk's vessel sneaking around some rocks from behind it. "That's it!" In a flash of purple light, she teleported form her spot, leaving Catra by herself as she fiddled with the mechanics of the Sea Gate's core.

...

Back on the Horde Ship itself, Bow and Sea Hawk were maintaining their ground as they continued to fend off the cadets as best they could. While they managed to keep the distraction up for a few minutes, it dawned on Scorpia what they were truly up to as she forced her way back to the main canon, continuing the charge towards the Sea Gate as Adora originally ordered.

To the surprise of the two heroes, the three cadets were more properly trained than they originally let on, thanks to Adora's teachings. While they managed to keep them fended off pretty well, they were outmatched as the trio continued to alternate strategies back and forth.

At one moment Kyle could be charging straight at one of them, and after fending him off in a single strike, one of them would find themselves tackled to the ground by Rogelio. It forced them to fight off the person pinning them down while the other fought off the two other cadets. Another moment all three of them could be charging at them at once, intentionally drawing Bow's attention and giving him a clear shot to ensnare one of them in one of his trick arrows. Immediately after firing, one of them, usually Rogelio or Lonnie, would take the hit for the other two as another cadet jumped to their shoulders before leaping after Bow himself.

The randomness of it all made the trio unpredictable.

Thankfully despite their numerous strategies, the three were a pretty easy match for the Captain and his first mate. With Bow's long range and Sea Hawk's hand-to-hand experience, sword or otherwise, they managed to fight off the cadets pretty easily. The only setback they did have to deal with was trying to fight passed the trio and reach Scorpia and the canon, a process which became harder after Bow used up his last arrow.

"How we doing so far, Captain?" Bow asked as the two stood back to back with their weapons.

"I've taken on fish bigger than them, though never usually on a time frame..." Sea Hawk's moustache flashed briefly as he steadied his sword. With the cadets ready with their stun batons and the heroes with their weapons drawn, it was anybody's move that determine who won.

* _Fwoosh!_ *

The cadets were nearly blinded by the sight of the bright purple flash behind the two as Glimmer appeared before them. Without wasting a second she grabbed the two by the shoulders as she teleported the three of them away, leaving the baffled cadets who watched them disappear in a glittery flash.

"Where'd they go?"

...

* _Fwoosh!_ *

Mermista blinked as the three reappeared on board in front of her. She was starting to wonder if Sea Hawk or Bow were okay after the few minutes of loneliness, a very small fraction of her worried for the boastful captain.

"Huff..." Glmmer panted as they reappeared on the Captain's ship again. The total amount of energy she spent between teleporting to Catra's aid, blasting her friend with all her might in a great burst, teleporting again to Bow and Sea Hawk, and then teleporting all three of them at once to the smaller ship was taking it's toll on her.

"Are you okay Glimmer?" Her close friend asked, knowing how taxing such magic was when teleporting three people.

"Yeah... huff... I'm fine." Wiping the sweat of her brow against her wrist she turned her attention back to everyone's  _favorite_  captain with a grin. "And Sea Hawk, I'm going to need you to do something for me."

"What's that lass?" Withe vigor in his veins and the spirit of adventure still burning within him, he eagerly awaited as Glimmer told him his favorite thing to hear.

"Set your ship on fire!"

...

"Mmh just one more side." Catra sighed, scraping through the tool box at the ready as she switched over to the final side. There wasn't much time as Catra noticed more spikes of electricity going off more and more frequently, nearly zapping her on a dozen occasions and giving her a small jolt on at least three. Her fingers were getting a bit crispy from the constant zapping, the small of burnt skin still fresh in the air as her fingers tingled.

Switching to the final panel of the core, her eyes widened at the view of the ancient technology. Unlike the previous sides and panels she worked with till this point, she was greeted with many different switches and wires that were completely alien to her. Several of them had a strange magnetism to it that connected the wires in several different parts, while other strange switches popped out of the machine, requiring Catra to fiddle with the strange dials in a certain order like she was opening a vault, before popping them back into place.

It was a bit of a crazy scenario for her, to say the least.

The last panel however, that's when things got a little more... simple, actually. Unlike the past panels, all along the panel here was a variety of strange-shaped bulbs, some your typical average roundness, others more unique in shape like one in a triangle and another one in a strange T-like shape. All of these bulbs were displayed around this strange circular area within the panel, looking as if it was supposed to store energy into the contraption.

While they were a bit interesting to look at, what really caught Catra's attention was the one lone bulb that was supposedly missing. Where was the mysterious bulb? Oh, not that far, just rolling at the bottom of this stupid panel which probably STARTED THIS WHOLE MESS TO BEGIN WITH!

Looking back on it now, it did relate a little to what Mermista said earlier...

_"We suffered numerous attacks from the Horde in the past." Mermista commented. "Maybe it shook a wire loose or other over time."_

That was probably the dumbest realization Catra had at this point since joining the Rebellion. To think all of this, all this stupid techno work and gadgets, all the problems currently going on with the Sea Gate, every annoying zap this stupid bug-zapper-wannabe machine gave her, all of it stemmed from this one stupid loose bulb!

_Didn't those stupid First Ones' think of making more stable light bulbs?!_

* _crackle_ *

"Huh?" Catra's ears picked up the faint noise of stone creaking around her, possibly below her by the sound of it. Taking a quick peek, she couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. The platforms were still there, the Sea Gate was still under attack, and she had a few minutes to resolve this crisis. Everything was perfectly fine by the looks of it... until she noticed one detail missing. "Adora?"

* **Shink!** *

"Ah!" Catra yelped as she she fell backwards.

She was unprepared for it. Anybody would've been after noticing a friend of theirs missing. No sooner had she called out Adora's name, barely an inch away from her face, did she find a blackened spear-like appendage stab through the statue's hand, stretching up at least seven feet tall, and breathing with the dark shadowy residue just like Adora's arms did.

From below the statue, the blond grinned. There, Adora hung from below the arm, practically fifty feet above the water, as she used her other arm to make a similar spear-like appendage. This one was thicker than the previous one, whereas that was used to penetrate the statue with ease and her intended target, this one was to maintain a grip on the statue's underside while she attempted to impale a certain nuisance to her life.

"You kept me from getting her!" She roared, pulling the weaponized spear out the statue swiftly.

Knowing what was coming up, Catra backed up as fast as she could on her behind, narrowly avoiding one piercing strike that cut along the left side of her leg by a thin cut. As she did, Adora gave chase from under her, alternating between arms as she went from one arm trying to stab her and hold on to the other arm trying to stab her and hold on. Everywhere in-between a second Catra found another spear attempting to stab her, forcing her back further and further from the control console. Given how this was all running, she was surprised these multiple stabs into the statue didn't interfere or damage the console all of this was connected to.

At least she hoped it didn't.

Backing up towards the upper arm, she looked behind her as her hands brushed against her sword again, feeling an ounce of relief wash over her as another dark spear stabbed in front of her again, this one just inches from her face as it stabbed between her legs. Reacting without hesitation, Catra grabbed her sword before slicing the massive shadowy spear right in half, the top part of the shadow falling to the ground near her foot as it slowly dissolved into nothingness.

"OW!" Adora screamed from under her as she pulled her hand back out. Looking at it, she saw a small cut among all five of her fingers. While being thankful the resulting cut off didn't result in her hand missing a few extensions, the pain itself was real enough to warn her about pushing her chances. "Ghhhh!" Gritting her teeth she reformed the claws again as she climb her way over the massive arm, popping her head out of the side as she saw Catra running over towards the console again.

 _I need to fix that bulb!_  Catra yelled to herself. She didn't know what to expect after this, the instructions in her head telling her to focus solely on the bulb. As to how this would've helped remained unknown to her, but the sooner she got this fixed the sooner she could try to fix Adora.

"No you don't! Adora shouted as she flung her tentacled arm at the girl. Just before Catra could grab the bulb she found herself being pulled off her feet, slamming her head straight down as Adora began to reel her in slowly. "You are coming back home with me and that's final!" She growled.

She couldn't understand this new flux of emotions going through her and she didn't care in the slightest. Whatever this strange headband did to empower her, this strange magic that filled her entire being, she was going to take full advantage of it. She was going to bring back Catra whether she wanted to or not.

And then she was going to  _deal_  with a certain princess!

As Catra scraped against the statue, trying fruitlessly to dig her claws into the statue's arm, her attention was drawn to the stun baton that she tossed away earlier, the very same Adora brought into this fight to begin with. Scraping away with all the strength she could, she struggled to reach the baton as she pushed her body's stretching to the limits, feeling it scrap against her claws within mere inches of the weapon. Right before she was completely pulled away, luck came to her side as the tip of her finger's claw finally dug into the baton, pulling it back far enough to draw into the rest of her hand. In one fell swoop, as she slammed the baton into the unearthly abominable tentacle.

* ** _BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT!_** *

"Nnnnngggggghhhhhh!" Both Catra and Adora screamed internally in unison as they both felt several thousand volts passing through their systems every second.

It didn't surprise Catra that she was also affected by the massive shock, seeing how the tentacle was tightly wrapped around her leg, but it beat the alternative of getting dragged away by Adora after all this. It took over ten full seconds of electrocution before Adora finally pulled the claw away, both of them collapsing on their backs and breathing heavily through the small paralysis that numbed them.

Sadly for Catra, she knew she didn't have a moment to herself as she had to hurry up and fix the machine. Gritting her teeth tightly, pushing passed the pain she was in, she crawled slowly over to the device weakly, grabbing onto the single bulb that fell out and started this entire disaster. As much as she would rather take her anger out of the stupid piece of appliance and crush it into her hands, she gave a small growl as she slammed it into the socket.

"There!" With the bulb reinserted, the mark of victory shined to life all around them.

A massive hum rang out from around the Sea Gate as sparks and color began to dance across the Sea Gate's core after long last. At first, Catra panicked worrying that she somehow ended up wrecking the machine, feeling a lack of instructions coming from her mind and recognizing the strange sparks that danced around it like it did whenever she pulled or twisted the wrong thing. She was almost sure it was going to explode with how out of control it was this time around.

But then she noticed the bulb, the one that was empty with life, slowly filling up with a pure white light like the many other bulbs and wires, as energy began seeping it's way through the machine and into the center of the panel itself. The center illuminated with a bright shining light in the circle, growing large and large in size until the entire core itself was burning with a great white light.

Followed by the sound of another hum, Catra flinched as the metal panels of the hand slammed shut in front of her. From there, everything around her began to glow as the engine's light could be seen shining through the incredibly slim openings of the panel, blinding her a little as the Sea Gate regained it's functions. All around her streaks of white light began to shine along the entire statue itself, all growing from the small seed of an engine that gave life to everything around it.

Like the veins of any creature, light grew over the length of the Statue's arm, several lights illuminating as it followed along the arm to the base of the elbow. From there, the lights spread across from top to bottom of the statue as it began to glow all around the cracks and crevices of the nearby cliff. The light spread all throughout the statue and up to the tridents where the tips intersected one another, with the light spreading down the other trident as it gave life to the other statue in turn.

As both statue's burned with life, Catra watched as their eyes began filling with the same burst of beautiful light as the rest of the statues did. With their eyes filled with energy, the final streaks of lights danced over the archway, drawing towards one another as if they were soulmates, clashing into each other as it put on one final display.

The barrier that blocked off the Horde from invasion, that protected the kingdom of Salineas from any and all forms of danger, started to wash over with several dazzling displays of light. From the cryptic red coloring that signified the end was near, it started to lighten as several waves of color crossed it. From red, it became a sunny orange. There, it grew a beautiful serene green color. After several more vibrant colors glossed over it, the final color, one that was as blue as the ocean, fully formed over it, the barrier bursting with it's own miraculous sparks of colorful life as it was finally healed after long last.

The Sea Gate. The thing she spent so long to work on in the last ten minutes, was finally restored.

* **CRASH!** *

"Agh..." No sooner had Catra finished watching the lightshow did she find her leg entangled by a mass of tentacle again, this time pulling her over harshly and slamming her into the upper arm of the statue behind Adora.

"You traitor!" Adora screamed. Writhing the darkness collected around her arms, she formed the gargantuan fists she had at the start of this second round, slamming it straight into Catra's entire stomach from her shoulders, all the way down to her waist, pressing her back further inch by inch into the statue with each strike.

* **CRASH!** *

"Everything that's ever happened!"

* **CRASH!** *

"Has been because of her!'

* **CRASH!** *

"She's the one hurting me right now!"

* **CRASH!** *

"AND SHE'S HURTING YOU!"

* _WHAM!_ *

With a single hand she pulled Catra's body out of the foot-deep crater she left in the side of the Upper Arm and tossed her to the ground behind her, scraping her against the ground.

Why couldn't she understand everything that was going on around here?! Everything here has been the princesses fault! Everything that they touch they corrupt! They were the one responsible for taking Catra away from the closest thing she had to family, they were the ones who forced an entire village to attack an outpost that offered them peace, and they were the ones who brought Adora out to this wretched place and forced her to fight Catra!

Come to think of it, it was their own fault that the Horde had to attack Thaymore in the first place! Shadow-Weaver was right. Everything the Horde did was because it was absolutely necessary! They didn't care who they involved, they didn't care what they destroyed, and they didn't care how many people they had to sacrifice! They were responsible for each and every horrible thing the people in the Fright Zone have gone through, what Catra has gone through, what she herself has gone through! And she wasn't going to let anyone stand in the way of destroying them.

Looming over the weakened friend, Adora's eyes flashed red, covering her eyes and her pupils as the rage inside of her reached the pinnacle of possibility. Gathering every single shadow she could into her right arm, she created the giant blade, the very one that started this entire fight and the one she had yet to use until this very moment.

Nothing was going to stand in her way. She wouldn't allow anyone to cross her like this, not again. Not the princesses, not the Horde, and definitely not-!

"Snk..."

Adora blinked. With eyes full of hatred and rage burning inside her, she still managed to hear it. That one little faint cough of pain coming from the person lying at her feet, the dear friend she knew since they were young, the very person that was at her side even through the worst of times.

"C... Catra...?" What... happened to her? She looked all around her and was shocked by the sight of her weak friend. From head to toe, she was covered in bruises, scratches, scrapes all across her knees, face, and arms. Anything that was exposed outside of her clothing, she was agonizing... actually... crying a little... from all the pain she was in. A single tear rolled down Catra's closed eyes, tearing up alone looking like it was taking all the strength out of Catra's body.

"Catra... what... what happened to...?" Who... Who did this to her? Who caused her so much pain like this? Slumped over and severely beaten on her side... who could be this cruel? It... it had to be the princesses! She was sure of it! They must've did something to her in the few seconds Adora tossed her to the ground! Sure, they were just fighting earlier, but that was just Adora taking out her anger on... on...

Taking out her anger... on what? She looked at her hands, seeing the evil shadows that danced around her palms. She didn't do this... she couldn't have done this! They were just roughhousing, like when they were kids from time to time! She didn't do this to her dear friend! She... she didn't mean to...

Why would she say that? That was like admitting she really  _did_  do it! It couldn't have been her, it was impossible, it was... No... No she did... She only now realized everything she had done. Overwhelmed with her feelings, she let her emotions take over for her. She took sickening glee with watching her getting tossed into the arm, she took wicked curiosity in testing out her new magic, she let rage consume her merely seeing the princess she pushed all her anger.

Now, she was drowning with despair, sorrow. A bottomless sadness that filled her upon her grand realization, one that emptied the red hue within Adora's eyes.

She was the one who hurt Catra. She was responsible for her friend's suffering.

"What... What have I done? ...Aggghhhh!" She screamed in terror and pain as she pulled at the headband practically glued to her forehead. She thought being consumed in the shadows was painful, here it felt like she was pulling a footlong nail out of her skull! With every inch she managed to pry from the band, the shadows around here started to dissipate into a black mist, disappearing into thin air with every yank. With a scream to the top of her lungs, she finally pulled the cursed object off of her head, collapsing to her knees and hands as she gasped for air.

An endless flow of tears drained from her eyes at the immense pain she pushed herself through, not just physically, but emotionally as well. Taking no time to recover for herself, she crawled over to Catra's side, gently shaking her by the shoulder so as to not hurt her, not anymore than she already has.

"Catra... Catra please wake up..." Adora cried looking over her. The twitches she saw from Catra's body weren't enough to convince her she was okay. She wanted her to- no. She  _needed_  her to open her eyes, however little, to prove to her that she was alright. "Catra, please be okay, I'm... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."

If she never woke up, Adora would accept that. She just caused who knows how much pain to the friend that meant so much to her by her own hands. If she didn't wake up, that would be Adora's punishment. She would suffer the infinite torrent of guilt she felt for the rest of her life, and she would live it through it's entirety to atone for a mere portion of everything she did to her.

Out of the many horrendous ways this could've ended, all the terrible endings that could've come out of this fight, a single miracle was blessed between the two for this one moment.

With a weakened groan, fingers twitching at the tip of her claws, a single slim line of her eyelids were opened, no higher than the thickness of several pieces of paper. Using the little energy she had left, she shifted her eyes to the corner of her face, seeing bleary vision of her friend passed the hazy mist in her own eyes. She didn't see the headband over her head, or if she did it was too hard to make out. All she could see was Adora's upper body to the top of her head.

All she knew at that point was that she wasn't surrounded by shadows anymore.

"Ad... or... a..." She weakly spoke.

Whatever. She would accept it. It brought more tears to Adora's face as she smiled a little, patting the side of her friend's cheek softly.

"Hey... it's okay... you're gonna be alright..." She hoped she would never have to use this stupid headband ever again. Seeing as the first mission failed, she could take some comfort in knowing the second operation was a bit more successful. With Catra being in the state she was now, she would be easy to bring back to the Fright Zone where she belongs. There, she could rest easy, recover from all her injuries, and Shadow-Weaver could save her. Then, everything could go right back to the way things were-

* _Splash!_ *

"Ahh!" Adora cried out as a large pool of water was directly blasted at her, knocking her off the arm and into the large pool of water waiting below. With her body being nearly untouched in comparison to Catra's, she managed to survive the fall into the ocean waiting below her, swimming back to the surface with posthaste as she was dunk several feet under. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like she was going to be bringing Catra back anytime soon, not that she deserved it after the horror she put Catra through.

At the same time, Catra's eyes opened a little more, still not even halfway up, as she saw Mermista pushing herself out of the pillar of water, running over the ledge to check on the state of Catra's attacker. While she seemed to be fine, she didn't bother to waste time on her as she rushed to Catra's side.

"Hey! Catfish! You okay?" She asked mildly worried. Catra couldn't help but find some humor in the nickname, finding it a little silly she wasn't the only one who came up with nicknames around here. She carefully helped her lean up a little, soothing the sores around her shoulders as Catra winced with pain.

"Y-Yeah... I'm fine..." She replied, still weak. Everything around her hurt to move, it almost hurt just to breathe. But given what the alternative out of all of this was, it could've been worse.

A lot worse.

Looking back to the ocean itself her pupils widened a little at the sight of the incoming Horde ship which was still intent on attacking the Sea Gate despite being operational. "But what about that?" Looking up as she heard a chuckle coming from the Princess of Mermaids, she saw her giving a cheeky grin as she looked back to the ship.

"Heh, don't worry about that. It's covered."

Back on the ship itself, Scorpia began to charge the canon for another blast. The Sea Gate might've been restored as of now, but it did't mean it couldn't be weakened a little to the point of failing like it did before. If they were lucky, they might've struck it in the right place to destroy the gate completely! With the three cadets taking over the charge itself, she grinned as the Canon hummed with life, ready to fire again at the massive wall of energy.

"Ha Ha!" Oh man not that sound again.

She's known him for a few minutes here and he was already the most annoying person Scorpia ever met in this kingdom. Looking off to the side, the ship belonging to Sea Hawk could be seen swimming around the massive boat without hesitation. It wasn't enough for them to be circling around them. What made it so baffling to Scorpia was when they turned around and headed straight for the Horde Battleship itself!

At the helm of the ship was the glorious captain, giving his own smile of triumphant victory, one they haven't even achieved yet, while also holding a small fiery torch in his hand. Standing next to him was Glimmer, the captain's first mate on this mission, as she smiled back to the Captain with cheer in their voices and the same stupid look of victory on her face.

"Adventure!" With a single shout, the two raised their fist in victory before teleporting in the blink of an eye. No sooner had they did the boat itself burst into a giant ball of fire, one charging at the dumbfounded scorpion Force Captain and the remaining members of their crew. There wasn't any time to turn something this big and it was too low to the ground and close to fire with the canon itself.

All they could do was scream in terror as they jumped overboard, pushing away from the massive boat that collided into the burning captain's ship.

* **BOOM!** *

Safe to say, there was nothing left of the fiery wreckage as the Horde ship crumbled to pieces. All around the resurfacing cadets and captain were wreckage and debris from their own ship, forcing them to grab on and find any floating pieces they could to use as a floatation device. Almost immediately after finding a piece for herself did Scorpion look over to see Adora swimming towards her, scooting over to the side a little to let the other Force Captain hang on to the floating pile of garbage.

"Hey Captain, did..." She was quiet. She didn't even look Scorpia in the eye as she casually kicked along with her feet, swimming across the ocean.

"I don't want to talk about it." She stated. She didn't want to talk. She didn't want to remember. She didn't want anything else to do with this day. Looking back with a saddening look to her brainwashed friend a final time, the corner of her eye teared a little as she saw the Captain and Glimmer teleporting atop the statue's arm near Catra, Bow watching the Horde members leave with a snarky wave as they retreated.

She failed in her mission, both of them in fact. She didn't destroy the Sea Gate or recruit the Princess of Salineas, and she failed to bring Catra back with her.

And somehow, she felt like she lost a little more than she came here with...

...

...

The victory was won after long last, the several friends looking at the beautiful gate that glew with color. All across it several dozen star-like designs spread across it, forming alignments of the very stars themselves. This was a victory that the four would never forget, being their second major victory against the wretched Horde.

"Huh, what do you know? You actually fixed it." It took all of Mermista's power to not sound impress by the display of wonder standing in front of them.

"It's beautiful!" Glimmer couldn't be more proud of Catra's work in all of this. No matter how tedious or threatening the situation seemed, she followed through on her mission and fixed it just as she said.

"I guess you're going to be needing a new ship." Mermisa added looking at the easygoing captain on her right. Coming back from the fantasy of fame and fortune he was so fond of in his imagination, he looked over to her with surprise. "Ugh, I suppose you can have one of mine."

Gesturing to the small dock behind the four, Sea Hawk's eyes almost flashed as brightly as the Sea Gate itself. Standing there within the waters was a vessel, a ship as magnificent as his last three, if not more, that greeted his attention. Hooked up to the poles of the ship, it shined like the beautiful ocean under a night sky, seeing the beauty of it's colors sparkle over the mast in mixes of emerald and sea coloring. Next to it was the one lone butler/guard who never left the Princess's side, breaking a bottle over it to signify it's great launch into the ocean.

Truly, it was a ship worthy to the most worthy of Captains like himself!

"Ahhhhhh!" There were no interpretable words coming from Sea Hawk's mouth. All he could do was gaze with wonder at the sight of the magnificent ship. He felt like a father proud of his son, tears coming into his eyes as he gazed at what was practically perfection! "She's gorgeous!" He cried.

"Please don't set this one on fire this time..."

"No promises!" Grinning, he turned his attention back to the generous princess of beauty. "But, Princess, if I may ask for one more favor." He begged, holding her hands as if he was about to propose to her.

"Ugh, you're always ruining it!" She could already taste the bile forming in her stomach.

"You should think about joining Glimmer's Princess Alliance." He said pulling the princess in question to his side. Suggestions by the captain were never usually a good thing for her, but this one she did admit was a little... intriguing. "She is a brave and strong captain. With her at the helm, she is sure to lead the Rebellion to victory."

"Aww, Sea Hawk." She was touched at how beautiful his statement was. "You even got my name right."

"Heh, yeah. We can't even get Catra to call her that, and she's been with us for awhile now." Bow commented as he chuckled. Blinking to herself, Glimmer looked all around the foursome as she noticed someone out of place.

"Hey wait a minute, where is Catra?"

...

The sea. The one thing that covered the planet more than the land itself. If she was to jump into it right now, would she disappear with the rest of the water that drained into it? So much was on Catra's mind at this moment, so much pain she didn't want to deal with. And it all came from two specific sources: the sword clutched into her right hand, and...

"Hey, Catra!" Glimmer called out as she rounded the corner with Bow. They were both relieved to find her just beyond the Captain's new ship, staring out into the ocean. After hearing about the beating she took during the small war, they feared the worst. But by the looks of it, she was just fine!

...and  _her_.

"You did it! You fixed the Sea Gate!" She congratulated.

"We've gotta celebrate big time when we get back to home!" There was no way Bow would take no for an answer. They HAD to celebrate! "Better yet, we can do it right now! Remember what I said about all the delicious fish they had?"

The two smiled as they awaited her response. After everything they did today, from finding a boastful captain, to Catra nearly drowning, to fighting off a Horde warship while fixing a ruined Sea Gate, one would think someone would've gone crazy from not going insane. Yet here they were, alive and well, and victorious after a grand mission like today. They couldn't wait to celebrate several times, some with the captain and Princess of Salineas, and later on back home. It would be just the three of them, four if her mother felt inclined to join in! It would just be her, Bow and...

...Catra...

"...Catra...?" Silence was never a good thing when it came from the cat. They had yet to figure out how Catra functioned. What made her tick, what was going on through her mind. All they knew was that whenever she was silent as this, something was wrong.

Given the incredible amount of silence from her, something was terribly wrong.

"...You lied to me..." She stated coldly as she clenched both her hands. The sword trembled in her grip from sheer force.

"I... what?" She had no idea what she was talking about, and chances are she didn't want to find out either.

"...I trusted you, for the first time... and you lied to me..." Raising the sword to her head, she stared back at her own scowling reflection, the same one Bow and Glimmer could make out no matter how far away they stood. There was rage, desire, and sadness within her eyes with rage seeming the most dominant. "You told me... if I thought about defending others, I could get this piece of garbage to work."

"It... didn't work?"

"I did it, word for word, exactly as you said." She continued in a tone as if she didn't hear anything the princess said. "I thought about saving everyone. The kingdom, you guys, everyone who wasn't me. I gave all my energy and trust to you in that one moment I needed it most... and it did nothing..."

"Look, Catra, it's not her fault or anything. None of us know how the sword works-

* _swiff_ *

"Ah!" Bow yelped as he suddenly pulled back his hand. He had three new claw marks to stare back at him as he saw the scratches she left behind.

Glimmer couldn't believe what she just witnessed. Catra always playfully whacked or threatened to scratch the two of them from time to time, but nothing like this. He almost looked ready to bleed from the scratches they were so deep. "Catra, what are you-"

"You kept telling me to trust you guys." She continued to ignore her. "You said we were allies, according to you guys you were my friends. And after everything I've done to help, everything I've done for your stupid war, this. This right here, is how you repay me for helping you. By lying to me the one moment I needed you two."

* _drip_ *

Their jaws dropped to the ground in their minds, neither of them believing what they had just witnessed. A single tear, one they couldn't see dripping down her face with her back turned to them, dropped to the floor. For the first time ever, they were there to witness her single cry.

"I could have won us more today, given us a new ally if you had just told me the truth."

"B-But Catra, I didn't-"

"SHUT UP!" She shouted turning to the two again. There were tears in the corners of both her eyes yet not a single one dropped like the first one that slipped out. Glimmer had never seen Catra like this before. An expression filled with rage that pushed passed the sadness she was showing in her eyes. "You keep pestering me over and over again. You were kept telling me we would get along better if I gave you my trust, and this is what you have to show for it. By stabbing me in the back!"

* _clang_ *

The two were so focused on the rage emanating from her that they practically jumped as she dropped the sword in front of them.

"I'm done." Without another word she marched her way passed them, purposely shoving passed their shoulders without a second glance. "If you want me to fight in your stupid war then fine by me. But from now on, you're doing it without She-Ra!"

This... This didn't make any sense! What was wrong with her now, why did she think she lied to her? She would never do that, especially if it seemed so important to her! Why did this moment seem more important than all the other times she tried it? Did it have to do with that other person Catra was talking to? Did it have to do with...

Running over to pick up the sword, staring at it like it was the source of her problem, Glimmer shot back. "Catra, wait! I want to ask my one question!" Every fiber in Catra burned with rage as she stopped, almost as much as Adora did when the two fought. The only difference here was that she didn't lash out and attack the two... yet. "You said you owed me one question and to ask it before the day was over. At least give me that!"

"...What..." Her hisses didn't even have any emotion to them like they used to. They were hollow, masked over with the rage she was still displaying.

"Who... Who was that person you were fighting?" It pained her to ask this. She knew whatever happened within the last few minutes was because of that girl Catra was fighting not long ago. She was fine, more or less, up to that point and now she was burning inside and out? If she didn't have an answer or care for her then Catra wouldn't be acting like this. She had to be someone special to her, she must be.

It was clear that she was as the two saw Catra's ears drooped from behind her. The girl might've been able to mask her face but the rest of her body displayed everything else she felt.

Sadness.

"Her name... is Adora... And because of you... she's gone..." With a final hiss, she walked off to the ship.

Today was supposed to be a momentous day for all of them. Saving another kingdom, recruiting a princess to the alliance, and defeating the Horde with just the few of them. But now, after everything they witnessed, victory felt like the farthest thing from what they had.

All they could feel now, was defeat.

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**A/N: Gah, i have to get to work now! I know and im sorry if this seemed rushed and all that but like I said, I had like 3 hours left to my day before i had to work all day today AND tomorrow (so no updates tomorrow possibly, sorry).** _

_**With that said, I hope you guys still enjoyed the episode plenty and I didn't just add some people to the suicide hotline out of too many feels XP. A cartoon thats fun and actiony is good. A cartoon that gives you feels for FICTIONAL PEOPLE is amazing- that's my motto.** _

_**As always, leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed, and hope to see you soon ^^!** _


	18. Episode 6: System Failure Part 1

**_PS: THIS IS THE SHE-RA IF FANFIC, I JUST CHANGED THE NAME TO SOMETHING POSSIBLY A LITTLE MORE FITTING. LET ME KNOW IF YOU GUYS LIKE IT OR NOT._ **

 

**_A/N: And another fun little chapter down the line followed by the beginning of a new episode!_ **

 

**_One thing I need to mention before we continue, my writing from this point might get a little bit whompish, whatever that means. Reason being: Unlike the other dozen or so episodes, episode 6 is the one I hardly remember, so I'm kinda going on it by the fly. Don't get me wrong the episode itself is still good, if anything it's one of the funnier ones just because of Adora's Drunken/drugged-up state she's in through half of it XP and I got my own little thing planned to for Catra (Hehehe...)_ **

 

**_But as such, my writing might not be the best here for awhile, especially as work continues to pile up in both work-life and school, so expect some more grammer/writing issues possibly here and there. I'll still try to make this as fun as possible, and hope you guys enjoy it all the same._ **

 

**_With that said, enjoy!_ **

 

**_..._ **

 

**_..._ **

 

**_..._ **

 

 

The halls were unusually silent and ill this time around as Glimmer walked through them.

What was she supposed to do? For the last few days, the one thing that's been on her mind was the very last thing Catra said to her, to anyone for that matter, after restoring the Sea Gate of Salineas and recruiting Mermista into the Princess Alliance.

_"Her name... is Adora... And because of you... she's gone..." With a final hiss, she walked off to the ship._

Who was Adora? What did that answer out of anything? Was she a personal enemy of hers? A rival?

...A friend?

Out of the three, the third scenario was the only one Glimmer could think of that would explain Catra's distant behavior. Ever since they returned from their last successful mission, she's been skulking about, giving everyone that crossed her path the silent treatment save for the Queen when she asked her something directly.

And even then it was short and without emotion.

It pained her inside, feeling a hint of the possible pain Catra was going through. She might not have known what sort of relationship they had, but she could picture every practical feeling she could've felt if Adora truly was her friend. Meeting each other after so long, coming across each other again on the field of battle, it was something almost out of a fairytale, one with a dark twisted ending to it. One where no matter how bright things seemed, darkness was just around the corner.

Strange thing was, she actually felt a little guilty herself despite Bow trying to convince her not to blame herself. Each and every day she and Bow keep pushing on Catra to open up a little more and tell something about herself, usually resulting in her hissing in turn and walking away from them. Up till now, she thought it was stubborn Horde pride that she had to get used to, something she would have to wait to go away.

Now, she was starting to think differently. Looking back on it, throughout all the times she ever did reveal something about herself, it was just after Catra was inflicted with some sort of emotional pain. Whether it was caused by her surroundings or her relationships to the past, every time Catra opened up it brought ruin and turmoil. It was almost like a curse, one that siphoned the joy and wonder of her life, and filled her with despair.

Since they've returned, a saddening aura filled the air. Whereas Glimmer would be making the usual retort not to call her "Pudgy" or "Pinky", she was finding herself longing for those days. In the few days of immediate silence she's had from Catra's commenting she was now wishing for, finding the nicknames to be a lot more comforting than the deathly silence that now surrounded her.

"Glimmer!" Panic went off in Glimmer's mind at the sound of her mother's voice. Running down the hallways, she saw her professional yet caring mother standing in the middle of the Hallway, arms crossed and a stern expression on her face.

Right outside of Catra's locked door.

"Y-Yes, mom?" There was a small prick of nervousness in Glimmer's voice she hoped her mother wouldn't pick up on.

"Glimmer, is there something going on here you haven't told me about yet?" She asked raising her brow as she tapped her finger impatiently.

"S-Something I haven't told you?" She feigned the best smile she could put on her face. "Like what, mother? Heh heh..." She let a small chuckle slip out through her teeth.

"Well, I don't know. I thought about taking a pleasant stroll through my castle, check in on the staff, the guards, see how everyone was doing. And on the way I happened to come across something a little out of place." Nothing she said sounded uncommon to the princess, seeing her mother in the halls a dozen times throughout the days and actually joining her from time to time when she was younger.

"Out of place? L-Like what?" She already knew she was going to regret asking.

"Oh, I don't know, a crooked painting, a smidge of dust, and possibly  _this_!" Stepping out of the way as she folded her wings again, Glimmer freaked at the mere sight of what she saw.

The Sword of the First Ones. The very thing that started her relationship with Catra, the one thing that made Catra the She-Ra she was today. It was currently embedded into the wall right outside her door, stabbed halfway through the opposite wall with a few cracks sticking out of place.

It was at that time she remembered the other part of Catra's dire warning to her and Bow.

_"I'm done." Without another word she marched her way passed them, purposely shoving passed their shoulders without a second glance. "If you want me to fight in your stupid war then fine by me. But from now on, you're doing it without She-Ra!"_

"O-O-Oh, that!" Glimmer laughed forcibly as she struggled to take the sword out of the wall. It took several mighty pulls before she managed to pry it loose from the solid concrete. "Haha, oh, you know that Catra. She was uhh...t-trying to make a coat hanger for herself!"

"You mean like the dozen coat hangers in her room's closet?" Her mother retorted, using her all-knowing "mother powers" to discern the truth. And the fact she's seen the room a hundred times on separate occasions. "Or the fact she doesn't wear a coat to begin with?"

Oh, yeah, she forgot about her mother's other superpower; Common Sense.

"W-Well, you know, a lady always has to be prepared! Heh heh heh..." If Glimmer was any more obvious she'd be a Captain like Sea Hawk. Within three seconds Glimmer quickly teleported into Catra's room, ignoring the deathening glare she gave her, dropped the sword, and teleported back outside to her mother again with the same nervous grin on her.

Looking at her with her still-suspicious face, Angella's expression softened as she lowered herself to her daughter's eye level, placing her hands on her shoulders. "Sweetie, I want you to promise me, if she does anything strange or out of place, you'll tell me. I can trust you on that, can't I?"

"Of course, mother." There was sadness and a sense of remorse her daughter could see in the Queen's eyes. What was she so worried about over Catra? Sure, she used to work for the Horde, and her attitude left much to be desired. But she at least did everything she could do what's right, which was far more than could be said for practically everyone else in the Horde.

With a small smile, Angella kissed he daughter's forehead, continuing down the hall to complete her inspections for the day. Sighing to herself, Glimmer leaned against the door as she contemplated everything else she had to deal with.

On top of the previous issue with Catra wanting almost nothing to do with the rest of them, more than usual in this case, she also had to hide the fact Catra gave up her  _job_  of being She-Ra. While there wasn't any rule forbidding her to, much less a law requiring that She-Ra be She-Ra, the last thing she wanted was for her mother to find out. She already had enough annoyances dealing with Catra's mannerisms, the last she needed was finding out Catra was no longer being the symbol of the Rebellion like she once was.

"I wonder if she's still mad..."

* _Chhhkk!_ *

She couldn't tell if that was the passage of timing playing on her or if Catra actually heard through the doors, because the next thing she knew she found the sword impaled directly above her, missing her hair by a single inch. In fact, it was hard to tell if Catra stabbed through the door intentionally trying to hit her or not, because the thought entered her mind after seeing a couple strands of hair falling down in front of her.

At least it couldn't get worse from here.

...Right?

...

...

 

 

_**The intro starts with Shadow Weaver in the Black Garnet chamber spying and glaring at a image of Catra. Than the image dives into the water of her scrying spell.** _

_**~ We're on the edge of greatness ~** _

_**Where we have Catra at Bright Moon looking both determined and forlorn out into the distance.** _

_**~ turning darkness into light ~** _

_**A scene of kid Catra and kid Adora training together in the fright zone under Shadow Weaver. Before being replaced with a image of Adora glaring at a heart broken looking Catra who's on her knees across a battlefield.** _

_**~ We're right beside you ~** _

_**But than Glimmer and Bow teleport to Catra side raising her spirit back up, as shown with her surprise blinking when Gimmer offers her a hand, than she smirks accepting the help as she takes the lead ahead of them.** _

_**~ Ready to Fight! ~** _

_**Catra raises her sword, transforming into She-Ra in a glorious flash of light** _

_**~ (fight, fight, fight fight) ~** _

_**Then She-Ra rushes off into battle with Glimmer and Bow following right behind her.** _

_**~ We're gonna win in the end! ~** _

_**Mermista rises out of a tide, blasting Horde soldiers with water.** _

_**~ We must be strong, And we must be brave ~** _

_**Perfuma burst from the ground, capturing and tying up Horde soldiers with vines.** _

_**~(we must be brave) ~** _

_**Frosta rides an entire wave of frozen water, freezing Horde tanks in their tracks.** _

_**~ We're gonna find every bit of strength that we have ~** _

_**The scene shifts to Hordaks throne room where the evil shadowy figure sits upon his throne, his red glowing eyes being the only noticeable part of him, surrounded by notable members of the Horde, consisting of Adora and Catra's squadron, Shadow Weaver, Adora, Scropia, and even Entrapta.** _

_**~ and never let go ~** _

_**The scene shifts to an epic clash between Catra and Adora, the She-Ra gritting her teeth as she presses her sword against Adora's electrical baton, as the Force Captain herself grins with chaotic excitement as the red jewel from her headband shines.** _

_**~ (Oh ah Oh) ~** _

_**Adora and Catra push each other off as they back up into their friends- Entrapta and Scorpia for Adora, and for Catra Bow and Glimmer.** _

_**~ We must be STRONG! ~** _

_**The scene ends with a final shot of both sides looking across the field, a transparent image of Catra and Adora's faces filling the sky as the colors are split between them;** _

_**A majestic darkness shining into light upon Catra's side, and a horrid light seeping into darkness on Adora's half.** _

...

 

...

 

_"You want to what?" A five-year-old Lonnie sneered as she looked back to the two. Based on her height, being nearly half a foot taller than most of the other kids in the bunk room, you'd think she was seven or eight._

_"We want to join your gang!" A perky five-year-old Adora repeated with a somewhat frightened Catra hiding behind her._

_Ok, as long as she stayed calm and let Adora do most of the talking things would be ok._

_Hopefully._

_At first, she had to admit. Asking to join the group of bullies, or at least the one who lead the other two, and wanting to be their friends seemed ridiculous to her. Why would she ever want to join the group that kept tormenting her on a daily basis? Better question, what made Adora think they would be welcomed in said group? It didn't matter if Shadow-Weaver had the final say in everything related to these children, there was no way she could force them to make them feel welcome in their group._

_On the off chance it did, so what? That would mean they were with the group of bullies now and everyone would have more reason to hate and fear the "Freak of the Horde", the honorary nickname half the kids dubbed Catra with. They already bugged and bullied her throughout the day so why would she want to give people more reason to hate her? Being known as the kid that ruined Story Time months ago was enough!_

_From simple trippings to spiking her food with hot sauces, creating the most screechy noise people could to irritated her sensitive ears, placing her hand in warm water in the middle of the night, making a very awkward morning when you slept next to someone who tried taking the fall for you, there wasn't a single portion of the day where someone didn't bully her! At this rate she was one slushy away from making the bathrooms unsafe._

_It took several days of coaxing to convince Catra of the alternative. If she did join the gang with her, then they wouldn't bully her anymore. No matter how rough a gang within the Horde was, all members forbid one another from bullying each other. On top of that, if she did join a gang with Adora, it meant those who bullied her would protect the both of them since the gang looked out for themselves. They had a very strict guideline and morals to maintain, no matter who was involved or what race they were._

_And seeing how one was a frail boy who mostly took orders and a reptilian friend who was always by his side, the odds of her being allowed to join looked good, especially since the gang only comprised of three members._

_"And what makes you think we'd ever allow you to join a group as big as ours?" Lonne asked grinning._

_"W-Well actually Lonnie, there's only three of us-"_

_"Shut it, Kyle!" She yelled back. The frail boy quickly hid behind the somewhat larger reptilian, the lizard hissing with his tongue like a snake as he did. Catra had to admit, it was kind of humorous and endearing to see an opposite relationship between the kid and the lizard. While she was the timid one and Adora was the one who looked out for the both of them, the kid here was the timid one while the animal kid took charge of them._

_It was quite ironic and amusing to think about._

_"And what makes you think either of you two losers are good enough to join us anyway?" Glaring at the cat alone was enough to make the kitten tense while Adora stood strong. "Last I check our group doesn't accept babies who wet the bed!" Her joking seemed to be funny to just her as the other two remained silent._

_Noticing her friend's drooping ears and small blush, like always, Adora spoke up for her. "You know as well as I do she didn't do it, someone just pranked her!"_

_"Heh, yeah, that'll make a nice defense." She chuckled. "Oh I didn't wet my bed, someone else peed in it!" The two behind her chuckled that time._

_"Mmmh and you keep saying you allow anyone to join if they can prove themselves!" Adora's reminder caught the leader off guard. She wasn't entirely wrong in that regard, seeing how when she started the gang that was Kyle's requirement to join her and Rogelio. The problem was she really didn't like either of these two brats, like the freak with cat parts sticking out of her._

_At the same time, she was a little curious as to how far she could get away with. If these two were willing to go to any lengths to join their gang, regardless of person, then there was no telling the amount of fun she could have at their expense or what kind of trouble she could get the two in._

_The possibilities were endless!_

_"Hmm... so you brats really wanna join with us, huh?" Lonne rubbed her as she eyed the two. "Does that mean you're willing to go through our initiation?"_

_"Initia-?" Kyle was shushed by Lonnie before he could question it._

_"Mhhm!" Adora nodded smiling. "We're ready to take on any challenge you throw at us!" Catra could practically sense the dark thoughts forming around Lonnie's mind regardless of how animalistic she was or not. Adora was way too trusting of people like her, others who took advantage of the foolish or gullible that surrounded them. Lonnie was no more than a bully stepping on an ant, one who took joy out of ripping the legs off a spider._

_It sickened her to think about it, to think about the way she knew she saw Adora._

_And a little angry._

_"Alright then, squirts. If you wanna join us so badly, there's two things you have to do..."_

_..._

_*scratch-scratch-scratch*_

_"Hmm?" The guard poked his head around the corner at the sound of the mysterious scratching, unaware of the figure looking over him. Strange noises were commonplace around the Fright Zone. Whenever there was a noise, it usually ended up being a rusty pipe going off, the sound of rats scurrying around, or a simple droid making it's rounds around the Fright Zone._

_It was times like this he questioned why he had to stand guard if there were already hundreds of robots that could've been programmed to patrol the hallways in the first place._

_*scratch-scratch-scratch*_

_There it was again! Coming from behind! Drawing his weapon, he carefully proceeded down the empty hallway, taking care to check every corner of the room at once as he passed down it. When a noise went off once in an empty hallway, it was fine. If two noises went off without anything making it's presence known, it was unnatural. Nothing made noises around here twice that wasn't a living person or robot around here, and there weren't any rhythmic steps to the noise to tell him it was a robot._

_*whap*_

_"Tag!"_

_"Whoooa-!"_

_*THUD*_

_That was the last thing he expected to see, the shock of the sight making him jump off his feet as the small figure jumped him. His heart raced momentarily as the shock settled into his system. He took several deep breaths as he collected himself, looking back towards the opposite end of the hall as he saw the small figure run behind the corner. Whatever it was or whoever it was didn't matter to him. If a little brat thought it was a smart idea to attack a guard for fun in the middle of the night like this, they had another thing coming._

_The figure itself was none other than a chuckling five-year-old Catra. It went exactly as Adora planned for it, right up to the guard giving chase after her like she predicted. It didn't matter if she was a freak to him or a simple human like she was, the guard was going to give chase to her either way. And if it went the exact same way, then that meant she was going to come to a dead end right about..._

_Now._

_"Uh oh." Catra spoke as she saw the hallway's end. While there were doors on the opposite sides of the walls, they were restricted to everyone without access to them. Turning around at the sound of footsteps coming towards her, she stared straight up to the menacing guard. It didn't matter if there was a helmet covering his face, she could feel the anger coming off of him._

_"So you like playing tag, huh brat?" The guard grumbled. If a kid misbehaved there was a leniency using stun batons in this situation, specifically if they attacked a guard first. That being said, there also weren't any specific rules about how much he could use the stun baton, or at least not from his superiors. Catra watched as the guard's baton started to spark, knowing full well how he intended to use it. "All right then, let's play tag!"_

_"There you are!" The two of them looked back down the hallway as they saw Adora calling out. Running up to them she happily held Catra's hand as she stood in front of her, blocking her from the guard. "I've been looking all over for you. You know it's bedtime!" She smiled back to the other guard with a wave. "Thanks for finding her for me!"_

_That was the one minor complication between all of this. Every guard who valued their lives knew of Shadow-Weaver's fondness over the girl, just like the children did. Except where the most a kid would earn was terror beyond recognition, depending on how young they were, all the guards would face one particular penalty that none of them would walk away from._

_Grumbling again, the guard stashed his baton back to his holster as he walked down the hallway again. "I don't get paid enough for this."_

_The two waited for the guard to make his way around the corner again, Catra picking up on his footsteps as her ears twitched little by little. Once he was finally far enough she nodded Adora with the same smile she had. "Ok, he's gone!"_

_"Awesome! Did you get it?" She asked excitedly._

_"Mhhm!" Catra replied as she twirled a keycard in the air, the grey-colored object with a single green line running across it in a zigzag. "He didn't even notice!"_

_"Hahaha! You did it!" Adora cheered, hugging her tightly. This earned the sweetening laughter of Catra as she hugged back, feeling accomplished for one of the first times in her life._

_The entire plan to swipe the guard's keycard went off without a hitch! It was a bit of an odd request from Lonnie in order to join their gang but it was all going to be worth it. After they finished their first test they would only have to deal with one more part of the initiation. Whatever that involved was going to be easy if this was the first half of their challenge, and Catra could hardly wait!_

_All this time, she was the one people would pick on. Nobody ever so much as batted an eyelash whenever someone gave her trouble unless Adora was around to stop them. She was always the one to protect her, the guardian figure of her life, and after today that would all be behind her._

_Because after today, she was going to be part of a gang for their sector of children. She was going to be protected by more people who would accept her as one of their own for the first time ever._

_More importantly, she was finally going to make more friends..._

...

...

* _click_ *

* _click_ *

"Hey, you in there?" Catra was greeted by Bow looking at her curiously while snapping his fingers. Having come back from her most recent vision of memory lane, Catra simply scoffed a little as she pushed right passed him without a word. They were used to her visions by this point after the last dozen or so times they were around to see her staring blankly into the scenery. What they weren't used to was the immediate silence that followed afterwards.

Walking across the rocky cliffside, the three continued on their way to Entrapta's castle, the next Princess to recruit for their Princess Alliance. Usually at this point Catra would be asking several questions about the information on the princess, moreso now since she decided to skip the last Rebellion Meeting. It took forever to convince her mother that Catra overslept and was doing fine, not wanting her to get anymore suspicious of her after what she found the previous morning.

At present though, the three were continuing a silent walk through the rocky hills as they moved through Entrapta's kingdom. With Catra barely saying a word to the two, much less anyone else, since the events of Salineas there had been an awkwardness felt between the two would-be friends and the retired She-Ra who walked ahead of them.

It was hard to tell who was at fault here for those events. Maybe it was Catra's for not telling them more about herself sooner so they didn't agitate her? Maybe it was though two for trying to pry too much information out of her, a very small bit of information at that. If you asked either side, neither of them would be prone to answering, and nobody would be foolish to point it out to Catra directly.

The ex-She-Ra herself took the matter personally. Day in and day out since Salineas she's never stopped thinking about everything she witnessed on that day, the dramatic changes that went through her friend. She no longer resembled the loving, compassionate, friend she once was. While there was still compassion in her, it was slowly molded, twisted, beyond Catra's recognition. She thought what the Horde was doing now as ok, as long as the means were justifiable. How long exactly has it been since Catra left the Horde? Days? Months? Years? While obviously not the latter, it was impossible to say given how much Adora had changed.

And that didn't include how she changed physically! There were no words to describe the horrifying abomination she saw Adora transform into, the dark twisted version of what was once a dear friend. Watching as the shadows swarmed her from every angle, hearing her screams and cries of agony. All of it was centered around that one simple headband she was given by the one person Catra feared and despised more than anyone.

Shadow-Weaver.

The headband twisted Adora in more ways than one. She didn't just change emotionally, becoming more erratic and unpredictable as their fight went on, she changed physically as well. With the shadows that gathered and entered her heart she could manipulate them into all sorts of manner between fists, blades, spears, any wonder her mind could shape them into. She became a horrifying monster that Catra couldn't even recognize, one that overpowered her and almost killed her single handedly. And who was the one responsible for all of this?

Glimmer.

That girl, the one person who spent most of her time trying to get to know her, was without a doubt responsible for all this mess. She kept going on and on every single day how they were friends and how they could trust one another, never giving Catra a moment's peace to herself. At least that's how Catra saw it. After numerous annoying conversations with the princess she decided to throw her a bone. If she could help her figure out how to use the sword, as in how to transform into She-Ra without fail, she would tell her one thing about herself.

And at first, it worked! Being attacked by a sea monster, she called out the sword's almighty power and transformed into the benevolent form of She-Ra for the third time since getting the sword. She was ecstatic, thrilled! She found a way to finally transform into She-Ra after all this time, and could finally be of use to the Rebellion!

But all that sense of hope came to an abrupt end upon reuniting with Adora later that evening. She thought it was beautiful to hear how Adora was willing to give her a chance, willing to believe Catra as long as she could prove to her that everything she said was true. And the best way to do that was to transform into She-Ra herself, the one being that could resolve all of Catra's problem at this one exact moment. A moment that never came.

She did everything in her power to transform. She followed all the steps, took several deep breaths to concentrate, and went as far as to trust what Glimmer said about transforming, and nothing came of it. There wasn't any She-Ra, no flashy imagery, not so much as a spark. In fact, the only spark that did come off of it was the tension this erupted between the two friends, eventually forcing the two to fight against each other.

That's why it reminded Catra of her personal philosophy of who to trust.

No one.

She gave her trust, she wanted to believe her trust, and she needed her trust in that one moment most of all, and it all came to ruin. Glimmer's words were the very thing that possibly ruined her relationship with Adora, the one person who cared about her in this entire world, the one person Catra could always find at her side, and she was no more.

This was all Glimmer's fault, that's the revelation Catra came to after restoring the Sea Gate. She trusted her for the first time ever, trusted anyone other than Adora for the first time ever since the Fright Zone, and this is what she had to show for it. Betrayal.

"So... has she said anything to you since then?" Bow whispered over to Glimmer, the two hoping Catra couldn't hear them like this as long as they were at a twenty foot distance.

"No, nothing." Glimmer frowned. Looking at the sword in her hands her mind still flashed with vivid memories of Catra declaring how she  _quit_  being She-Ra. If she was willing to help fight for them then it was just as fine, she supposed, but she still needed to keep her mother from finding out. "I've been too nervous to talk to her too. She just keeps glaring at me whenever I see her." Bow eyed her at this with a small grin. "You know, more than usual."

"Well we should say something to her. We can't just keep ignoring her like this." It's not like he didn't understand Catra's point of view either. If this Adora girl was supposedly one of her friends, the fact she had someone she considered a friend surprising, then there was no telling how much it meant to her. "Have you tried talking about something differently?"

"Like what?"

"I don't know... say something to her."

"The last time I did she didn't want to talk to us anymore." It hurt just thinking about that line of dialogue. How do you go about your conversations when the last conversation resulted in someone never wanting a conversation with you again?! Man it was confusing. "Why don't you talk to her?"

"I wouldn't know how to talk to her. You talk to her!"

"I don't wanna talk to her yet, you do it!"

"No you do it!"

"You!"

"You-"

"If I ask you two morons a single question will you  **shut up**!" Catra snapped back, the irritation blending in with the rest of her scowl. Much to their dismay, twenty feet away and whispering still wasn't enough to keep the cat from hearing them. Who knows what other awkward things they mentioned thinking she couldn't hear them.

"D-Deal..." Glimmer stuttered, feeling the anger still coming off of her.

"Who the heck are we recruiting this time?"

"Well, her name is Entrapta. She's a brilliant inventor. She makes all sorts of robots and rehabs old tech left by the First Ones'." Catra already regretted hearing Bow's droll about this mysterious Entrapta. "She's a pretty big deal in the Etherian Makers community."

"..." Catra was hoping for once that Glimmer had a clue about what he was saying because she wasn't catching on to a lick of it. "The... "Ether Making" what?"

"The Etherian Makers Community! Which, yes, I am a part of, because I drabble in gadgetry myself."

* **pop!** *

It was a sad sight to see a bowman pull out a simple pen-sized bow and arrow just to fling it off like a firework and shake his hands like an excited kid. If Catra liked either of them in the slightest bit she might've felt sorry for him.

"...Does he come with a translator cause I got none of that?" She whispered over to Glimmer.

"He means if we can convince Entrapta to join the Rebellion, she'll invent all sorts of cool junk for us! And weapons we can use to fight against the Horde!"

"Like my Trick Arrows!" Bow couldn't wait to meet the princess himself, already wondering what sort of fascinating contraptions she could show and teach him to make.

"All I hear is boring, boring, and more boring." That's  _just_  what Catra wanted to recruit, a science geek. "I really don't see how that's gonna help us."

"Are you kidding? It means she'll invent a whole bunch of cool junk for us!" She couldn't tell if she was seriously unable to see the benefit or still being stubborn about what happened before. "There's so many wonderful things she can help us use, a lot of stuff she can teach us about the First Ones!"

"Yeah, cause that's what I want. Some supernerd going around telling me how to use the..." Catra's eyes flashed off as the sudden thought struck her. Without warning she quickly swiped the sword out of Glimmer's hand before she had time to so much as blink.

"Wha- Hey!"

The Sword of Power, the very one created by the First Ones. No matter how advanced it's designs were or how complicated the circuitry of whatever ran through it, it was still technically a machine in some way. Something that was created by the First Ones that have made her life miserable since day one. A sword she had yet to figure out what was wrong with.

Looking briefly at her own awing reflection, she looked back to the princess of Bright Moon with something other than anger or contempt. "So wait, do you think she could figure out what's wrong with this sword then?"

 ** _Yes! She absolutely can!_**  That's exactly what Glimmer wanted to say at that moment. After a near week of silence from the girl, she would've accepted any form of help in getting her to talk again, however insulting, compared to this silent treatment she's been putting up since then. It would fix all their problems and things could go back to being semi-normal around here!

The problem? How could she take that chance? Every time they went on an adventure up to this point, it's always turned out badly for Catra. In Plumeria, Catra's newfound praise and encouragement was mistakenly taken as a sign of compassion, something she's never gotten before in the Fright Zone. Last mission she ended up running into an old acquaintance of hers, someone Catra must've cared for given the negative reaction she was currently having, whose relationship Glimmer might've ruined after Catra failed to get the sword to work on her advice.

The result of the latter were the events currently being displayed by the magicat, the tormenting silence she was giving off driving Glimmer insane.

So what would happen if she ended up being wrong about things this time around? Would she remain forever silent? Quit working for the Rebellion entirely? Go back to working for the Horde? Who knows how Catra would react if one more thing went wrong throughout the entire mission?!

It pained her to say it, but she couldn't take that chance.

"N... No," she lied, "I don't think so."

"Are you sure?" It hurt to see a small frown grow on Catra's face after the brief optimism she was feeling, Bow shooting her an odd look at the same time. "I mean, it couldn't hurt to ask could it-"

"I said no!" Glimmer stammered. "She's not going to know anything about the sword Catra, so forget about it already!"

"...Hmph..." The scowl of anger slowly returned to her face as she glared at the lying princess. Looking at the sword for another second she hissed to herself as she tossed the sword to the ground, nearly over the cliffside to which Bow had to rush over to get it. "That's what I thought. This really is a stupid waste of time..." As expected, Catra grumbed at this remark as she turned to walk away again, continuing to glare even though her back was turned to them.

What was unexpected, Glimmer felt pained by this. Now she didn't just discourage Catra right in front of her, she lied about something she didn't even know yet to be true. Maybe Entrapta really could've helped figure out what was wrong with the sword, but she didn't know that. She was too scared to think of what the aftermath might be if she ended up being wrong, in Catra's point of view lying, again.

That wasn't a detail that went unnoticed by Bow as he walked back to her with the sword in his hands. "You mind telling me what that was about?" There was a small bit of irritation in his voice, Glimmer's lie being all too obvious to him. The two watched her as she came across a pile of boulders blocking the path, effortlessly leaping over one after the other as she climbed the pile and over it. It was a sure indication she was out of whispering range.

"Do you want to be the one she gets mad at if we're wrong again?" She replied with a moan. "Every time she gets her hopes up they immediately get shot down some time later. She spent the better part of the week ignoring us and that was from trying to help her with one thing. Can you imagine how negative she'll react if we got her hopes up over this and it proved to be wrong?"

As much as Bow hated to admit it, she had a good point. Lying was nowhere near as good as Glimmer was making it out to be but what choice did they have? With Catra being the way she is now, who knew how badly she'd react if her hopes were dashed for a third time?

"Mmh... it still doesn't make it right." Bow muttered.

"I know, and you're right." Glimmer agreed patting his shoulder. "I think we should at least see how this plays out first before we get her hopes up. If we can find something good out of this, then Catra will be overly thrilled. If we can't, then she won't feel any worse than she does now."

"Are you idiots coming or what!" Shouted Catra from over the pile of boulders.

She proved Glimmer's point. Nothing good could come out of raising her hopes.

Sighing in defeat, Bow nodded in agreement. "Fine, I won't tell her either. But what are you going to do if she finds out you lied intentionally?"

"Simple, accept it and move on." She mumbled as she started to gather her to teleport the two of them. "Same way it's always turned out at this rate..."

...

...

* _Crackle_ *

* _Bzzzzzt!_ *

"Whoooa..." Bow oohed as they came upon Entrapta's mighty fortress. "She's got lightning!"

Catra found herself rather surprised by the scenery. Compared to all the other past kingdoms they've been to, this thing looked nothing short of evil. Plumeria's kingdom was rich of fauna that made so much of this weird pollen stuff that Catra found herself sneezing for hours. Mermista's kingdom, while emptier, was built and constructed after the merman and seafolk inhabiting it, with a restored beautiful Sea Gate that greeted anyone at the entrance.

This place, on the other hand, looked like something out of an evil scientist horror story! The tallest structure she could see was a massive lightning rod with a flashing red light going off below the top of the building, and a single tunnel-like bridge feeding into the cliffside. All around the outside of this place was a massive purple wall that protected everything from within the fortress, but also looked like it was constructed to keep something from getting out.

She swore if she closed her eyes right now and felt the atmosphere alone she would be standing right in the middle of the Fright Zone right now.

Noticing the eerie red light glowing from the tower, Glimmer teleported to the top of the wall, inspecting the beacon at a closer distance. "Something's wrong. The castle's distress beacon is lit. They must be under attack!" Turning her head from side to side, Catra twitched her ears up and down as she examined the surroundings.

"Are you sure? I don't hear anything." She stated, taking a sniff of the air carefully. "And there's no scent of the Horde here either. Actually there's not much of anyone's scent in this place." Wanting to see the situation herself, she leapt to the great wall next to Glimmer, pulling herself up as she just came to the ledge. Unbeknownst to her as she stepped by, a single frame of the ground gave way immediately after she jumped from it. In it's place a row of several dozen sharp spikes rose to the surface.

Bow nearly jumped as the spikes revealed themselves, carefully stepping around them as he tried to reach the others coming down from the wall. "H-Hey guys, wait a minute!"

"Where is everyone?" Having a closer view of the place, Catra was more than convinced this was a Horde facility. From the evilly purple-colored walls and smaller structures around here to how barren and lifeless this place seemed. What kind of nut job of a princess ran this place?

* _rrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiirrrrrrrriiiiiirrrrrrr_ *

"Ah..." Catra yelped as a sudden pitch filled her head. She rubbed her forehead lightly as she tried to soothe the discomfort. It wasn't painful exactly, just very... weird.

"Are you okay?" Glimmer asked noticing her current state.

"Yeah, I'm fine, mind your own business." She huffed. Glimmer could tell this was going to be an uncomfortable day between the two of them. "It's just this place feels... off... to me. Forget about it." She looked back with annoyance as Bow offered her the sword back, taking it from the young man with the sides of her glare twitching. While she still had her grievance with the hunk of junk, it still did have it's use as something to hit people with. With another woosh of her magic,

Glimmer teleported Catra and herself further into the place as they continued their search. Nothing about this place made any sense to the princess, and it gave worry to Catra personally. It was way too quiet of a kingdom. At least with somewhere like Salineas there was the scent of ocean water filling the air with life. Here everything was the complete opposite, dry and lifeless.

Where is everybody?

* _cree **eak**_ *

"Hey!" Catra yelped as she extended her claws. Bow and Glimmer didn't need extra sensitive hearing to catch the sound of a door slamming shut. The place was too quiet to ignore a single step. Her tailed swished back and forth aggressively, and a little excited at the thought of something to take her anger out on.

"Hello? Princess Entrapta?" Glimmer called out as she walked towards the source. "We're here to, uh, recruit you for the Rebellion... hmm?" She looked down to her legs as she felt a strange sensation crawling up her legs. Instead of your average everyday goosebumps like she expected, she was greeted with the sight of a disembodied hand- "Ahhh!" She screamed in terror, jumping a little.

"What's wrong?" Catra asked quickly rushing over.

"Oh... it's nothing I guess." Looking closer at it, she felt a little embarrassed at what she thought was someone's severed hand. While she got the hand part right, it turned out to be a part of some currently-handless robot.

Looking down at it herself, Catra smirked as she walked over to pick up the severed hand, waving it helplessly in front of Glimmer's face. "What? Is wittle princess a-scared of a little pile of junk?"

* ** _clamp!_** *

"OUCH!" All of Catra's sense of hearing was put to an immediate hold as the severed hand sprang to life. Before Catra had time to react, the small yet speedy hand danced around her arms until it reached her left ear, squeezing it shut in a powerful grip as it continued to tighten. "Get off of me you stupid piece of trash!" Twisting and yanking at the aggressive mech, Catra grumbled in fury as she finally pried it from her ear, throwing it harshly to one of the nearby building's walls where it shattered.

"You guys! We have to be careful! Entrapta has traps set up all over her castle." Bow warned as he reached the two.

"Yeah, a little late on the news flash, bub!" Catra groaned, rubbing her sorely twisted ear.

"And they're supposed to be really cool!" As to how Bow was flashing his eyes with stars at this Catra would never know.

* **Boom!** *

The entire place shook violently as an explosion went off, echoing all throughout the cliffside and around the heroes.

"They're coming!" A goblin-sized creature warned as she popped her head slightly out of a manhole. "Get out of the square!"

"Wait who? The Horde?" Catra's question fell on deaf ears as the goblin retreated back to it's hole. No amount of pounding on the cover seemed to prod the creature back out of hiding. "Hey, I'm talking to you!"

"Hello?" Glimmer tried to call out as she teleported to her side. "Come back!"

* _whomp-whomp-whomp-_ *

All around them the continued pounding of heavy footsteps filled the air, the trembling increasing in force and sound with each passing step. Catra was finding all of this so bizarre, never once dealing with an enemies or creatures in her life like this that she couldn't get a firm scent on. Even the droids back in the Horde she could eventually get a small whiff of from time to time.

What kind of things did Entrapta make around here?

"I'm thinking we should probably move away from whatever's making that sound." Glimmer commented, running over to the nearest alleyway with the two following behind her. The destination proved to be sorely lacking in peace as the three stopped several feet into the alley. From the darkened shadows ahead, they watched as a lone broken figure lumped it's way through the alley, the three backing up slowly as it revealed itself.

It was a robot. A fully fledged humanoid robot, one of the near hundreds Entrapta had lying around this place. Despite it's damaged appearance of a missing right foot, dozens of wires strewn about it, and part of it's left arm missing, no doubt the same one that Catra recently destroyed, the robot seemed to be operational as it wobbled it's way towards the three, seemingly possessed by some otherworldly force.

There was no way someone like Entrapta couldn't be working for the Horde if this was her work.

"What the-

"Rrrrrrrrghhhhhhh!" The robot screeched, the high pitch instantly hitting Catra's sensitive ears.

"Ngh!" The pain it caused her was minor, but the fact it proved painful at all from a mere shout was troubling. "Shut up!" With her own personal roar, she lunged at the limp creature with her claws, slicing the head clear off it's shoulders and kicking it back against the wall. What moment she could've had never came to her as the creature, now headly and torn, continued to limp over to them with it's severed arm. "What are these freakish things?"

* _Woosh!_ *

With a single arrow, the entire robot itself was engulfed in multiple streaks of electricity, letting out one more metallic roar as it shutdown. Looking back she saw Bow with his weapon still drown, smiling proudly as he took down the beast with one shot, the very same she failed to after decapitating it. "Tch, beginners luck..."

* _Wham-Wh **am-WHAM-!**_ *

The footsteps never ceased as they got louder by the minute. As Glimmer and Catra hurried on through the alleyway, Bow took a short pause as he looked closer at the creature, kneeling down. "Look's like one of Entrapta's designs. Why would it attack us?" Out of the many strange things he could see from it's damaged remains, one thing that did grab his curiosity was the faint red crystal-like heart revealed in it's chest, followed by a strange steam of green smoke. With the sound of a sword being drawn and a reflective flash of light hitting his face, he gasped as he saw Catra with the sword drawn, ready to stab into the wooden door in front of her and Glimmer.

"I don't care who this crazy girl is, I'm breaking this stupid door down!" She yelled as she ran for it raising the sword.

"Wait, Catra no! It might be a-!

"Wahhhhhhhhhhh-!" He didn't have any time to finish the last part of his sentence as just a foot away from Catra making herself a new entrance, the entire doorway and floor in front of it gave out, pulling the two helpless victims in as they fell. It quickly returned to it's previous state by the time Bow got there, refusing to open up again through whatever means Catra did and leaving him on his own. Pounding on the door gave it no way as he found himself alone out here with the sound of approaching metallic steps.

"Glimmer! Catra! Mmmh-!" Backing up into the alleyway again, he failed to notice as a pair of hands wrapped around his mouth, pulling him into the brink of never ending darkness. There was no one to help him from his unknown assailants, and there was no means of Glimmer to teleport herself and Catra until they came to a landing, less she risk accidentally teleporting herself without Catra nearby.

Still, if anything was positive out of the events of these last few minutes, it was a very valuable lesson Glimmer learned.

It can always get worse...

 

**_..._ **

 

**_..._ **

 

**_..._ **

 

**_A/N: You know I really gotta work on writing less cause at the rate i'm going here, I'm gonna end up start writing 10k words for every 1 minute of the freaking episodes i'm doing XP lol._ **

 

 _Again, sorry if the writing isn't the best, been hitting a bit of a slump lately, especially with the parts here I wrote on the fly here and there. But that shouldn't be an issue next episode cause next episode i got some stuff already planned out and ready, which I'm sure people will enjoy much more ^^_  


**_With that said, hope you guys enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!_ **


	19. Episode 6: System Failure Part 2

_**A/N: Another fun-filled chapter down the drain! ...idk if phrasing it like that actually makes it sound better or worse out loud... Oh well. Going to say there's 8.7k words of fun to read cause I got a bit of a lengthy author's note down below- sorry :/** _

_**Anyway, i'd like to take this moment to make another shout out to someone, someone by the name of HJSDGCE, hands down someone who needs to make their name more say-able XP. As many of you might remember, earlier I talked about a certain person who seemed overly critical about my work and made me question it's worth and detailing. Needless to say, it got out of control. The guy kept badgering me for 3 hours the previous night (Wednesday) after I made my own comment about his catra seeming out of place here or there in a chapter, no matter how many times I apologized, claimed he was probably more accurate, and how he was more likely right, and since he made his "review" a week or two ago, he left me very questionable and concerned over everything he said.** _

_**It got me doubtful and left me in a slump as of late. 1 because apparently of how much anger issues he apparently had, and 2, as to whether or not I was ruining Catra's character or not. While it's not my intention, the last thing I want to do is make the fanfic unbelievable or boring to the rest of you guys who enjoy the fanfic.** _

_**That was until I got HDIJSJSH (seriously hard to remember the name without looking at it XP) HJSDGCE's overwhelmingly positive review which helped bring me back out of it. He went on to say how much he was in love with the fic, like many people have of course, but also how Catra felt in character behind all of this. I was so overjoyed to see such positive feedback and confirmation from someone showing that I was keeping to the story accurately, at least for this "What-If" Scenario I created.** _

_**It's then I learned... that i don't care! No not of his review or anything, I meant what the negative review I received earlier about Catra being too out of character. I remembered the bottom line of fanfics is just that- this is a fanfic! I didn't make this fic for that one person who was overly critical, I made it for all the fans of She-Ra and it's wonderfully done characters. It's that wonderfully orchestrated series that i wanted to bring to the internet for people who've always asked "What if Catra found the sword instead" to themselves. And so what if he thinks Catra's out of character? That's his view of it, not everyones...i hope...** _

_**If he doesn't like it, fine. It's not his approval I was going for, heck I wasn't going for anyone's approval (not to say I don't enjoy the awesome feedback from you guys ^^). All i was doing this for was for the fans of the show. So thank you so much HJSDGCE, i really hope you continue to enjoy the series of the real one and the one I'm making down below.** _

_**The same shout out goes to the rest of you fans who've supported and cherished my work for the last month. It's thanks to your positivity that keeps me going in this and in life so I can get through a stressful life with a smile on my face. You guys are the best!** _

**_I actually had several more paragraphs of explanations here but didn't want to fill up the A/Ns so much so I deleted them. If anyone wants to see a more detailed reasoning for my feelings from this guy's feedback PM me. I also apologize if something up above is out of place as I edited it a dozen times over this morning XP._ **

_**HOOOOOFTAH, that was definitely one of my longer Author's Note's ever. Thank god I didn't start off with another "not much to say" line XP.** _

_**Now with all that said, I hope you guys continue to enjoy yourselves and the chapter!** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

Anger.

Sadness.

Regret.

Turmoil.

Distress.

These were just a few of the words a sniffling Adora could use to describe her present situation as she sat curled up on the bunk bed she used to share with a dear friend.

Every single night she's been plagued by the same nightmare, usually twice a night when she'd wake up in a mad sweat. It would always start out with her in a seemingly black void, completely lifeless and lacking any sort of emotion. She'd forget where she was for a moment until the sound of a familiar friend's scream would catch her attention.

Running through the darkness, she'd find her way to her friend, Catra, as she would helplessly fight off a monster covered in darkness, one she had no chance of winning against. She would try her best, throw in a claw or two, and yet she would simply pass right through the monster with each swing. The monster would cackle with wicked glee at her useless attempts before striking down the catgirl with a single blow of their arms.

From there, it would roar with anger and joy as it continued to pummel Catra with each swing. There, Adora would cry out for her friend, attempting to run to her every time in order to save her. But no matter how hard she tried, how long she ran for, she would never catch up to them, the fight seeming to move further away every time she stepped closer. This would go on and on as her eyes were glued to the scene, ending only after the final blow was delivered.

Sometimes Catra would be in a miserable state, at other times much worse. The aftermath of the carnage was always more brutal with each passing dream, becoming more violent every time she fell asleep. It was only after the fighting was over would Adora managed to catch up to the two, tackling the monster headfirst away from her injured friend. She would glare at the face of the monster with rage in her eyes and tears from her face, and what would she see next?

Herself. She would see herself staring back at her with malicious intent, a wide smile over her lips as she laughed at Adora's pitiful attempts at stopping her and the state of her friend. She would always go on to insult Adora without end, telling her how this was the way they were now, mocking her by saying how much she  _enjoyed_  beating her friend, the satisfaction she came to when she almost killed her. And the previous night was the worst.

There, there was no running from the scene, there was no need to run towards the scene. In it, she saw everything that happened from her own personal view. She was looking from within the monster itself, seeing through it's eyes and saying things against her will. She would feel every touch as she slammed her friend to the ground, pulverize her until she was severely beaten. She wouldn't be able to stop herself no matter how much she begged to herself, unable to tell Catra how sorry she was for what she was doing.

Then, it came to an end. When Catra was beaten to the ground, the monster she was inside of would raise both their mighty shadowy arms to the air, preparing to deliver the killing blow once and for all. And then, she would wake up before the final blow itself.

Her dreams were no longer a safe haven for herself, a place she could go to to forget all her problems, no peace from the memories that haunted her. And it all came from the one thing she had yet to let go of since she first put it on.

The one single headband that granted her this great power.

"I never should've worn you!" She muttered to herself angrily. She would never want to hurt her friend, she would never even consider harming her friend, and this stupid headband made it so easy for her to push pass her morals, her ideals. What sickened her the most was knowing how good it felt to put it on.

The stress since Catra's defection got to Adora the hardest. She questioned each and every day why she would leave what Adora considered family. The people who raised her, the friends and allies they grew up alongside. As if it wasn't enough to think about Catra's defection, it was even harder to hear all the people who would insult and mock her about Catra never being one of  _them_  to begin with, how she wanted to leave for her own greedy desires.

And this headband is the one thing that took away that pain. It made her feel happier, safer. It pushed her negative emotions to the back of her mind without a second thought, filling Adora's person with overwhelming power and entering a state of euphoria. She had no problems in the world when she put it on, and every second since the failed mission of Salineas she's been forcing herself to resist the temptation of it. She didn't want to return to the horrid creature that she once became, the one that nearly killed her friend.

Nothing good came from this unholy gift, no matter how much her mind tried to tell her otherwise. With a grunt, she tossed the headband across the bed and over it, not bothering to look where her headband landed.

Or who caught it in the process.

"I see you've been busy..." The familiar voice commented in a slightly joking manner. Lifting her head straight up, she had to wipe off what few tears gathered in her eyes, knowing a true soldier should never show their emotions in front of someone of higher authority.

Like Shadow-Weaver.

"S-Shadow-Weaver!" Adora said with a small gasp as she hastily stood from the bed at attention. "I-I was just-"

"Calm yourself, Adora, it's alright." She assured soothingly, gently pushing her back down to the bed as she sat on the opposing bed to it's left. "I heard you were forced to use the headband during the mission. How did that go?"

With a small frown Adora lowered her head, staring at her twiddling thumbs. "Not good. Not anywhere near good. The entire mission... it was a complete failure... We couldn't-"

"I mean, how did it go when you used the headband?" Shadow-Weaver clarified.

"It went... even worse..." She said, pained with remorse. "I couldn't... I couldn't control myself... I went insane..."

"I warned you it was to be used as a last resort. What possibly could have happened to make you keep to yourself for the last several days?"

Silence took Adora at this. Why did she have to explain her experiences with the headband, the very thing she loathed right now? Loathing her headband third, her memories second, and herself first, there was no easy way to describe the experience. "I... I turned into a monster..."

"A monster?" The witch of darkness was no stranger to the effects of the headband. After all, she created it specifically for Adora, and she wanted to hear every detail from Adora's own lips. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean I turned into a monster!" Adora shouted angrily as she wept. "I don't know what I was thinking. I just felt this incredible rush of power and the next thing I know I feel like I'm invincible! Then, I'm running around, pulling shadows out from under me, trying to stop Catra, feeling who knows how many different emotions, and then I... I... tch..." She sniffled as she squeezed her teary eyes. "I... I almost killed her...geh... tch..."

No force on Etheria could keep Shadow-Weaver from forming a mere grin on her face, yet somehow, she forced herself to. Not that it would have mattered with the mask of cloths covering her face, but she suppressed it as best she could. To think that Adora, the one she raised alongside that despicable urchin, came so close to killing the very friend she found dear for some reason. She almost thought about slipping out how proud of her she was.

"Oh, my dear, sweet, Adora..." Shadow-Weaver soothed, taking the girl's face into her hands as she wiped her tears with her thumbs. "You've been so troubled these last few days. If it were up to me, I'd give you all the time you needed to collect yourself. Unfortunately, you can't sit by and do nothing around here. You're a Force Captain now, and you have work you need to return to."

"B-But how can I? How am I expected to work like this?" She sniffled. "I don't want to turn into that horrible thing again, I don't want to live with the regret! What if I lose all my control next time and I attack one of our own?" Admittedly, she brought up various good points. She used the headband in front of Catra alone when she was fighting her. She doesn't want to picture how or what she would be like if she used it in front of her allies. "What did that thing curse me with?"

"Curse you? Oh no, my dear, it didn't curse you." She laid out the headband upon Adora's lap. "The headband itself doesn't give you anything you don't have already, save for an essence of my magic I gave to it for you."

"G-Gave me? You mean... like the shadows?" Was she supposed to feel appreciative or angered? It was nice to receive something that came personally from one another, but at the same time it filled her with shock that it was her magic that turned Adora into the shadowy figure in the first place.

"Yes, Adora. You see the reason you were out of control was because you had no control over your own emotions." She began to explain. "The headband doesn't just strengthen your physical state several times over. It also amplifies your emotional state as well. If you were chuckling the least bit, you'd be filled with laughter. If something irritated you, your anger would explode a thousand fold. What you need is to master controlling your emotions, close yourself off to everything that affects you."

"C-Close myself off?" She questioned back to the band. In what way did she need to do that? Forget about all the good and bad times she had? Figure out how to keep the smallest twitch from making her irritable beyond compare? "How?"

"The same way I did with my powers, Adora. What you need is training."

"Training?" She frowned a little more as she looked at the gem in the headband's center. "I... I don't know...I don't know if I can-"

"Of course, I wouldn't dream of forcing you to, Adora, not if you don't want to." She stood as she stroked Adora's head. "But if you ever want to get your friend back, then that headband's the only way. It's the only means you have of toppling Catra's power the next time you meet, anywhere you find each other." Adora watched as Shadow-Weaver began to float away towards the exit, still contemplating what she said. "The choice is yours."

Having left the room, Adora squeezed the headband in her hands. She couldn't think of ever wearing this cursed object again, she wouldn't dream of harming her friend one more time after the last. At the same time, the longer Catra was with the princesses, the more evils she commited, the more destruction she would be spreading under the princesses name. She would never be able to live with herself as long as Catra remained brainwashed under the princesses control, incapable of looking into her eyes if she saw the untold horrors that she committed.

It was a painful choice, if she could even call it that as of now, but one that left her with the biggest chance of saving her. She needed this power to save her friend, the power that could wipe all the evil princesses off the face of Etheria. If Shadow-Weaver offered a solution to master this newfound power, then she would welcome it with open arms, running straight for the door to catch up to the one person she had left.

And she would make sure nobody stood in her way again.

...

...

_"I don't believe it! You actually got the cards?" Loonie continued to gape at the keycards in awe._

_To be honest, she didn't think these two were going to pull it off. With the two, or at least Adora, going on and on about how she and Catra wanted to join their little gang, the very one that bullied Catra endlessly, she thought they were crazy. Even Catra showed more sense in not wanting to join them given everything they've done to them. It was due to that one rule they had on not picking on their own members that Adora found cherishable._

_So naturally, she decided not to let the two scrubs join unless they managed to pass the_ _**initiation** _ _that she had in mind. It wasn't anything she thought they were capable of obviously. In fact she half expected these two to get their rear ends handed to them and punished severely in the process. So when the two came back after having finished the first stage of their initiation, she was nothing less than shocked._

_The two had actually done it. They managed to swipe a keycard from a guard without the guard finding out they stole it and they managed to bring it back here! Man, if it wasn't for the fact she wanted nothing to do with these two she would've been more than thrilled in letting them join!_

_"Haha, you can thank Catra!" The chipper five-year-old Adora stated, gesturing to Catra who stood behind her shyly. "She's the one who did all the work."_

_"Y-Yeah... B-B-But it was all Adora's idea!" As much as she loved the praise, she wasn't about to let her friend go without some credit. "I couldn't even tell what to do without her help."_

_"Heheheh!" Adora chuckled as she hugged her close. With an inseparable duo like themselves, there was nothing they couldn't handle! They couldn't wait to be part of a new gang and make new friends!_

_"G-Good job you guys!" Kyle congratulated, Rogelio nodding next to him in agreement._

_"Hmph, well I guess it was ok... But it still doesn't mean you're in the gang!" Lonnie reminded. The two were well aware of the fact Lonnie had one more task for them to complete before they could officially join. and both of them were ready to do it side by side. "Are you prepared for your second and final test?"_

_"Oh yeah!" Adora nodded enthusiastically. "We can take on anything together!"_

_"Hah! That's funny, because for this one you two have to do something different!" Without giving them a chance to let the information sink in, she pulled out two white cloths from out of her pocket._

_"D-Different?" Catra muttered, looking at Adora with uncertainty. She wasn't useless on her own of course, she's handled numerous challenges and exercises on a daily basis. What troubled her was what kind of challenge Lonnie was going to put them through, the nerves making her skin crawl as she watched Lonnie tie the blindfold over Adora's eyes._

_"Yup! It's our club's philosophy. Every member has to be able to pull their own weight, so if you want to join the club you'll have to prove you're not useless on your own." She grinned maliciously as she looked down to the fearful Catra who drooped her ears. "Unless of course you guys aren't material enough to join us."_

_"Mmmmmh..." What was she supposed to do? She was plenty scared already, she didn't want to imagine whatever sort of horrifying task someone like Lonnie had for her. Knowing her as the bully she was, she might make her jump into an ocean of sharks, or maybe skydive from the tallest building in the Fright Zone! There was no end to the horrifying possibilities from the bully of the sector._

_That's when she felt a blindfolded Adora squeeze her hand softly. "It'll be okay, Catra. You can do this. We both can!"_

_"...Yeah!" Catra nodded smiling, paying it no mind as she was blindfolded next. Adora was right. As long as the two were together, however far apart, nothing bad could happen. If Adora was going to stick through it for her then she was going to do the same, no matter how frightening it got. She was almost certain Lonnie was annoyed at the encouragement, hearing a small rumbling emanating from the girl's throat._

_"Yeah, yeah, save your pep talk for_ _if_ _you two pass the last test. Kyle, you know what to do." Lonnie instructed. Jumping a little as she felt her other hand being grabbed, she allowed herself to be lead wherever she was going to be this late at night, ready for whatever challenge Lonnie and the rest of the gang had in store._

_"Good luck!" Adora's cheer always brought a smile to Catra's face, even as she set off to face the unknown._

_In some regards, this was the happiest moment of Catra's life, one where she felt pure joy at the prospect of making new friends and making Adora proud of her again for being able to do this._

_And it would be the last time she ever smiled so innocently._

...

...

"Hey, are you okay?" Catra's ears twitched as she heard Glimmer's voice bring her back to consciousness. With her blurred vision slowly clearing in front of her, she saw a small look of worry on Glimmer's face as she saw her opening her eyes. With a sigh of relief she smiled a little as she stood up with the ex-She-Ra. "Phew, I thought you were out cold for a minute there."

"Pinky? Ngh..." Her head feels like it went through a washing machine a second ago, rubbing it to try and dull the ache. "Where are we?"

"Don't you remember? We fell inside of here after the trap at the front door went off."

"Front door? ...Oh, right..." Now it finally came back to her.

Out of the three missions she's had so far involving the princesses, this was by far the most dangerous. They weren't greeted upon arrival by a swarm of happy go-lucky villagers or find themselves in a cantina in search of a stalwart sea captain. They were greeted upon by a dozen traps and a deadly robot, at least one that tried to look deadly given it's missing limbs and loose wiring. And after disabling the surprisingly formidable machine, one that could survive having it's head ripped off, she and Glimmer stumbled into the trap door that lead them to where they were presently.

Looking around she wondered just how long she was out of it or whether the vision kicked in before or after she banged her head against whatever. Examining the surroundings, they appeared to be in some sort of purple cage, a small one at that, that connected to the large pipe overhead that trapped them in here to begin with. All things considered, she found it quite fortunate that this was all that happened, less her vision kicked in while she was being dropped into a meat grinder or something.

"Who the heck boobytraps the front door with a dozen different things?" Catra asked beating the cage against her fist. They were definitely sturdy, maybe too sturdy to break apart without She-Ra's additional strength.

"Entrapta does, that's who." Glimmer answered, bringing some magic to her hand to brighten up the dimmed surroundings.

She was going to have to be careful during the entire time she was with Catra. With the former She-Ra already having it out for her after her last failed attempt at transforming into the powerful warrior, any one thing Glimmer could say could set her off. She didn't want to raise Catra's hopes about anything, she didn't want to say anything insensitive, which proved harder when you knew little to nothing about the person you weren't trying to insult, and she needed to be careful about what she did from this moment until they found Bow.

The last thing she wanted was to anger Catra enough to leave the Rebellion wholly, and that was at best if she didn't plan on skinning Glimmer alive in the first place.

"We need to get out of here as soon as possible," Glimmer continued, "Bow's up there all by himself. He needs us."

"Well what the heck were you doing standing around watching me sleep? Let's go already!" Catra growled, fuming through her nostrils. Already Glimmer was getting to Catra's nerves and that was in less than a minute of being alone with the hybrid.

Was this supposed to be a bad thing or a good thing that it took this long?

Pushing the thoughts from her mind, she nodded as she gathered her magic again and teleported with Catra holding her shoulder. Reappearing seconds later, the two found themselves crouched atop of one another as they entered a rather small hallway. Either that or Glimmer's magic somehow shrank everything around them.

"Uhh...Glimmer?"

"Hang on, I'll try again." Once more, she gathered her magic, this time reappearing at the top of the beacon of the mighty fortress that she saw after arriving here. Both girls' hearts skipped a beat with panic as they hastily grabbed onto the beacon itself, feeling themselves sliding off of it.

"This isn't working!" She grumbled, thankful that now like many times of her life her claws made it easier to stick to the slick surface.

"Mmmh..." A third teleport later, the two found themselves falling. Briefly filled with confusion, the two girls panicked even more as they saw themselves falling towards a massive bear trap, one five times the size of their bodies. There were mere inches between the two and the trap's massive jaws before they managed to teleport for the last time, reappearing inside of an average-looking hallway with Glimmer piggybacking on Catra.

"Nomoreteleporting!" She squealed, shaking the girl off of her as she flattened out her hair a little from the fall.

"A-Agreed!" Glimmer's heart still raced as she panted out of breath.

This was by far the worst place everyone has been to so far. Not one location within this bleak fortress was considered safe, save for the hallway they currently found themselves in. They couldn't trust their teleporting to bring them to a safer location, the scentless air left Catra without the ability to tell who or what was around the corner, and the constant minor grinding of gears throughout this entire place distracted her hearing enough to prevent her from getting a thorough reading on anything that could be approaching them.

Both girls were powerless to get out of this place themselves, and had no means of using their tricks to their advantage.

"Why didn't your stupid teleporting work?" Catra yelled looking around. It felt so strange being in a place her senses were dulled, almost frightening a little. Even the Fright Zone had plenty of smells and noises going around to pick up on just about everything within a dozen yards of her.

"I'm sorry! I can't exactly teleport us safely without seeing where we are. It takes too much concentration just to fit us in a location where we won't find ourselves stuck inside a wall." Explaining the details of how teleporting work did little to soothe Catra's irritation of her and the place surrounding them.

"Pffft, typical."

"What's typical?"

"You are,  _princess_. We get to a place where your teleporting mumbo-jumbo is more necessary than ever, and you can't provide for us." Every word from her comment was filled to the brim with agitation. Nothing that came out of Catra's mouth didn't tell Glimmer exactly how she saw her right now.

Useless and annoying.

"Hey, at least I'm trying to help!" She retorted. "If you're so much better at navigating then you lead the way!"

"I would if there was a single smell in the-" Catra blinked as she looked up again. Her nose twitched as she picked up a singular scent, walking towards it almost like a trance as she followed it.

"Catra?" Seeing the girl sniffling so loudly in this quiet place gave her a bit of hope. "What's wrong? Do you have somethi-"

"Shhhh!" Catra shushed covering her mouth.

The air was getting heavier with the one scent that wasn't their own as her ears twitched at an increasing noise. Something was definitely different in the air and heading their way, She couldn't tell if it was another trap or one of these robots again, only that she wasn't going to be the one caught by surprise when it came out.

Stepping quietly over to the side of the wall, her scent went off like mad as her ears twitched to the sound of the nearby pipe's massive rumbling. Gritting her teeth, stretching her claws, she quickly jumped to the large pipe with a hatch over it, swiping at the metal plate that opened it. Without looking she dug her hands into the pipe, immediately yanking out the first thing she felt and throwing it to the ground.

"Wah!" The figure yelped in fear, landing on her back harshly as Catra jumped at her. She wasted no times raising her claws to her neck, lifting her from the collar of her outfit in her other hand.

Glimmer ran over to her side as she saw the strange person Catra pulled out. Admittedly, she didn't know who she was at first. With the strange red eye-like goggles attached to the strange mask she wore, and the fact she was digging around through the large pipes, she at first assumed her to be a robot. It wasn't until she got a closer view of her exposed skin through the outfit and the familiar twirls of hair she had that Glimmer recognized the figure.

"Princess... Entrapta?" She questioned. Taking a quick look back at her, Catra looked over the supposed princess in her grip. Seeing her nod, the two watched as lifted the metallic mask from the face, greeting them with a cheeky grin.

"Eeeeeeeeee..." The princess squeaked as she continued to stare at Catra.

Feeling a little disturbed by the squealing princess who showed her teethed grin to her, Catra released the girl from her grip as she scratched the back of her head.

"Uhh... hello?" She waited for any sort of response. "...Uhh Glimmer, I think I might've broken her-"

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" The princess squealed loudly, reaching the right frequency and pitch to make Catra squeeze her ears in pain.

"Ahhh! Keep it down, will y- ahh!" Before Catra could finish her demands, she found herself suddenly lifted off the ground by two massive purple appendages, all stretching out from the scalp that was Entrapta's head. Catra struggled to free herself as she found her left leg and right arm entangled by the living hair.

"Oh my gosh, I can't believe it!" Catra was too helpless to shout or fight back as she found herself twirled around in every second. One moment she was upside down, the next she found herself stretched to the limits, then find parts of her face stretched by the scientist herself, and so on. All the while the squealing princess continued to jot down information with her notebook in her left hand, with her hair writing in it, a tape recorder in the other. "Observation entry Mark MC-7-01. Assuming it's genetics are similar to that of previous history's findings, I may have successfully discovered a legitimate specimen!"

"Put me down you moron!" Catra demanded, trying to untangle herself from the hair.

"Subject seems fully capable of humanoid speech and movement. Oooooh, the Etherian Science Committee is going to be so stoked when I-!"

"Uhhh excuse me, Princess Entrapta?" Glimmer spoke up from behind. Looking back to the girl, Entrapta greeted her with a hearty smile as her hair returned to her sides.

"Hello!"

"Ahhh-!"

* _Thud!_ *

She completely ignored the cat she was messing with not two seconds ago, the very one she dropped from the air in mid-inspection. Rubbing her sore cheeks, she hissed back to the crazy scientist as she rose to her feet. "Congratulations Pinky, you're no longer the second most hated person in my life."

"Yeah, whatever." Glimmer replied completely ignoring her. "Sorry for the intrusion earlier. We kind of let ourselves in." She apologized.

"Intrusion?" Entrapta took a moment to ponder what she meant. "...Ah, yes. I see what you mean. It's no biggie. Welcome to Dryl!" She clasped her hands together as she smiled. "I can't thank you enough for your generous donation!"

"Donation?" In the blink of an eye Catra let out a small yelp as she found herself being lifted again, this time by her tail.

"Oh yes, your donation! I can't even begin to tell you how grateful I am that you brought me one!"

"Put me down already!" Catra screamed flailing around. The grip on the tail was proving more painful than the fact she was currently being hung by it. What short relief she felt after being let go was washed away as she found herself face first on the ground again. "Ow..."

"What? Oh no, no no, no, Catra's a friend of mine. I didn't bring her to give her to you." Glimmer said, chuckling as she shook her hands.

A look of surprise and depression grew over Entrapta's face, the scientist tilting her head at this. "You didn't? Awww... Well no biggie!" She quickly reverted to her happier state of being as she Glimmer from all around, looking at her fashion sense from her cape to her hair, molding the hair around her into hands and footrests. "I'm just glad for the company! Things are usually more fun around here but right now it's all kind of deadly."

"I noticed." Catra mumbled rubbing her sore tail.

Without skipping a beat the science princess continued on her way as the two followed behind her, Entrapta not looking as her hair carried her around. "You guys should consider yourself lucky I found you. I designed this castle as a labyrinth."

Catra took a short pause as she grimaced at the sight of the blue cat painting they passed.  _Why does this painting bother me?_  There was something that bothered her when she passed by a cat painting in a deathtrap-filled castle like Entrapta's.

"I'm the only one who can navigate it."

* **thunk** *

"Ow!" She rubbed her sore head as it bonked into one of the pipes behind her.

"Which means you can help us find our friend, right?" Glimmer kept wondering if Bow was safe so far. He was a strong fighter and a great archer, there's no denying that. But there was no telling how well he'd fair against vicious machines like these and the unpredictable traps that were placed around it.

"She means  _her_  friend." Catra restated turning away. The non-friend groaned to herself as she rolled her eyes.

Ok.

Fine.

She made it clear she was mad. The least she could do though is pretend not to hate them so much! Everything that happened was outside of Glimmer's control. If she had it her way, she would let Catra use the sword wherever she wanted whenever she wanted... provided she was still on the Rebellion's side of course.

It didn't bother her so much that she hated Glimmer as it did when she sounded like she was mad at the both of them. While she could've been mad at Glimmer and only her, she felt like she was taking her anger out on Bow too. He had nothing to do with any of it so she could at least acknowledge that! If she wanted to be made at someone let it be her and only her. She's the one whose advice Catra took, Bow had nothing to do with it.

"Absolutely!" The scientist assured as she jumped from the alcove they stood atop. With Glimmer jumping after Catra, trying to ignore her contemptuous nature, the three found themselves back in the hallway they passed by not too long ago. What surprised them the most was how it lead directly back to the painting of the cat Catra passed by earlier, getting a similar sense of being captivated much like the kitten in the painting.

_Ok this painting is starting to disturb me..._

"I'm pretty sure we passed by it already." The other princess pointed out. "Are you sure we're going the right way?"

"Truthfully... I don't know. Normally I have my electronic map to assist me with this place but like my bots it's sort of evil right now." Leaning over her shoulder to see the data pad itself, the other two were greeted with the angered bright red face with a scornful expression. Along the side of it were several red roots that trailed around the item giving a faint pulse of red which each flash of the expression's face.

"Yeah, that's the other thing I wanted to ask-"

"Why exactly did you invent killer psychos?" Catra said it earlier and she'll gladly say it again. This girl was giving off major Horde vibes over everything she did.

Robots were an essential part of their war against the Horde. They could be programmed to do any task, they were easy create when it came to the basic machinations, and most importantly, it lessened the loss of other lives. People wouldn't have to worry about their families never returning if robots filled the masses. That much Catra could understand.

What she nor Glimmer could understand was why a princess of all people would want to invent one to begin with!

Glancing back at Catra, she let out another chuckle as she took out several items to examine her closer with, from another notebook, several rulers, and magnifying glasses of various sizes. "I still can't believe I'm really looking at one!" Catra crossed her arms as she eyed the weird girl. Was she supposed to be like those hippie villagers she met in Plumeria? Because the last thing she wanted was getting praised all over again just for being She-Ra and shot down again after several hours. "Why helloooo, what's this?"

"Don't touch it." Catra warned placing her hand on the hilt of the sword. "I found it myself, and I plan on keeping it. And why do you keep talking about me like I'm an item or something?"

"Ooooh, sorry, I just can't help myself!" She went back to her notes as she turned the voice recorder on again. "Observation entry Mark MC-7-02. Subject doesn't seem to know about herself or the mysterious First Ones' tech she has. Could she be from a different society of her race? One that didn't perish with the kingdom?"

"Kingdom? Perish? You're not making much sense here you know."

"Additional research is required to find out." With the click of the recorder she smiled back to the swordsman as she twirled her massive hair. "As for the robots, I'm sorry about them. Usually, they're super useful. They do almost everything for me." She counted off with her hair as fingers. "Cleaning, filing, basic hygiene." Glimmer made a face of disgust at that. "Ooh, and they're sound-activated. Here, I'll show you!"

* _clap-clap-clap-clap-clap_ *

"Ah-! Maybe you shouldn't do that." Glimmer's suggestion came too late for them, even after closing Entrapta's hand herself, as the three felt the familiar rumble of the ground shaking.

Down the hallway behind them, the three saw a massive machine with scrubbers across it's bottom and several other scrubbers acting as hands. Like many of the robots that roamed the halls of this place, this one had blood-red eyes that filled it's vision, giving off the same disturbing hum as the first one they encountered as it spotted them.

Not giving it a chance to catch up to them the three ran for their lives in the opposite direction, Entrapta following only after she felt Catra pulling her hair away. Continuing to watch the robot as she ran, Entrapta awed at the sight of the gargantuan being as it scrubbed everywhere while giving chase. However strong it was it proved during the chase as it scrubbed over the painting in it's pursuit. With this, the painting was scrubbed harshly away from the wall, Entrapta oohing at just how powerful and efficient her mighty machine of washing could be.

"Hahaha! Isn't it adorable!"

"How are you this crazy?!" Catra shouted as they ran.

* _ **Clank**_ *

All three turned their attention back to the metal machine as the sound of it colliding against the risen bars went off. Seeing the monstrosity, the trio watched as it struggled to give chase, pushing with as much excess power it had available to no avail. The machine itself looking back, it unleashed an earthly howl which penetrated Catra's eardrums again, followed by the strange tingling sensation filling her mind as she squeezed her head.

"Isn't that amazing?! It's trying to talk!" Entrapta revealed as she ran over to it's side.

"Whatever it's saying, I don't think it's good." Glimmer commented in turn.

"Tell it to shut up!" Rising slowly to her feet, head filling with a numbing pain, Catra groaned squeezing her head. That strange unholy screech it was releasing was hurting her on multiple levels. It wasn't just the screech itself that made her ears first, it was the strange sensation spreading through her mind, like a plant was trying to force it's roots into her mind. "TELL IT TO SHUT UP!"

"Make what stop?" Her ally kneeled a little as she checked on her. Why was Catra in so much pain all of a sudden? Was she actually in pain or trying to make Glimmer feel worse about their situation? Cause either way, it was working!

Climbing up to the machine's stomach with it's hair extensions, Entrapta grabbed for her recorder as she refused to turn away from this wondrous display. "Bot 329 is attempting to communicate." As she examined it the behemoth of a machine finally pushed it's way through the metal barriers, breaking through it with relative ease as the robot charged head first towards Glimmer and Catra again. During this time Entrapta's dangling hair was caught in it's sweepers, the scientist starting to panic as she failed to pull away her hair. "Oh, no. Bad bot. Bad bot!"

"Ugh, get out of the way!" Grabbing her sword, Catra ran towards the machine with a fire in her eyes, intending to tear the creature into hundreds of pounds of scrap metal. Leaping to the monster's face, Catra yelled as she swiped the sweepers away from her as it attacked, cutting one of the sweepers in half before running up the arm-like structure to the robot's head. With a great big roar Catra impaled the sword directly through the robot's red face, right into the creature's face.

It was in that moment, only but a moment, that Catra witnessed the strange red starting to grow over her sword. She didn't know what it was, she didn't know why it was growing over her sword. All she knew was that during those few seconds of consciousness, something was penetrating her mind.

At the same time, with the machine itself having died down, the princess of Dryl finally managed to get her hair pulled out. With a solid yank of her prehensile hair, she managed to pry it loose from the machine's scrubbers of death, inadvertently falling over and landing to the ground with a solid thud in the process. Nevertheless she was thankful for the quick assist, more so at the fact she didn't lose her hair out of it as a result.

* **wham!** *

The two turned back to the face of the creature as the pounding continue. Up above they could see Catra continuing to strike at the dreadful machine with a furious anger, crying out in fury with each ferocious swing. As she did, Glimmer noticed a faint red glow sparkling from the jewel of the sword. It had an eerie glow, much like the robot she recently struck down. A drop in the pit of her stomach told her to be worried as she teleported to the top of the robot where Catra stood, exactly whatever needless revenge she needed out of the contraption.

"Catra? H-Hey, stop!" She cried out.

It didn't make any sense to her and she didn't care. Everything around her, everything that was against her. All the anger and rage she's felt throughout most of her life was coming out in this one moment. Swinging away at the dead machinery, reducing it's head to a stump by now, Catra angrily continued her assault against the machine as her eyes went off with a bright red.

She couldn't explain her anger, she didn't know why this machine made her so angry, and it didn't matter to her. It felt good. Too good. Every swing of her sword brought down a mix between relief and fury, her sword never dulling and her arms never aching as she swung away at it. She barely paid it any mind as Glimmer attempted to grab the sword, struggling to pry it from her grip.

"Stop it! It's over now!" She yelled. "Give me the sword, let go!" With a grunt, in the one instance that Catra had a loose in her grip, Glimmer managed to grab it out of the girl's hand, tossing it behind her into one of the damaged scrubbers from the wreckage.

"Ngh... Ahhhhhhhh!" She screamed from the top of her lungs as she grabbed her head in painful frustration. From anger to confusion to realization and back to anger, Catra's mind exploded as she felt an influx of emotions swarming her head. Every emotion, the good the bad, the ugly, flowed into her mind repeatedly without end, swarming the girl's mind as she collapsed to her knees.

"Catra?" What was wrong with her? First her unbridled anger, the glowing red eyes, and now this? Why was she suddenly in pain when the machine was destroyed? What did that red stuff do to her? Waiting a few seconds, she watched as Catra's arms dropped to her side, the girl's head dropping with it. Cautiously, she reached a hand over to her tormented friend, shaking her by the shoulder as gently as she could. "C-Catra? Are you okay?"

"...Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr..." A small growl escaped the girl's lips as her body shook.

"Catra?" With her friend staring back at her, Glimmer gasped in fear at the sight before her.

Catra, the friend-in-progress of a friend, looked at her with fury. Not just any fury, a primal fury, one given by any animal of the wild. Her teeth ground against one another, her ears tilting not out of fear but as a sign of aggressiveness. With claws extended, a blood-lust filling her eyes, Glimmer let out a scream of terror as she was tackled off the robot to the ground, Catra pinning her by the shoulders, as her mouth watered with hunger.

Unable to focus her magic from the sudden daze of the fall, Glimmer struggled to push Catra's claws off her to no avail. Staring back at her, her eyes widened in horror as Catra opened her jaws like a tiger ready to devour it's prey. With mouth full of thirst and stomach filled with hunger, Glimmer let out one last scream as Catra lunged at her throat.

"Catra, no-!"

...

...

"...Hmhmhm... Catra?" A familiar voice spoke up.

"Mmmh..." Catra moaned as she rested against the silky sheets.

"Catra? Wake uuuuup~"

"Mmmh!" Catra moaned irritably as she felt something flick the tip of her ears. "Leave me alone..."

"Oh Catra, come oooon, you're going to be late."

Opening her eyes slowly, her vision adjusted as it cleared from it's hazy sleep-filled eyes. "Would you give it a rest? I'm trying to sleep Ado-!"

Huh? What was going on? She could swear, blinking her eyes to clear them of the drowsiness that overtook her, that she was gazing back at Adora. A smiling Adora. A smiling Adora who was in her bed. She was lying on a pillow next to her, wearing a light blue pajamas as she stared back at her in this... wait...

"Wha... Where...?" Catra slowly rose from the bed as she rubbed her eyes clear. What was this place? Where was she? What... What was she doing before now?

The last thing she remembered was... something... something important... maybe? If it was so important then why couldn't she remember? If it was important then she shouldn't have forgotten in the first place, right? It had to be important for some reason, something telling her this was all wrong.

But what was it? And what was she sitting on.

Head still filled with fuzz, she looked around herself as Adora rose from the bed too. She was in some strange bed, a round luxurious one at that, in the center of a barely lit room. As her eyes adjusted to the furniture around her, she saw several different dressers with nearly a dozen drawers on each row. They were neatly aligned with the polyester, standing among each other proudly and ready to provide for her for various occasions.

Over on the other side of the large room, she saw a large desk with a mirror in front of it, a few different combs with different brushes thrown across it and one located knocked over on the side of a wooden stool that stood in front of the strange furniture. It was pure with a bright white coloring, the only other color being a faded pink all along the side of the mirror.

Seeing the mirror itself, she noticed herself in the reflection, looking down at her own clothing with a questionable brow. She was wearing pajamas too, a large woolen shirt that stretched passed her knees. Unlike Adora's, hers was more of a red color, almost bright enough to be considered a pink despite the clear red it was presenting. She didn't bother caring about the mess of a hairdo her bedhead gave her, she could deal with it later.

And in front of her? It was weird. Yes everything about it was weird, but this was just weird weird. There were a pair of beautiful red drapes strewn across the wall, several on each side in front of what appeared to be a window, while in the middle of all these was a massive door window with curtains across the entirety of it.

Nothing about this place screamed fearful. In fact, Catra felt almost... happy... for some reason. Something about this place told her everything was all right, that she had no reason to fear this place. Her mind told her that this was where she wanted to be more than anything else in the whole world.

But where exactly was  _this_?

"Geez, you seem really out of it this morning." Adora commented as she flattened her side of the bed. Scratching her ears, letting out a yawn, Catra rubbed her eyes again as she tried to get her barrings.

"What... What is all this?" Something about this place was familiar and unfamiliar to her at the same time. "And what are you doing here?"

"Uhh duh, sleeping? We've slept together since we were kids, remember?" Adora reminded playfully.

"Oh, right..." Yes, of course she was right... she was right, right? Was this right? How did she not know if she was right or wrong? All of this screamed strange to her in the back of her mind, a scream that slowly continued to silence as time went on. "But... where exactly am I?"

"Heh, you really did party too much last night, huh?" She smiled back to her friend as she pulled the ropes of the curtain.

In a flash of white, Catra was blinded by the penetrating brightness that instantly filled the room. Everything illuminating round her, Catra slowly adjusted to the new brightness as Adora took her hand, leading her. She could hear the faint murmurs of other people, the numerous scents of the fresh air, the sound of birds tweeting beyond the horizon. All of this felt commonplace to Catra no matter how strange she felt about it.

"Now come on, your highness. The people are waiting for you to greet them for the day."

"Yeah, yeah, I heard it a bunch of...?" Opening her eyes clearly, she turned back towards Adora with confusion on her face. "Wait... what did you call me?"

"What do you think?" Taking her hand as she smiled, she lead Catra over to the balcony where the magicat's jaw dropped.

People. People as far as the eye could see. Everyone with a smile on their faces and happiness in their voices as they cried out in cheer at the sight of their beloved Queen. From all over the cheers of people filled her ears as the vastness of the surrounding town overflowed from her eyes.

From simple town houses to utility functions, to the numerous markets that lined the streets and the beautiful clear sunny day that greeted her along with the rest of the town who gathered around a statue from below her. Seeing the statue itself, Catra took in the beautiful form she was greeted with.

It was a statue of herself, the one and only Catra, the one and only owner of the legendary Sword of Power created by the First Ones. The statue itself was designed with the regal appearance of any royalty, donning the unique look that her She-Ra outfit gave her. Out of solid stone, from top to bottom, not a single thing stood out of place, nor a single crack within the stone that shouldn't be there.

Taking a look at the small chuckling behind her she was met with Adora giving a small salute to the still sleepy girl. "Official good morning, your majesty."

"Majesty...?"

...Oh... OOOOHHHH... now she understood! Yes, it all made so much sense now! Man, she was feeling incredibly silly about everything, feeling giddy like a small child at a carnival. Why did it take her so long to remember where she was and who she was? She must've looked really silly to the rest of the townsfolk who greeted her that morning too.

She was Princess Catra, and this was her Kingdom!

...

...

...

_**A/N: Don't think I have much to say I didn't already say in that massively ungodly chunk up above XD. Just another shout out of thanks again to HJSDGCE, and others like Endlesschain, Nightmaster003, Shadow Joestar, Socram, Kraven, Sd, lucian, halo master, etc. and anybody else I missed for their continued support. I hope you all enjoy and continue to enjoy the series as it goes on!** _

_**With that said, leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!** _


	20. Episode 6: System Failure Part 3

_**A/N: *gasp* I went TWO days without posting?! WHAT HAPPENED TO MEEEE!!!** _

 

_**...Lol, pretty simple actually, as well as really ANNOYING. A tip to writers and all, type on your email accounts via drafts, then copy and paste them to here or to a word document to upload :P! It's a convenient way to always have your story wherever you go so you can type it on the go!** _

 

_**Only setback is, make sure you have a stable internet connection, because if it's wonky like mine, it might cut out in the middle of your fic, and, without you realizing, even after the internet comes back, the draft might FAIL TO FREAKING SAVE AND THEREFORE MAKE YOU FORCED TO WRITE THE ENTIRE THING ALL OVER AGAIN X(!!!** _

 

_***sigh* My fault honestly, I should've copied and pasted it just in case after the internet connection lost so I'd still have the words even if it didn't save. With that said some parts of this might seem/feel rushed compared to usual because it's rather annoying when you have to rewrite everything twice, and for that I apologize.** _

 

_**All the same I really hope everyone enjoys today's episode as we learn a little bit about everyone today!** _

 

_**Enjoy!** _

 

_**...** _

 

_**...** _

 

_**...** _

 

 _I'm dead! I'm dead I'm dead I'm dead I'm dead!_  Glimmer yelled inside her head, unable to look at whatever bloody fate awaited her.

Catra had every reason, at least according to herself, to be angry at Glimmer. When the princess you trusted for the first time in your life ended up being wrong about something when you needed it most, how could you not be angry? She needed it more than any other time the last time she met up with Adora, to prove to her in the one chance she gave her that she was telling truth behind all of this. What happened next, one might ask?

Nothing. Nothing at all happened the one time in Catra's life she needed it most.

Why did she blame Glimmer over this? Oh, no particular reason. Some might say it was because she was used to blaming Glimmer for everything, others would say it was because she had no one else to blame. If you asked her though, it was because Glimmer was the one who gave her the advice, advice Catra asked for herself, in the first place.

She couldn't understand why the sword didn't work either, seeing how it worked perfectly the first time she took her advice. She thought about defending others, she didn't think about defending herself, and possibly every other thing she needed to do it, and it didn't work. The one time she trusted in someone else ended in costing her what felt like everything.

So when Catra suddenly went feral after destroying a strange robot, it was only natural for her to lose all sense of self and attack Glimmer out of nowhere. Having pinned the girl to the ground, dazing her and preventing her from using her magic in the few seconds she lunged her jaws for her throat, Glimmer awaited whatever horrible fate lied before her as her past mistake mistake finally caught up to her.

 _Am I going to feel it when I die? Will I know when I'm dead?_  Such thoughts might've been weird to others, but when you never experienced death yourself how were you supposed to know? It was one of those new experiences that you never wanted to experience more than once, much less at all for that matter.

* _sniff-sniff_ *

"Eh?" Too nervous to snap her eyes open at once, she slowly lifted her left eyelid partway, being greeted by a sight she didn't see coming, nor ever expect from anyone like her.

Catra was... sniffing her. She winced a little as she neared her nostril towards her eye. This was beyond weird for the pinned princess. Why was Catra acting so strange? Did it have to do with those red veins she saw growing over the sword before Glimmer pulled the sword away from her? Was it affecting her mind somehow? If she didn't know any better she could've sworn she was acting like a-

* _Sllurrrrrrrrrrp!_ *

"Aggggghhhhhhhh!" Glimmer screeched with morbid shock as her entire body shook with goosebumps from disgust.

That was by far, without comparison, the most disgusting thing she has ever gone through in her life. Nothing from her youngest days of childhood to her personal interactions with animals in the past ever disgusted her like this moment right here. With a single action from a now happy-looking Catra, she created the most sickening experience in Glimmer's life.

Simply by licking her face.

"Ugh, gross, gross, gross!" She didn't care if Catra was still on her or not. She quickly jumped to her feet as she wiped the Catra slobber, two words she never thought she'd have to put together, from her face. During this time the apparently feral Catra just stared her in confusion, squatting onto her hands and feet as licked the back of her hands as she started grooming. She didn't seem bothered by Glimmer's weird behavior, rubbing her head with her licked hands as she groomed herself.

After a minute of wiping the disgusting slop from her person Glimmer shot her attention back to the bathing Catra, at a loss for words about what she was witnessing. "What is wrong with you?"

"Awww! This is amazing!" Oh, right. That was the other person Glimmer nearly forgot about, the reason they were here to begin with. Princess Entrapta, leader of the Kingdom of Dryl, genius inventor who could control her hair like a prehensile tail. The very person who observed Catra with scientific fascination as she wrote down notes in her personal notebook while recording herself with a voice recorder being held in one of her extensions. "Observation entry Mark MC-7-03. Exposure to the red crystalline substance seems to have reverted the magicat to her feral status!"

As she spoke, she wagged a few simple conjoined strands of her hair in front of the Catra's face, getting her attention quite easily as she bobbed it up and down. Angered at the peculiar object dangling in front of her, Catra let out a small hiss as she swiped at the purplish strand with her claws. Seeing the thread of purple continue to taunt her, Catra let out another growl as she gave chase to the escaping appendage of evil.

"The subject's behavior more closely resembles that of a panther or other feral beast than a house cat. It doesn't seem like it knows it can walk either. Did it forget it's basic humanoid mobility or is this another result of mental degradation? I need further study." Oh boy, she could hardly wait to see what the Committee would reward her with! Maybe it would be a new kind of prize, maybe they would give her a brand new title!

Huh! Maybe they would even invent a brand new title for this!

"What the? Catra, why are you acting this way? What's wrong with her?" Glimmer asked worriedly to the toying scientist.

"Science happened!" She squealed clapping her hands. For every thought she was spending trying to explain this to Glimmer, another thought was being processed at any and all possible rewards she would get for this! "See, I've been experimenting with a disc I discovered in the mines recently. It was a total game changer!" The two turned back to the feral friend as she began climbing the walls, doing everything in her power to devour the strange purple that seemed to taunt her.

"It held more complete First Ones code than anything I've ever seen before. But it seemed to have a reacted with the First Ones tech that powers my bots. It infected them with some sort of a virus." Interrupting the two, they both jumped at the sight of Catra falling from the air in front of them. Landing perfectly on her feet and hands with balance, the magicat shook herself free of the dust she gathered, scratching herself behind the ears with with her left leg like a dog.

"But why is it causing Catra to act like this? She's never done anything this... weird..." She was already hoping this wasn't going to be a permanent problem. Aside from being the She-Ra the Rebellion desperately needed, she didn't want to see her friend being stuck as some animal in a humanoid body for the rest of her life.

"Well, I already have a theory or two on that, but just in case, let me take her apart and see." Entrapta smiled as she took a scalpel from her pockets, the scientist prepared for every occasion of observation.

"Rrrrrrrrrrr!" Eyeing the scalpel which glinted in her eye, Catra roared fiercely as she lunged for the scientist directly.

"Ahhh!" Her screams of terror quickly refilled with laughter despite the situation she found herself in. "Hahahaha! This is incredible! Observation mark Entry MC-7-04, the subject reacted defensively at the sight of a dangerous object! She seems to retain foreign memory of important everyday items of interest and objects that mean something to her in some way! This would be a million times more exciting if she wasn't currently drooling with the intention to eat me."

"Catra, no!" Glimmer panicked as she ran to her. It took all of her strength to pull Catra's powerful grip off the chuckling scientist, the very one who jotted down notes without a second thought. Almost immediately Catra gave up any resistance she had as she turned back to the caller of her name. In no time a smile slowly appeared over Catra's face as she began rubbing her head against Glimmer's leg affectionately, like a pet to it's master, letting out a pur as she did. "Catra?"

"Oooh, a breakthrough!" Amazing! There was so much data and details being revealed to the scientist in the short amount of time she's known these two! Who knew that the best way to gather information was to have intruders invade her home on a daily basis! "It appears the magicat retains a strong subconscious memory of people she's met before and interprets as friends!"

"F... Friends?" Did she hear that right? Half the dialogue coming from the kooky scientist didn't make sense to her and somehow that was still more understandable than the person currently rubbing against her knee. "Catra... sees us as friends?"

She wanted to know that since day one. Time after time she and Bow tried all manner of things to get Catra to open up about herself and see them as more than just allies who fought together. They tried socializing, they tried eating together, they even had a couple sleepovers in the past weeks. But no matter how many times they did that did Catra ever seemed the least bit attentive or open minded about being their friends.

In fact she was almost convinced to a certain extent that Catra would never have an interest in being their friend. There was nothing wrong with that on a whole, of course. If Catra wanted to keep their business strictly professional then Glimmer would've accepted that after awhile. Now she was being told Catra saw them as genuine friends?

If it wasn't for the fact the person claiming this seemed to be short of a few screws loose she'd believe her in a heartbeat.

"Yeah, either that or she sees you as the one who feeds her." Sadly that seems like the more probable explanation. "So can I take her apart now?"

"First off, you are not taking her apart!" Glimmer yelled slapping the scalpel out of her hand. "She is a person," she paused briefly to look back at the cat scratching behind her ears again, "kinda. Second, if we destroy this disk, will that turn off the bots and turn her back to normal?"

"Destroy it?" Was she mad? What kind of insane person would want to destroy a creative masterpiece of technology created by the first ones?! Did she not see the benefits such ingenious pieces of technology could give their society? "But the experiment isn't complete yet!"

"Rrrrrr!" Finding an aggressiveness behind the raised voice directed to her  _master_ , Catra nearly lunged for the purple-haired genius again, just inches away from swiping her face. Thankfully for her sake, Glimmer managed to react in time as she grabbed hold of her from the back of Catra's uniform, pulling a bit of her hair as she did.

"I think we can safely say this experiment is a failure!"

"But what if it's not-! No, you're right, it's a failure." She didn't need Glimmer's declaration to get the picture, though she still wished it didn't have to be this way. Sometimes when one wanted to pursue the higher glories of science they had to sacrifice something in return. In Entrapta's case it was sacrificing science for science. Why couldn't they ask to take her life instead?

"Rrrrrrrr!"

"Um, easy, girl?" Glimmer tried to calm down the feral-minded Catra, gently patting her head. "Um... there, there?" This was the weirdest day of Glimmer's life. As if getting licked by someone minutes ago who seemed ready to devour them wasn't enough, patting a friend's head and trying to calm them down like a pet definitely did. There were so many things she needed to make sure her mother didn't find out about today.

She also noticed how the irritation in her voice lasted a little longer than previously, the grumbling from the cat sounding more ferocious than the last. "Is it me or is she getting worse?"

"No, it's not you, it's her." Entrapta said in a happy tone. "Chances are the virus is getting progressively worse by the minute. It won't be long until her animal instincts override her memories and she forgets everyone."

She'd forget everyone? Exactly how much would she end up forgetting? Better question, how much would she end up forgetting including the people she knew? "And... what happens if she forgets us?"

"Oh, she'll eat us."

...

...

"Morning Princess!"

"Morning!" Catra greeted back with a wave.

Ah, this was paradise. Nothing but her Kingdom all around her, the villagers walking by as they went about their day, and Adora, always there standing by her side as she checked over some details in the planner she was carrying. Everything was right in the world, as it always was since the day she received her kingdom.

After defeating the Horde as she vaguely remembers, she was given the kingdom of her dreams as promised upon her by the Queen of the Rebellion itself, Angella. She doesn't entirely remember it being this peaceful, in fact she barely remembers winning the war in the first place, and she didn't care. Everything about this kingdom was exactly as she wanted it from the people greeting her with smiles on their faces and no one scoffing at the sight of her or muttering behind her back.

Feeling a little casual today, she decided to don a more everyday kind of outfit for such a great sunny day. She wore a nice, simple, thin, long sleeve red shirt and blue pants for today. They felt a hundred times better than anything she wore before during her time in the Rebellion, feeling the smooth silkiness of the woolen garments pressing gently against her skin. It was almost as comfortable as the bed she slept in with Adora everyday, and that was saying something!

And what kind of princess would she be if she didn't accessorize a little? She was the ruler of this kingdom and she needed to show for it. For starters she had a nice golden oval pendant around her neck, one that opened up to show a picture of herself and Adora standing side by side like the good old times. She also decided today was more of a nature-like theme for today, deciding to wear a sapphire gold ring on her left finger and an encrusted forest green emerald ring on her right finger.

Finally, she did something this morning with Adora she thought she'd never do.

She combed her hair. She didn't brush it like usual just to get a few knots out of her bedhead, she legitimately combed it for the first time in awhile. She had it nice and flattened so it drooped alongside her right shoulder, clean and smooth to the touch as she had it scrubbed thoroughly this morning in the bath.

Adora also took a noticeable change of wardrobe, however slightly it might've been. Compared to her previous red colored jacket, she was now sporting a light blue coloring, one that stretched down to her thighs. While she also had the same white shirt from earlier she also had a serene beautiful blue pants, ones that clashed perfectly against the jacket. And like Catra, she let her hair hang more openly as she no longer had a ponytail. She let her hair hang loose and smooth behind herself, sporting a pink flower around her right ear.

Everything about this place was paradise, and one she knew wasn't fake like her time in Plumeria. That was one memory she didn't need to recall.

So why did everything feel so strange to her?

She couldn't put her finger on it but ever since this morning she felt like something was off about all of this. Did she forget a meeting she had to attend? Or maybe there was a missing servant around the castle today? Something in the back of her mind kept tingling to her like she was forgetting something important. It was also likely she was just fooling herself too. Adora did mention she partied quite late into the night last night with her kingdom, so who was to say.

All that mattered was that her kingdom was happy and flourishing like it did everyday. Not a thing stood out of place to her, no one had any clouds looming over their heads, and nobody gave her any pause to question. The same day like every day she walked through her kingdom with Adora at her side, and she wouldn't have it any other way.

"Oh! Good morning your highness!" A local fish butcher greeted as he was setting up his stall. "Care to try one of my new Tuna sandwiches? I'm experimenting with several different ingredients to make the perfect one."

"Ha, like I'd say no to that!" She grinned walking over to the stall. Her nose was overwhelmed by the delicious scents of the freshly caught fish, ranging from small finger-sized krill to arm-sized basses and other aquatic animals. Octopi, eels, clams, everything you could expect from a butcher who specialized in all sorts of different sea life.

Taking the offered sandwich itself, she gave it a good smell before taking the first bite. It had a little bit of a strange flavoring to it, tasting possibly several different varieties of mushed fish put together, though nothing that ruined the taste. In fact the taste only got better with every second she tasted it in her mouth.

"Well?" He asked eagerly awaiting her reply.

Swallowing the food with a happy sigh, she gave him an assuring nod as she smiled. "It's great! I think it needs a little less salt though. it's offsetting the flavor."

"I'll make a personal note of that. Thank you your highness!" He bowed respectfully as Catra continued on her way down the street, still eating the sandwich.

"Your majesty!" A woman in a green dress greeted happily. "Any chance you could come visit my baby girl today? We'd still like your advice on a name."

Names? That was one of the few things she didn't think she'd do. Sure, she's been a princess for... however long it's been, but she was the princess she supposed. It was one of the everyday kind of things she'd have to deal with it seems. "Hmm... why not something like Korra? Or no, maybe Gem!"

"Gem sounds wonderful!" The woman beamed clasping her hands. "Thank you so much, your highness!" Catra smiled as she watched the woman run her way back, most likely returning home with a happy bit of news for her husband.

Man being a princess was great! Everyone relied on her for the solutions to their problems and treated her with the respect that was rightfully hers! While some might get annoyed with having so many people relying on themselves for simple situations, Catra was more than eager to answer any of their problems. After all, she was the princess of this entire kingdom, and it was only made sense that she had the answer to all of life's problems.

"Ok, so first you have a meeting with a Duke and Duchess from the North..." Adora began as she went through the day's planner.

"Pass." Catra replied with a smile, holding her head against her arms behind it.

"Today you have an opening ceremony for several new buildings that finished reconstruction."

"Skip."

"We have an appearance we can make today at the public park."

"Uh... no thanks..." She raised a brow as Adora went off the list. There was a strange tone to her voice as she went off each and every thing in today's planner. It was like she was saying each thing as if it was the beginning of her list, not anywhere in the middle of it. "Let's just enjoy the day for ourselves, ok?"

"Of course, your  _highness._ " Adora said cheekily. "It's not like we had any other plans today."

Did she mean that sarcastically? It was strange how nonchalant she said that. It was like they actually didn't have any plans for today, like they disappeared all of a sudden.

"Look, it's mama!" A high pitch squeak yelled from behind.

"Huh? Ahh-!"

* ** _Thud_** *

"Hmhmhm..." Adora covered her mouth as she let out a small chuckle. It was always adorable to her how the kids greeted the princess of the kingdom each and every day.

Catra was at a loss for words at what was going on here. Immediately after turning around she found herself being dogpiled by seven different kids of various ages, some toddlers, other probably around seven or eight and so forth. All around her she saw kids chuckling and hugging her limbs, several of them on one leg alone, and a small child playing with her tail. The kids ranged from humans to other subspecies such as lizardmen and satyrs. All of them were excited to see her like they always were, Catra feeling as if this was a completely normal routine for her.

"Mama's here!" The kids cheered one after another.

"Mama! Mama!"

"Did you come to play with us today? Didya? Didya?"

"Uhh... whose kids are you again?" Catra garbled as one of the kids pulled her cheeks.

"Hmhmhm, don't act like you don't know them, Catra." Adora chuckled again. "They're the kids you had the orphanage built for."

"Orphanage?" That... didn't sound like something she would do. Did she? She didn't have a problem with the really little kids or anything but she couldn't exactly picture herself having an orphanage built for all the children in her kingdom. Then again, every kingdom had to have some sort of orphanage for the poor kids who lost their parents, she assumed, so maybe it's something she did? Who cared if she recalled it or not, she was the princess. She probably forgot about it after whatever other meetings or plans she had for the day.

"Can you come play with us mama?" One of the kids asked excitedly. It set off a chain of sparks as she was bombarded with requests and pleas from the other kids soon after.

"Come play with us!"

"Please! Please! Can ya?"

"Let's play!"

"Ack!" She yelped feeling a step on her tail, jumping to her feet. Even though it irritated her she wasn't about to snap at kids like this, especially in public. "Look, squirts, thanks for the offer and all but I'm kinda busy today." Which wasn't exactly a  _lie_. She did want to spend the day for herself hanging out with Adora so it was kind of the truth.

"Aww but you promised!"

"I did?"

"Indeed." Adora perked up, flipping through the pages of her planner. "Exactly 3 weeks, 4 days, and seven hours ago to be exact."

Trying her best not to show it in front of the kids, she shot Adora a look. "...You really know when to be annoying."

"I know." She smirked back with a wink.

"Come on, mama!"

"Yeah come on!"

"Come on, come on, let's play!" The kids wasted no time as they began pulling her against her will.

"Ack-! Ok, ok, we'll play one game, all right?" The Princess found herself unable to fight back, unwilling to hurt the kids around her that just wanted to have some fun. And she had to admit, she can't remember the last time she ever played with these kids her kingdom adopted. Heck, it was already a beautiful sunshiny day! Who could ask for a more perfect weather than this to play a game or two on?

She was taken back as she felt a small tug coming from behind her. Looking down, she couldn't help awe at the sight silently as she saw a small one-year-old with pink hair, wearing a bright blue dress with a sunflower on it that stretched halfway over her green diaper. The little girl was raising her arms up as it wanted to be held, looking at Catra with a big pair of adorable eyes. Looking back to Adora to see her fawning at the sight, Catra sighed.

Back to the baby, she chuckled at the small kid, picking her up in her right arm, the little girl giggling as it held on and kicked her legs playfully. "All right, come on you. You get to ride front seat." Which was more along the lines of front arms since there weren't riding any vehicles, not that the toddler complained.

"Excuse me, your majesty?" A florist spoke up as she walked along behind Catra. "Can I have a moment of your time?"

"Umm maybe later. I'm kind of busy here."

"But I need your advice on a bouquet for a wedding tomorrow-"

"I said no!" She yelled looking back to the depressed flower keeper. Why didn't she understand that she was busy? These kids needed her first, stupid flower stuff could come second. Why, stupid flower stuff  _always_  came second in her kingdom!

"Catra, who are you talking to?" Adora asked as she, as well as the rest of the kids, looked back to her in confusion.

"Uhhh who do you think? I was talking to the-" She came to a stop as she looked behind her again.

There was nothing there. All she saw was the smooth concrete cement road that went all throughout her kingdom and the passersby who greeted her as they went on about their day. She was talking to blank empty air without a soul in front of her. She would've looked crazy to anyone else who came across her like this.

"Umm... no one, I guess?" She replied with a shrug, continuing her walk. What was going on here? She was sure, almost one-hundred percent positive, that she was talking to someone a few seconds ago. In fact she was pretty sure she was talking to several people at the time. Who was she talking to? Kids? Adults? An imaginary friend? That would've made more sense even though it would've made her look a little loony.

Ah who cares. It was her kingdom, right? She could talk to a sign post for all that mattered and she would still be worshipped upon. This was her kingdom, not anyone else's, and she could do what she wanted with it. She could set a building on fire, provided it was empty, and the people would probably praise her name in glory. It was just her, her kingdom, and Adora, and nobody else. And that's the way she preferred it.

All the while she was completely unaware as the citizens disappeared one by one as she passed them.

...

...

* _sniff_ *

* _sniff_ *

* _sniff-sniff_ *

"Ngggh, Catra, slow down!" Glimmer grunted as she held tightly to the rope around Catra's neck like a leash.

The entire trip through the castle was less than grand despite how magnificent the labyrinth was. If it wasn't one thing it was another between Entrapta leading them through it and Catra's animal instincts making life harder for the last princess with common sense running through this place.

First, there was the exploration itself. Every time Entrapta lead them through one corridor she immediately backed out and explored the other one. It was clear to Glimmer she had no idea where she was going, not that she'd blame her given how massive this castle was from the inside. At other times Entrapta would find a secret hatch that would open a rotating wall which connected the hallways, almost resulting in Catra getting separated from them when Entrapta accidentally flipped the wall again with Catra being on the other side. Thankfully she stayed long enough in the spot to get back before she could run away.

Her navigation was probably the easier of two evils to deal with since the greater of two evils was currently sniffling around this place like an animal. Throughout every interior of this great maze Catra took it upon herself to sniff about the strange surroundings, often at times digging through whatever cabinets or drawers they came across when Entrapta lead them to a room by accident.

At least several times during this exploration did Catra pick up the sound of robots approaching, forcing Glimmer and Entrapta to hide while holding back a growling Catra. It became awkward for the pink-haired princess when she was forced to pet or scratch Catra's head comfortingly to keep her from growling loud enough for the robots to find her. While this only reduced the noise to small purrs instead, it did at least lower the volume enough for them to wait in cover while the robots passed them.

And not two minutes ago did possibly the most disgusting part of this journey happened. With her nose picking up a familiar scent, one that made her hunger, Glimmer and Entrapta found Catra suddenly chasing away at something she found in the hallways. It took nearly five minutes until the two finally managed to catch up to her, resulting in Glimmer regretting every decision to do so when she found out what Catra had finally caught.

A mouse. A lone single mouse no bigger than a strawberry that somehow managed to makes it's way within the sanctity of the entire castle. No doubt it found it's way in during the viral robotic outbreak, seeing how all the systems and sensors that kept such small infestations out were now running amok. That same mouse was now currently dangling for it's life as Catra held it by the tip of it's tail in it's mouth, almost as if she was offering it as a gift or a food for Glimmer herself.

She really wished she did accept it t compared to what Catra did to it afterwards.

"I still can't believe she ate it..." Glimmer mumbled, shriveling with disgust. The only bright side to it was that it was all in one gulp rather than in horrible tiny pieces.

After finding themselves getting lost by Entrapta's navigation or Catra running off towards the next distraction did the girl finally get fed up with playing a game of cat-and-mouse between the two. After exploring the next room, a supply room, they came across after Catra's  _meal_  did she take the moment to examine the room, finding it fortunate enough to come across a couple of ropes that stretched a couple yards. It proved to be a convenient makeshift leash for the girl so Glimmer only had to worry about following one girl the entire time.

Speaking of whom, the animal side of her continued to grow over the course of this exploration. Her senses heightened over the time they took exploring this place, her irritation and aggressiveness towards Entrapta raised as she tried to attack the girl several more times, though to be fair she was trying to study her on numerous occasions, and she started looking at Glimmer as if she never met her before on at least two occasions. It was clear she was losing more and more of her memory and time was running out.

The upside to that was on the one occasion they accidentally stumbled across several robots thanks to Entrapta's navigation skills. While Glimmer could've possibly dealt with the bots herself, Catra roared at the metal monsters as she lunged straight for them. In no time at all she ripped the robots to shreds one by one with her bare claws, ripping the limbs from one another until they were piles of garbage scattered around her. It was the one time she was glad for Catra's animal instincts, seeing how swiftly she managed to deal with them before the robots created enough noise to attract other dangers to their location.

Suffice to say, this had been the weirdest mission Glimmer had undergone throughout her time in the Rebellion, and given the numerous monsters and locations she's been to, that was saying a lot.

"I think we're almost there!" Entrapta declared with a smile.

"You said that the last eight times." Glimmer commented as she held the leash to the girl crawling around on her hands and knees.

"Well this time I'm more than sure."

"You said that the last three times too." She sighed. At the rate things were going she started to wonder if she was going to get killed by the monsters, lost in this maze forever, or eaten by Catra after her memories completely vanished. Speaking of wondering, that was the other thing that came across Glimmer's mind as she looked to her animal-driven friend. "By the way, what did you mean earlier about Catra?"

"About what?"

"About her being the last of her species or something? Some magic cat?"

"Oh, you mean magicats!" The scientist giggled as she took out one of her various personal notebooks. "It's pretty much what I said, she's a magicat. A cat-like race that lived not too long ago really. They even had their own kingdom."

"They did?" Taking a glance at Catra, she continued her questioning. "But you said she was last, right? What happened to her people?"

For the first time since meeting the princess, she answered back with a shrug of uncertainty. "Beats me. They were wiped out some time ago. Some say it was a sickness, others say it was a some sort of accident. None of the history I've read up on really has a specific answer. All I know is that she could be the very last magicat alive."

"I never really took you for the historian type more than the science girl."

"Are you kidding? History is the second most important thing next to science! How else are we supposed to know how civilizations built their technologies in the first place? Plus it makes it all the more fun when you work on a piece of technology never discovered before or one they had yet to finish, like the First Ones!" Just thinking about it made her oodle with glee, squeezing her hands with excitement. "It's like putting a puzzle together when you try to replicate a piece of ancient technology never seen before. And the more advanced the technology, the more fun it is!"

She might not have been a science girl as much as Entrapta but she could see her point. With all the strange things and technologies left behind by the First Ones, there was no telling what sort of benefits they could give to the people of today. Even the Rebellion continues to use and search for unearthed First Ones' tech to help them win the war, as well as assist people with new technology and medicines that can make their lives easier.

Heck, Catra's sword was a piece of First Ones' technology. It gave her the power to transform into a benevolent figure, one who was stronger, faster, more powerful than anything the Rebellion currently had. She could just imagine how easy it would be to win the war with as little casualties as possible if there was something as powerful as the sword to give all their allies.

"Plus I just read about the fun parts of history."

"LIke the science?" Glimmer assumed correctly.

"That's right! By the way, did she ever say where she came from? Did she say if she was with her own kind when you met her?"

"Um... No, not really." It felt like the more reasonable thing to say than to say she was a Horde defector.

It also gave her another worrying thought. How much did Catra know about her own species and her own people? Does she know anything about them in the first place? Have her people been working for the Horde as well up till now? It would explain why people don't know much about them if they were shunned for joining the Horde, yet it didn't explain why nobody ever mentioned them like the other kingdom that joined the Horde.

It didn't help that Catra's revealed little to nothing about herself either. For all she knew maybe her entire family died and the Horde took her in? Or maybe they were okay and were working for the Horde willingly, meaning Catra was betraying her still-living family and the Horde at the same time. Then again, maybe she really was the last one of her kind, explaining her off putting attitude towards others because of her painful history. Whatever the case was, it opened a lot more possibilities about Catra's origins and personalities, as well as questions about her.

And another hint of sadness too. To be living a life where you're the last of your kind, where your're all alone in the world without anyone to relate to, it must've been a horrible experience. That was something Glimmer would never be able to understand, and hoped she'd never have to.

"Ah, we're here!" Entrapta announced proudly as she came to a corridor in the middle of the hallway.

"Do you mean it this time?" There was enough evidence to leave Glimmer doubtful at this rate. Luckily silver tidings seemed to wash over them as Entrapta marched over to the electronic door.

"Of course I mean it! A scientist is never wrong, just inaccurate!" She sneered.

"Uhh isn't that the same... nevermind." As long as it meant their journey was almost over and Catra would be fixed then she didn't care. "Can you open the door?"

"You bet!" With eagerness in her veins she quickly tapped away into the twelve digit control console, unprepared for what happened after.

* _ **BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!**_ *

Upon the final key, Entrapta's entire body lit up like a christmas light as static and electricity danced all around her. Her body flashed back and forth between being fully lit to practically seeing her inner skeleton, unable to stop herself as the power surged throughout her body.

Noticing the strange person flashing in front of her, Catra neared her head towards the lightning figure as she sniffed her. Glimmer barely caught her in time as she pulled her leash back before Catra could get any closer to the lightning rod of a princess, Catra giving a small hiss at this in return.

After another several seconds had passed the lightning show finally came to an end, Entrapta covered from hair to toe in burn marks all around her body, the smell of cooked meat coming off her body as she tingled, the scent making Catra lick her lips in hunger. "Wow. The door's infected, too. It won't let us in." As to how she could sound excited at the fact they were powerless to press on, Glimmer would never know. And she was fine with that. "That is so smart. And awful. We're all gonna die."

"I could try to teleport inside, but I'm not sure it's a good idea." She wasn't afraid of the robots around here and the possible dozen inside the room, she was more worried about the idea of leaving a feral Catra with the girl who wanted to dissect her. She didn't know who would be dead by the time she got back out here.

"Huh! You can teleport?" Entrapta clasped her hands again with enthusiasm. "Tell me how it works! Show it works!"

"Yeah, sure, later, like maybe when we're not in the middle of a robot uprising?"

"It's a date!" She clapped.

"Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrng!" Catra let out a ferocious growl as the ends of her hair stood up, tail swishing back and forth furiously.

"Catra?" She and Entrapta turned towards the rightmost corridor Catra was hissing at as they felt the approach of trembling footsteps.

To their dismay, the two shrieked at the sight of another verily large robot, one sporting a simple brown hat, and a massive arm that towered over the both of them. Like the many robots they had encountered, there was a menacing evil behind it's glowing red eyes, a familiar red crystal at the bottom portion of it's torso, right above it's wheeled legs.

"Roooooooowr!" Immediately Catra lashed out as she charged forward against the monstrosity, her leash slipping straight out of Glimmer's grip before the pink-haired princess knew what happened.

"Catra no!"

The she-beast didn't care. With her instincts taking over a majority of her mind, all she could process was that this thing was a threat to her and to her friend. Like with the previous robots, she leapt across the ground on the tips of her feet, picking up speed as she neared the dangerous being with her claws at the ready. Right as she jumped into the air, pulling back a claw to rip the creature to shreds, did it open it's mouth to release an unearthly scream.

* _Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!_ *

"Rrrrrrrrrng!" Dropping straight to the ground Catra cried out in a beastly pain, her entire body shaking at the sound of the ear piercing scream. She had no knowledge of this strange sound, no past experiences she could remember with hearing something at such a high frequency and sound. All she knew was that it was sending her instincts out of control, her entire body warning her that she was in more danger staying here than trying to defend herself.

Letting out a shrill cry Catra took off in the other direction, heading down the other corridor passed Glimmer and Entrapta. As Glimmer watched on in terror, Entrapta let out another bout of giggles as she brought out her tape recorder again, clicking it on. "This is amazing! Apparently the bots have adapted to the magicat's fighting styles and weaknesses! Hehehehe, they're learning!"

"Entrapta," Glimmer stopped as she grabbed her arm, "could we please stop spending so much time having fun and spend more time on getting AWAY!" Glimmer didn't give her a chance to actually answer the question, and Entrapta didn't need much time to determine that either, as the two ran down the same corridor that Catra ran towards. The bot from the hallway gave chase as it roared angrily, drawing in several dozen bots in turn that followed after the bot as well.

Now on top of the lack of means to fight back, they were down one Catra if the magicat couldn't fight to her fullest against these adaptable fighting machines. With every step they ran they heard another two steps following closely behind them, more bots giving chase as they were drawn in through the noise they were making. As if the dozens of traps scattered throughout this place wasn't enough, they had to contend with the killer bots that never tired as they gave chase.

They were all running through a literal Maze of Death.

...

...

"Are you sure about this?" Shadow-Weaver asked as she and Adora stood right outside a door.

"Yes... Shadow-Weaver." Despite her assurance, Shadow-Weaver could feel the doubt emanating from the young girl. And Adora didn't care.

She needed this to happen.

She had a means to finally fight back against the princesses thanks to the headband Shadow-Weaver gifted her with, and it came at a terrible cost to. For everything it amplified and empowered, it also caused her emotions to run amok against her will, amplifying in addition to the rest of her. A simple laugh left her falling to her sides clutching them in giggles. A single glare burned an inferno of anger through Adora's core. A mere tremble of the lip caused tears to pour from Adora's being at whatever regret she had committed. She couldn't allow this.

She didn't like the headband either, not that she would show her dissatisfaction to the being who gave her such an incredible gift. When she wore it, she felt a wave of warm wash over her. It calmed her down, it made her feel happy, and it made whatever problems she had beforehand feel like yesterday's news.

It was almost addicting, in a way, how much the headband made her feel better after all the stress she's had to deal with up to now. With Catra's brainwashing from the princesses, the rumors going about that she defected for her own selfish reasons, and the idea that each and every day someone could come in and turn in a bounty for a dead Catra left her with fear. She couldn't keep going on like this knowing there was nothing she could do. Absolutely nothing.

Until now.

With a private training room secluded for their personal use, Shadow-Weaver opened the door. Inside, all Adora could see was blackness, a terrible feeling of sorrow, and a fear of unknown origin reaching her heart. "Once you go in, Adora, I can't let you out until you complete the training."

"I understand, Shadow-Weaver. Thank you." She replied with a respectful nod as she stepped in.

"For your training, you must learn to close off your emotions, learn to channel what you must to survive. There will be three droids within the room. Eliminate them, and your training will be complete."

"That's it? Just... eliminate them?" She had to admit, it did sound a little too easy.

"While mastering to control your emotions, my dear." Shadow-Weaver reminded. "I will warn you right now, Adora. The experience will be... unpleasant, but it's the quickest way you'll master this power to fight against the princesses. Unless of course..." She didn't need to finish the sentence for Adora to know what she was implying.

Basically it came down to either mastering this new power and save her best friend, or taking her chances against superpowered creatures of evil with her bare hands and risk losing everything. She might've made it sound one way to her, but she knew better than that.

There was  **no**  choice in this.

"I know, Shadow-Weaver. But I'm ready for this, I mean it." Pulling out the headband from her pockets she cleared her mind as she donned the dreaded band for the second time in her life.

Unlike less time, the pain that came over her this time around was much more bearable. The pain she felt last time when she was being burned alive was reduced to what felt like someone kicking her in the head for several seconds. In addition, the shadows simply gathered at her feet this time around rather than overwhelm her entire being. She could still feel the shadows tingling through her fingertips though, so she knew her shadowy shapeshifting was still in affect.

And, her favorite part, she felt a wave of relief over her, one she was planning to maintain throughout the entire training exercise.

"Good luck, my dear." Without another word, Shadow-Weaver had the doors sealed shut, leaving Adora surrounded by endless darkness.

"..."

"..."

"...So... how is this supposed to help me?" Adora asked herself aloud.

That was probably the one thing she should've asked Shadow-Weaver before they started. Looking back on it, Shadow-Weaver never mentioned once exactly what they were going to do to train her. Sure, fighting a bunch of robots was a good way to practice her shadow magic, but without a means to see in the dark how was she supposed to? Even if she used her other senses like hearing and such that still wouldn't help her figure out how to control her emotions.

As if to answer her question, a voice called out in the darkness, one Adora never thought she'd hear.

"Adora!" Catra cried out in pain.

"C-Catra?!" With fear entering her mind, her entire body shook with the rise of goosebumps. From her head to her toe she felt overwhelming fear overtake her, panic filling her mind as her heart raced. "Catra! Where are you?!" She shouted out.

The voice echoed throughout the entire room, the training facility being large enough to stretch nearly half a mile long in all directions. With such a large empty location the acoustics reverberated all around the walls.

"Adora! Help meeeee!" Eyes filling with tears of dread, Adora took off directly ahead of her, chasing after wherever the sound of the desperate cries for help.

Catra needed her, she begged for her. Adora was well aware that this was all a ruse and yet her heart refused to listen to her mind. All she could think about was running into the direction of the voice, trying to listen as best as she could through the emptiness to find her beloved friend.

"Where are you? Catra?!"

"...Heh heh heh..." That voice. She's only heard it once, hearing the battle cry as she launched an ineffective ball of magic straight at Adora's being. She didn't care if she didn't know the owner of the voice. All that mattered was the burning rage inside of her that expanded upon hearing that one laugh. "Hi Adora~" It taunted.

"YOU!" In an instant, despite not seeing it herself, Adora grew the gargantuan arms of shadows over her arms, claws stretched out and ready to tear that stupid princess into tiny little pieces!

"Gosh, what a great friend you have here."

"Grrrrrrr!" Who cared if she could see or not! If she swung anywhere, she should be able to hit something, right? And that's exactly what she did as she began flailing her arms around, trying to hit wherever the sound came from next. "Get out here!"

"It was so much fun  _playing_  with her. You should've heard her screaming your name by the time I was done with her~"

"SHUT UP!" Forming the massive tentacle in her right arm, she spun it around in a complete 360* of herself, hoping to hit anything. Like the attempts at clawing at everywhere, she hit nothing but empty air. This didn't prevent her from flailing about though, continuing to slam the tentacle in every other direction soon after in vain.

"You know, I'll never get what she saw in you. If you were such a great friend, why didn't you try and help her when she needed you most? It was almost boring torturing her for the last several hours of her screams. At least it taught me a very fun lesson! When you torture someone to the point of crying long enough, their tears can actually dry out! Who knew, huh?"

"ENOUGH!" With another roar, Adora drew the shadows into her other arm, creating another tentacle just as large as the one on her right arm. Screaming at the top of her lungs, grasping both her tentacles together, she slammed the tentacles all around her creating an earth shattering vibration throughout the training room, the sound of metal creaking with each pound. She didn't care if she hit the thing or not. If she got any angrier at the feeling inside of her, she swore she would've exploded!

"Adora?" Adora blinked as the sound of her friend reached her ears again. Unlike the first time, this time it was different. It had a higher pitch to it. Softer, kinder. The one Adora easily remembered as the sweet and innocent little kid Catra used to be. As quickly as she formed them did Adora's shadows dissipate, a feeling of joy coming to her teary eyes.

"C-Catra? Is that you?" She sniffled smiling.

"Hey, can we play games like we used to? That's what friends do, right?"

"Y-Yeah!" Her voice cracked at the sound. The memory of when they were kids was so beautiful. It was before their lives changed for the harder, when training drills and lessons took up both of their time. Before Adora's one mistake changed Catra's personality for the rest of their lives. "We c-can play one right now if you want."

"Really? That's great! Can I choose the game?" The little girl voice of Catra asked.

"Sure! What do you want to play?" This was getting weirder by the minute. No matter how many times Adora's mind told her this was all fake her heart overruled it. It was like her thoughts were coming from her heart instead of her mind and her emotions were coming from her mind and not the heart. It was a twisted experience nobody would want, less they'd be willing to sacrifice any sanity they had left.

"How about... TAG!"

* _ **Pew!**_ *

"Agggh!" Adora cried out in pain as she was blasted from the back, blasting her to the ground.

That was the blast from a fully automated droid, one that began to illuminate after blasting Adora away. The pain from the blast was excruciating, feeling a severe burn from where the blast came from. In all honesty, it was preferred and surprising compared to the alternative. A blast from these droids were capable of destroying a tank or collapsing an entire building. The fact Adora was still alive and wincing was proof of how powerful her physical state has heightened thanks to this band. She could deal with a small burning sensation building on her back, not a hole through her chest.

Gritting her teeth, she rolled over to her back, leaning up as she rubbed the sore spot. In front of her she watched one by one as the three droids she was tasked with destroying revealed themselves, illuminating their entire bodies through the blaster itself, the darkness of this room providing the means for their entire being to be shown.

Thankfully for her, they didn't release any blasts. It seemed Shadow-Weaver made sure whoever designed these things knew not to shoot her when she was down, when she was in physical pain. These bots wouldn't stop until either they were destroyed or they eliminated Adora, being silent enough to tread through the darkness without making a sound, something Adora noticed as she chased all over for these things.

Worst of all, the one thing that made this all inhumane, was the voices constructed into these creatures. From left to right the droids "talked", in the same order that Adora heard the voices.

"Please! Come save me Adora!"

"Don't worry about Catra, Adora. She's perfectly  _safe_  with me."

"Can we play again?"

As quickly as they came did they disappear into the shadows, the highlighting beams dimming around them as they stepped into the darkness once more.

Groaning to herself, rubbing the sore on her back, Adora stood. The seriousness of the situation made itself perfectly clear to Adora.

If she didn't master her control over her emotions, these bots would destroy her. If she couldn't destroy the bots, she would be trapped in this eternal darkness forever. Everything in her life brought a wide array of emotions to her, both positive and negative, and she always had the memories of those emotions to help push her forward through most of her life.

Now, she was going to have to master sealing them away. She couldn't allow herself to be tethered by her emotions from here less she wished for an untimely end.

The Horde needed her.

Her allies needed her.

Catra needed her.

And if saving Catra meant transforming into the most hideous creature on the inside, then she would become the ultimate creature of darkness, no matter what the costs...

_**...** _

 

_**...** _

 

_**...** _

 

_**A/N: And hopefully this nice sized mid-episode chapter made the wait worthwhile ^^! I did have a good chunk of fun here and there, and enjoyed the dream sequence myself. I'll be honest, originally I was going to go for a bit of a different feel through it, but after all the fanbase and feels that came from everyone who was excited, I changed it up a bit! I'll still maintain whatever point I need at the end of course, but here's hoping you enjoyed today's episode as much as I did!** _

 

_**As always, leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!** _


	21. Episode 6: System Failure Part 4

_**A/N: Hooftah, another possibly lengthy (haven't posted so haven't seen word count yet XP) chapter! Not much to say this time around unless I'm forgetting something which I pretty sure I am...hmm... oh, right. Should make a note my writing here might be a little wonkier than usual (wow that was sad to say). A big challenge over this chapter compared to the past ones is that I'm going in to it completely blank. The episode wasn't that memorable for me in terms of big plot points despite the fact I do find it one of the funniest (come on, who doesn't love a drunken-acting adora XP?) episodes as well as the best moral out of all the episodes in season 1!** _

_**Sadly I can't remember much from this one as much as I can from the other ones, and because of that, some spots here and there I had to add on the spur of the moment and while rewatching the show 100 times over. SO sorry if some parts of this are either confusing, seemed rushed, etc.** _

_**With that said, hope you enjoy!** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

* **whack!** *

"Ha! Way to hit it, squirt!" Catra yelled as she and Adora watched from the bleachers.

The day had been rather strange for the cat girl who had just about everything she ever wanted from this place. She had a butcher's shop that specialized in fish and seafood, she had everyday citizens that wanted to ask her for her advice and assistance, and apparently she had a whole flock of children from an orphanage that wanted to play with her every single day. There was even an infant bouncing around in Adora's lap that giggled at the sight of the kids having fun on the baseball field.

Life was good. Nothing more, nothing less. Actually if there was anything less than this then life would've been miserable, and a miserable lifestyle was no way for a princess like Catra to live!

So why did it feel so strange to her?

Did she forget to do something this morning? Maybe she had an important meeting she accidentally forgot about? Or maybe there was someone who needed to see her about a major problem involving the kingdom? She couldn't tell. All she knew was that some tingling in the back of her mind was telling her this was all wrong, almost silent enough to be mute yet loud enough to never go away.

Was it a price that came with being a princess? With everyone who relied on her for every day advice, it wouldn't surprise her if she got mixed up between someone needing help and an important event that was taking place.

Or perhaps she was overthinking it, just enough to make her shrug it off.

This was her day. Everyday was her day in this big beautiful kingdom on this nice beautiful day! Without a single cloud in the sky, she watched the kids as they hit the ball around with the bat, taking turns here and there, as she managed the outfield to collect whenever they hit it too far. It might not have been  _playing_  like the kids asked her to, especially since she spent more time watching it from the bleachers than the field itself, but it was enough to satisfy them as they had fun among themselves while the princess of the kingdom watched.

"The kids really seem to be having fun out there." Adora commented as she played with the baby's little hands in her lap. "Why don't you go join them?"

"What, and ruin their fun? I don't think it would be fair for either side if I was on the other team. Besides, even if it was all of them against me, I don't think they'd let me lose even if I went easy on them, being the princess and all." It was still an amusing thought to Catra.

"Oh, I don't think you'd have to worry about that." Adora cooed at the infant as she lowered her face towards it. "I bet da kiddies could kick Catwa's kitty butt, don't chu?"

This earned several bouts of giggling from the infant as she kicked her legs around in Adora's lap, pulling at her golden strands of hair. "Geheheheh!"

Yeah, they probably could if her kingdom raised them right. She had a kingdom that was both regal and powerful, one where everyone could fend for themselves while helping each other whenever they needed it. If people helped these kids from time to time as much as the orphanage itself did then there was no telling how good these kids would be at a game of baseball.

In fact, there was no telling how good anyone in her kingdom was, seeing how perfect it was. It was perfect, peaceful, full of energy... everyone was happy... not a thing changed during the entire day... "Mmmh..." Catra mumbled staring up at the sky.

"Is something wrong?" Adora asked, noticing her perplexed expression.

"Huh? Oh, no, nothing really. It's just..."

"Just what?"

"...Does something feel strange to you around here?" She wondered turning back to her.

"What do you mean?"

"Well... like the sky for example." She said gesturing towards the big ball of fire. "Is it me or has the sun been like that all day? And I haven't heard any birds since I woke up this morning. Come to think of it, I don't think I've seen a single animal around here since I woke up..." She looked back to her dear friend with a raised brow. "Doesn't that seem kinda weird to you?"

"Mhhm." Adora shrugged. "Maybe you're thinking too much on things." Looking to the sun herself, she smiled as the wind blew through her hair, the infant staring at the sky with her. "I mean, would you really want a perfect day like this to end?"

"Heh heh, yeah, I guess not." What was she thinking? Why would she question everything when the day was already perfect? That was like winning a lottery and then complaining that the millions you made in cash wasn't any bigger.

So what if everything seemed out of place? She was happy like this. The kingdom was in peace, she had her best friend since childhood at her side, and everyone was pretty happy! Why, she could remember how glorious it felt the day she received her kingdom when she... the day that... um...

"...Adora?" Catra spoke up again as a thought occurred to her.

"Yes, Catra?"

"...When did I get my kingdom?"

"Uh, hello? When we beat the Horde at long last, remember?" She rolled her eyes playfully at the obvious answer.

"Yeah, I know, I know. We beat the Horde, the Queen gave me a king... gave me... a queen... Ngh..." Catra moaned as a sudden pang went off through her head. It was a faint one that felt like someone tapping repeatedly from the inside of her mind, almost going away faster than it came to her.

"Catra? What's wrong?" Adora stood as she checked on her friend in need.

"N-Nothing, I... I'm fine..." She shook her head for a moment as she rubbed the sore spot on her temple next to her left ear. "Just a... brief headache, that's all."

"Baaaall!" The two looked back as they heard one of the kids shouting. Seeing it for themselves, the two watched as one of the kids struck the baseball right into the air, flying over the field as swiftly as a bird before finding itself over the fence at the end of the outfield. Catra had to admit, for a five-year-old that was an impressive hit!

"I'll get it." Catra called out as she maneuvered her legs around the metal bleachers.

"Uuuwaghh!" Her ears twitched a bit as she turned back to the infant, the child reaching for her as if wanting to be picked up by her.

"Awww, she wants to go with you." Adora cooed at the infant she was holding.

Catra smiled at this as she pat the kid's head. "Don't worry squirt, I'll be back in a minute." She said as she continued her way through the levels of rows of seats.

"Oh come on, Catra, you can bring her with you."

"It's fine, Adora, I'll only be a minute."

"But Catra-"

"Relax. I'm getting the dumb ball, I'm not leaving anywhere. Give the baby a pacifier or something if it starts crying, I shouldn't take long."

"What baby?"

"Gee,  _what kid_? Who do you think, I'm talking about the-" Turning back, Catra went dead silent as she noticed the sudden lack of figure in Adora's arms. In fact, there wasn't anything in Adora's arm as the blond gave her a curious look. "Hey, where'd she go?"

"Where'd who go?" It was weird hearing her ask this. It wasn't the tone that concerned Catra, it was the seriousness behind it like she had no actual idea of what Catra was talking about.

"T-The kid, the squirt, the b-baby you were holding a second ago!" Catra stuttered, looking around the bleachers near her to see if it somehow crawled away. What was going on here? Did the kid have some sort of magic she nor Adora were aware of? Did it erase Adora's memory of her before it disappeared?

"...Riiight..." Even her reply concerned Catra. She had no actual idea of what Catra was talking about, Catra could tell by her look on her face alone. "Catra, do you want to sit down for a minute? You look a little stressed."

"What? No, I'm fine, it's... I was..." .. Why did she feel fine all of a sudden? She felt like she was looking for someone and then immediately stopped partway through. Why did she feel like someone was missing when they didn't exist in the first place. "I'm... It... N-Never mind." There was that strange pang on her temple again, the one that went off not two minutes ago. "I'm gonna go look for the ball, stay here with the kids."

"Well, all right." Adora smiled sitting back down. "Shouldn't be too hard watching three kids for a bit."

"Yeah, all three of... three... huh?" Now that was starting to bug her. She could've sworn- no. She was  _positive_  that were more kids here earlier, like six or seven. Looking out to the field though only confirmed what Adora had said. There were only three kids, consisting of a batter, a pitcher, and someone playing in the outfield, all looking back at her as they waited for her to get the missing ball. "Uhhh yeah... you watch all three of them... I'll be right back."

...

Jumping over the gate and into the nearby alleyways, Catra continued her search for the ball as her mind continued to fill with fuzz in all corners. Something strange was going on around here, even though she had no idea what. She felt like this town was getting smaller to her, that the sky was looking a little less blue. In fact she could've sworn she saw a very faded red over it now, streaking across the sky as the sun continued to shine over them.

But it's always been that way, right? Yeah, it had to be! She remembers being greeted with that same redness that she woke up to this morning, the one that greeted her every morning along with the hundred or so people that made up her kingdom. It was all right if something felt a little off about today, right? After all, as the princess of this kingdom, her word was law and her rule was concrete. If she wanted the sky to turn red, it could... somehow... and nobody would question it. Not her, not Adora, not that person who gave her a Tuna Sandwich this morning, who... he was...

Wait. What sandwich? Why was she thinking about Tuna now? Sure, the cat side of her savored the taste of fresh fish, she might even go get some after she finds the ball for the two kids. All she needed was to remember where to find a sandwich in this small kingdom of hers, searching under various cardboard boxes thrown into the alleyway as well as behind some of the trashcans she came across.

That was when her hearing picked up the faint sound of a rolling object. Looking out of the alleyway and into the streets of her kingdom, she smiled as she ran out for it, picking it up with ease." Got'cha!" She cheered to herself, tossing the ball a few times in front of herself in her right hand. "Now to get it back to that kid and..." As she contemplated to herself, she noticed another thing out of place, one that made her legitimately worried about what was going on around her.

"Hello?" She called out. She was standing in the middle of one of the various market streets of her kingdom, the place that should always be busy whether rain or shine. It was one of the many cornerstones of her kingdom's wealth, one that supplied the kingdom with currency and resources from traders and barters from across the world.

And in her present street, there was nothing. Nothing alive anyway, save for herself. The stalls were empty, the wind carried a faint trail of dust, there wasn't even a footprint belonging to anyone else around this part of the town. Looking down the other direction she was met with the same results. Nobody around for as far as her eye could see, not a single sound of someone running, much less walking, around the market place.

"Helloooo?" She called out again as she walked down the curiously silent street. She didn't have anything she needed to do at this moment, it's not like she came out here to find a ball that didn't exist, so this gave her plenty of ample time to search the kingdom. "Where did everybody go?"

She knew her kingdom was small, but nothing like this. Sure, it had about twenty to thirty villagers, which made it weird when she compared that to the number of buildings she saw around herself. This place looked like a ghost town yet she remembers the numerous people who greeted her this morning. They were all cheering her name, praising her simply for waking up to greet them. She couldn't ask for a better group of people than that!

Here, however, she was asking for any group of people to appear in front of her. It's like everyone decided to up and vanish, like they decided not to exist anymore. If that was a choice, she would've gladly done so on numerous occasions through her miserable life so she knows it wasn't that.

Maybe she should ask Adora? Yeah, that was the better solution. She wasn't going to find anything out in these parts of the ghost town, and since Adora was still at the Castle like she left her this morning, she should be pretty easy to find. It's not like she was going to get her answers by exploring the empty town anyway.

That was the mindset she had until she looked straight on ahead, seeing what couldn't possibly be real, large enough for her to see it grow from the edge of town.

Red.

Pure, violent, red.

What was it? Red was all she could call it. It was a giant wall of red that stretched up to the sky, the same sky that now turned red as it connected with the red in every other direction of her kingdom. She felt like she was in a box, being stuffed inside of it without her knowledge where no other life could get in or out of.

"What... is that...?" A strange fear was planted into her heart, a warning telling her to get away from the dangerous thing she's never seen before. Against her heart's wishes, she ran towards the bright wall of red. She knew it had to have the answers to all her questions she's created today, all the explanations she needed to explain why everyone had disappeared. She felt that once she had this mystery solved, a great realization would be revealed.

Unaware of how deadly the situation was slowly becoming...

...

...

"Catra, wait!" Glimmer cried out as she chased after the feral-turned friend, as she herself was being chased by an army of bots. This was going to be a great day to put into her diary, if she even lived long enough to write in it.

_Dear Diary,_

_Today my new friend somehow got turned feral after being exposed by some red crystal thing that the princess we recruited was experimenting with. Apparently she now things she's some sort of protective tiger or a jaguar as she seems savage enough to tear robots limb from limb but peaceful enough to be domesticated like a house cat. This also came with all the annoyances such as keeping her on an actual leash, trying to keep her from attacking anything that neared me, and watching her as she disgustingly ate a small mouse._

_On the one bright side behind all of this, according to Entrapta, the princess we came to recruit, the reason she's so protective is because she apparently sees us as friends, if not the people who feed her which is sadly more likely the case. At least it's nice to think that Catra really does consider us closer than she let's on. No matter how far it feels like she's pushing us I think it's a good sign that she might be a little more welcoming of us than we originally thought._

_...I hope so anyway. To the future Glimmer re-reading this the next time you write in your diary, be sure to tell Entrapta NEVER TO EXPERIMENT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE REBELLION EVER AGAIN, and to see if she can learn anything else later on about Catra's species. I don't know what this "magicat" thing is, but based off what Entrapta said, it sounds like Catra might be the very last one. I'd ask my mom about it but I don't want her to find out about everything that happened today, especially how Catra nearly ate me awhile ago._

_\- Love Always, Glimmer._

_P.S., Bow, I swear, if you're reading this again and I catch you, I will personally drop you into the middle of the **Ocean**!_

Yup, that would be about as much as she'd expect to write if she got out of this alive.

Nothing she could do for the time being proved useful. She couldn't use her teleporting powers because, aside from the dozens of robots chasing them, there was no telling where they'd end up. Having tried it the first couple times she was in here with Catra she put them into one horrible scenario after the other, taking several times to teleport again until they were safe. She also couldn't afford to waste her magic blasts since there was no telling how many of these robots ran rampant throughout the halls, and the last thing she'd want was to be out of magic when she needed to teleport.

Sadly, Entrapta wasn't of much help either. Throughout the entire chase as the two ran for their lives, following behind a fearful feral Catra, she was more focused on taking notes on the endeavor than trying to get away with her lives. Every single thing she saw was a great new experience for her. She's never learned so much in one day like this since she was little, and she had Glimmer and Catra to thank wholly for this!

"Incredible development." She spoke into the Tape recorder held by her hair. "The robots seem to be working together. This confirms my earlier hypothesis that they're learning, possibly at an exponential rate!"

With a grumble, Glimmer pulled her arm back down as she interrupted. "Right now, I think that's a bad thing! We need to find another way into the lab."

"We can use the air duct! It's one of the few places I didn't program any robots into. At least, not anything big."

"That's great, but what about Catra?" Glimmer looked back to her friend running on all fours with worry. "We can't just leave her out here on her own, and I doubt she'd enjoy getting dragged into a cramped space as she is." It was troubling to say that was the least of their worries.

With each passing minute, Glimmer was aware of Catra's continued progression into a feral state. She noticed how she became more tense over the course of their exploration through the castle, noticing her hiss a little more often and how she continued to get more aggressive whenever Entrapta got too close. There was one point she almost swiped at Glimmer herself as if she nearly forgot who she was.

Coming up around the corner, the two found themselves cut off like Catra was, the magicat growling angrily at the wall of bots that cut off their path. They came in all varieties and designs, from some being two feet tall to others being four feet taller than any of the three present heroes. Some of them had scrubbers and hoses on the ends of their arms while others had sharpened blades for cutting and shearing, ideal for all manner of tasks between sewing, mowing the lawn, and giving proper haircuts.

They also doubled as guillotines for those pesky intruders they happened to stumble upon the castle without an invitation, or anything they'd consider an invitation.

"Rrrrrrrragh!" Catra roared angrily, the ends of her hair standing up in anger as her claws stretched out ready to attack. Seeing the state of the feral creature, the robots repeated the same procedure they did the first time that started this mess.

All by opening their mouths simultaneously.

* _Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!_ *

"Rnnnnnnnnnnnngh!" Catra hissed in pain as she clutched her ears, falling over to her sides in front of the other two princesses.

"Catra!" Glimmer cried out. There was something different going on this time around, something that made her all the more worried than the last time this happened. All around her forehead, growing from the corners of her scalp, red veins could be seen slowly growing, stretching over centimeter by centimeter as it stretched a fourth of the way above her eyes. "What's happening to her?"

"Eeeeeeeeh-!" Entrapta was torn between the excitement building up inside of her and the seriousness of the situation. She knew there was a time and place for excitement and sadly Glimmer told her earlier that this wasn't one of those times. "This is incredible! ..And bad. It's incredibly bad." She nibbled on her gloved thumb.

"Do you know what's wrong with her?" Glimmer couldn't take her eyes off her friend as she continued to watch. The loud screeching noise was irritating her too but definitely nowhere near as bad as Catra currently was. She ran over to her friend, rubbing her shoulders soothingly in any attempt to ease her pain.

"Yes, though I'm amazed it's happening at all..."

"Well what's wrong with her then?" As they bantered Glimmer saw as the veins grew another centimeter over Catra's forehead.

"Well, based on what I'm seeing, I think the robots are intentionally creating that noise to accelerate her mental degradation."

"In english, please!"

"Their screaming is making the virus spread faster!"

...

...

"What is this thing?" Catra continued to stare at the pure red wall in front of her. Two feet from where she stood, she was gazing at the massive wall of red standing on the edge of her kingdom. North, South, East, West. Wherever she turned there was another wall of red blocking off her kingdom from the rest of the world, including the sky above where the sun used to be.

Why did a giant wall appear to begin with? Better question, where were the rest of her citizens? She was princess of the entire kingdom, who cared if it only consisted of twenty or so people! There should've been one or two people coming to the edge of these walls to examine it themselves and she found herself being the only one. Did nobody else see this going on here?

And was it her or was this strange red glowing a little? Why was it making her want to touch it? Surely, there could be no harm in giving it a little tou-

* _Zzzzzzt!_ *

"Ahhh!" Catra yelped pulling back her shocked hand. She squeezed her wrist tightly as she tried to rub the pain away. The steam rose from her hand as she stared at her burnt fingertips, looking back to the red wall as she processed what was going on. "This stupid wall is electrified?"

* _eeeeeeeeeeeeee-_ *

"What's..?" The air began to fill with a sound, one familiar yet mysterious to her. In all directions, up to down, left to right, she could've sworn she heard the noise coming in all directions. It echoed throughout the air, never ending or diminishing wherever she looked. "Where have I... heard that bef-"

* _EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-_ *

"Nggggggh!" Gnawing at her own teeth, Catra growled as she squeezed her head in pain, squeezing her hands against her ears. What was happening to her? Why was she in so much pain from this strange noise? She dug her nails into her head, trying to push them as tightly as possible against the drills she felt being pushed into her ears from all sides.

It was like nails on a chalkboard while being sharped against a blacksmith's sharpening stone. The shivers it sent through Catra's body was on a whole 'nother level compared to all the past noises she's heard. She'd rather deal with nails on a chalkboard at this rate compared to the horrifying noise that was penetrating her eardrums. It was like it was trying to force something into her brain, make her remember a past she didn't have... it was almost... like...

Her eyes snapped open as the pain instantly subsided. "I remember now..." Everything came rushing back to her as she looked at her hands, surprised and confused at the sight of the rings on her fingers and the state of her combed hair. "I was in that crazy geek's castle, and then..." She didn't need to remind herself of every detail she remembered. What mattered to her at this time was everything else she didn't know. "How'd I get here?"

* _crick_ *

"Huh?" Now she was hearing other strange noises coming from around her. The only difference this time was that it sounded like the wall itself was making that noise.

"..."

* _CRACKLE!_ *

"Whoa-!" Catra jumped back a few feet as the wall started moving towards her.

The wall that shocked her to the touch, the walls and sky above that were filling with red, all of them were starting to close in little by little. They pushed passed the ground that seemingly blocked it's way, crushing it under it's terrible redness as the ground itself shook violently. Catra backed away slowly as she saw all the walls closing around her from every direction of the kingdom. With the world slowly sinking in on her, the only safe location she could think of to buy herself some time was the castle itself, the center of all this oncoming destruction.

More importantly, it reminded her of another crucial detail that mattered to her. "Adoraaa!" Catra screamed running back to the castle. She couldn't explain why she was there, she barely knew how she got here herself in the first place. All she knew was that her friend was still here in this crumbling kingdom, and she's the only one that mattered to her around here...

...

...

"Ghhhh!" Catra continued to growl in the outside world, the red veins growing across her forehead continuing to stretch.

"Haaah!" Glimmer screamed as she fired another bolt of magic at one of the approaching robots, blasting it's head off as she backed closer towards Catra. She panted out of breath at the excess of energy they were spending. If they were just screaming in annoyance in an attempt to hasten Catra's viral spreading, that'd be one thing. It'd be easy to deal with these things if they stood in one spot while screaming. Even though there weren't any more of them approaching, the twenty or so that still remained proved irritating enough for the three of them.

Unfortunately, the robots weren't content with standing in one spot while playing a degrading sound affect. They approached one by one on the group as they seemed strangely focused on Catra herself, drawing closer to the magicat in distress who squeezed her head in pain, groveling on the floor. She didn't know what they wanted or why they were so focused on her and she didn't care, She wouldn't allow them to harm her friend without getting through her first!

Hopefully not literally.

* ** _CRASH!_** *

Speaking of protecting her, it was nice to know Entrapta was willing to put the safety of others first and foremost and the necessity to study every little detail second, no matter how much it seemed to pain her. Stretching her hairs from pipe to pipe that crossed the ceiling, she managed to get atop one of the monstrosities, sinking her hair straight into the small cracks and openings of the robot's limbs before yanking the heads off whichever ones she could. So far, the count was five for Glimmer and three for Entrapta, the scientist getting momentarily zapped once or twice after the last two robots she dismantled directly.

And it still wasn't enough to halt their advance. Several times throughout the fighting did the girls find themselves nearly getting cleaved by a giant pair of scissors or find themselves flattened by a giant mallet-like hand pressing down where they once stood. The robots didn't need reinforcements as their special qualities and numbers gave them an edge over the two and the downed friend they were too focused on protecting.

"Agh!" Glimmer groaned in pain as she was suddenly slammed to the ground by two different robots. The one on her chest was actually torn in half, the upper torso maintaining a strong grip on the girl's shoulders as the other massive one, one with two giant tanks of water equipped to it's back, pressing her down with the other bot helping it. Struggling to break free, her magic too exhausted to attempt any teleporting, she found her face being drenched in a waterfall of liquid, all pouring out of the robot's giant mouth, the deluge pouring over her entire face without end.

_I can't breathe!_  She screamed to herself, kicking her legs in order to achieve any form of slack to slip out of either robot's grip. It proved useless as the two pinned her in unison, Glimmer helpless to pull away from the two as the torrent of water continued to suffocate her, not even a fourth of it's tanks emptied as it continued.

Entrapta was ensnared by two other robots, the one to trap her taking the form of a robotic barber. Like any classy barber, he donned a white apron with a curly, albeit fake, white mustache, a rather slim body given it's surprising strength. Using it's efficient rotational comb to catch Entrapta's hair as she flung it at him. In no time at all, the robot drew in the princess's hair, pulling her over to it as she struggled to untangle her hair.

"Ack! Let go!" She yelled, pulling at it in a futile attempt at freeing herself. Looking ahead of her again at the sound of a strange buzzing noise, she realized the robot pulling her in was the least of her problems. The actual robot she had to worry about was the one with a buzzsaw for a hand, one of a dozen ideal robots for construction and refurbishing parts around here, drawing towards her with the enraged glowing redness like the others. "Wait! Wait! At least donate my body to science!"

Sure, she could handle getting chopped up into bits and mauled to a bloody pulp, but she couldn't go on living with herself without contributing one more thing to the world in the name of science!

All this left an agonizing Catra to grovel as a hulking figure loomed over her. Her entire body was wracked with pain, the instincts incapable of doing anything to defend itself as the ear shattering screams continued to torment her to no end. Her entire body felt paralyzed as as the mech approached her. She couldn't lift her finger, she couldn't kick her leg, even her tail was shaking against her will. There was nothing she could do to defend herself.

There was nothing any of them could do to save themselves.

And they didn't have to.

* **BOOM!** *

"Haaaaugh!" Glimmer gasped for breath as the endless waters finally came to an end. She coughed up a mouthful of water as she could feel the air flowing through her nose again, panting heavily for the breath of life that eventually returned. Above her she saw the blown remains of what used to be the giant robot's head, the bot stuttering back and forth briefly until it finally fell backwards with a massive thud. Looking to the other bot who pinned her shoulders down, the small figure barely saw the oncoming attack until it was too late, finding it's head smashed away by a friend's weapon she was all too familiar to. "Bow!" She never felt so glad to see him!

Or the reinforcements he brought as the entire area filled with a white, hazy, smoke.

"Come on!" She heard Bow yell. It wasn't directed to her though, but to the friends he apparently brought with him. Not wasting a moment he fired off two more arrows into the distance, bringing down the robot that had ensnared Entrapta and the one that was a foot away from giving her a permanent haircut. Squirming with fear she untangled from the mass entanglement, pulling it out and running towards Glimmer as the other bots approached from behind her.

Coming through the clouds Glimmer watched as his allies charged headfirst towards the robot, one consisting of what appeared to be a butler with various refreshment bottles, a large pastry chef with her light-green bundled up in a simple bow, and a small younger servant who appeared to be about one foot shorter than bow himself. While she had numerous questions to ask she was more than willing to put that on hold- there were still bots to deal with.

With the smoke obstructing the views of the twenty or so bots, all of them ceased their screeching in unison, finding the bizarre happening to be all too distracting. Almost immediately, the feral Catra's eyes shot open with fury as she leaped upwards at the robot who nearly grabbed her, digging her claws straight through the robot and pulling out several wires that let loose electrical sparks until it's life faded away. Without skipping a beat she angrily jumped towards the next closest robot as she continued her rampage.

The pastry chef continued her charge towards several of the smaller bots as she easily bashed them out of the way with her mighty arms. Coming across the fourth bot that matched her size and possible strength, she quickly dug through her apron's pockets as she blasted two cake filling's worth of frosting at the monstrosity, blinding it and pushing it back enough to trip it backwards to the ground. Before it could get up the pastry chef happily crushed it's metallic head under her heel, grinning to herself as she did.

It would make for a crazy tale to tell her kids, if she had any in the future, how she defeated a bunch of psychotic robots with the power of pastry.

Meanwhile the other two servants were working together as they continued to fight off the bots with their own unique skills. The gentleman of the two began spraying several bottles worth of refreshments across the floor, tripping two of the robots and short-circuiting one of the bots that were low to the ground. With the grounds freshly watered and slippery, he smiled back to the shorter servant as he pulled her hand and slid her against the watery surface. Sliding against the floor the servant whisked a dozen round dishes through the air with enough precision to cleave many of the robots' heads, destroying them instantly.

The brief moment of joy she felt at her personal accomplishment quickly turned to terror as she ended up colliding into a hulking robot at the end of her slide. The arms of the terrifying bot were thicker than her entire body, its fingers almost the same size of her head.

Temporarily frozen with fear, she could only watch as the bot raised it's massive fist over her head, ready to strike down. Just as it was about to deliver the first blow, Bow jumped into the scene at the last second, planting his feet straight onto the robot's shoulders as he aimed towards it. It took a single arrow through it's head to destroy the terrible creature, the bot trembling with sparks of electricity dancing around it's entire body as it slammed back to the ground.

With the smoke clearing the three previous princesses looked on with joy, Catra mildly confused, as the robots surrounding them were all finally destroyed. All that was left of them were broken parts and loose nuts, a few of them leaking oils that fueled some of them, and broken pieces of scrap all around the room.

This was definitely a victory Bow would never forget.

"Bow!" Glimmer cheered happily as she ran to him, hugging him tightly as he returned with the same. "Thank goodness you're all right! I was so worried!"

"I'm glad to see you're okay too." He replied as he gestured to the other three. "You can thank them for saving me up above. I might never have found you if it wasn't for them." Looking around, he smiled over to the other princess in the room, walking over to her for a formal greeting. "Big fan of your work, Princess Entrapta." He bowed, kicking away a twitching hand as he did. "Maybe not this work exactly, but your other work."

"Haha... Hi..." She chuckled nervously, shaking his hand with her hair to which Bow kissed respectfully.

* _sniff-sniff_ *

"Uhh... Catra?" That left him to check on the last remaining friend in the room, the same one he questioned as she circled him on her hands and knees. "Uh why is she sniffing my legs like that?"

"Long story short," Glimmer replied as she grabbed Catra's makeshift leash, "Entrapta accidentally created some virus from a disc that's affecting the robots and somehow infected Catra's sword too, and her along with it. She's been acting like a wild animal all day." Worry came over her as she noticed Catra's forehead. Even after the robots were destroyed, the red veins growing over her forehead had yet to recede. "We need to get back into the lab and turn off the disc to turn her back to normal before she forgets us!"

"Heh, I don't see what the big deal is." Bow commented squatting down. He stuck his hand out in front of her for her to sniff. "Even if she forgets us, we'll just stop the disc thing. It's not that bad."

* _snap!_ *

"Whoa!" Bow flinched back as the feral magicat attempted to bite at the stranger's hand. Glimmer pulled back on the rope as she noticed Catra's aggressive state, the girl hissing at him with anger and distrust. "I take that back. But it still means we just have to destroy the virus and she'll be back to normal, right?"

"Well not as long as you don't think about the degradation effect it'll have on her after." Entrapta added in, earning looks from Bow and Glimmer.

"Wait, what do you mean by  _after_?" Glimmer felt a lump forming in her throat as she asked the dreadful question. "I thought you said she would only forget us after awhile?"

"Oh... I didn't mention that part?" The scientist poked the tips of her hair and her fingers with a nervous chuckle. "Yeeeeeah, it doesn't really matter if you destroy the virus if her entire mind is corrupted by then. It'll affect her permanently afterwards."

"And... what exactly will happen if her entire mind is corrupted by the virus?" Why did the only questions that came to her have to be questions that worried her the most?

"Oh... there won't be anything."

"Oh..." She's never been more thankful to hear the results of a question that was filling her being with fear. Bow himself smiled to her at that. "That's a relief. For a second there I thought you were going to say something bad would happen."

"N-No, I mean... there wouldn't be anything left of the Catra you know. She'll be gone forever."

...

* _clang_ *

Unscrewing the hatch of the air vent, Entrapta slowly made her way out of the crawlspace, Catra following closely behind her as she tried to bat at her hair she was being baited with.

With the track record that's been going on for awhile, Glimmer refused to think things couldn't possibly get worse from here. On top of Catra forgetting all about them, now she's saying Catra, the one they've come to know for the last few weeks, would be gone. That was no different than saying "Catra will die" if her entire sense of self was erase from existence!

The trip up to this point was met without resistance. There weren't any other robots the group came across as they traversed the air vents to the main control room, the origin point of the viral outbreak. Catra didn't appear to be getting any worse during the travel but she seemed a lot more hesitant and untrusting of Glimmer as she tried to egg her along into getting into the air vents. Eventually Entrapta came up with the creative idea to lure the girl around with her own hair, angering the cat enough to make her follow the purple monster all the way through the vents.

She was glad she didn't get her hair tangled up in her claws during the last several times she managed to nab at it.

The room itself was in the worst condition compared to the rest of the castle. All around the walls, stretching to the ceilings and floors, the room was filled with red vein-like roots that grew in every direction. Everything the roots touched stemmed from the one location of the entire virus, the viral disc itself, that was implanted in the large computer at the far end of the room. As expected, surrounding the computer were dozens of bots, all standing guard to protect the master core that gave them all aggressive life.

Sneaking behind the wreckage of the room as the others crawled out of the vent, Entrapta glanced through a small opening, Bow standing right alongside her and looking through another opening. "Okay. Where's the disc?" He whispered.

It was during this time Catra silently hissed back to the rope-like leash that was kept around her neck. The thing irritated her to no end, brushing against her fur-like skin with every moment. Noticing Glimmer's distracted state, she began gnawing on the evil leash like a wolf caught in a trap, eating away at the bondage that angered her to no end.

Pointing over the distance, Bow saw the overgrown computer that the bots had been guarding, a single glow shining from the source of the corruption. Roots had grown over the core itself in protection, the roots keeping a firm hold. "How fascinating. It has completely protected itself! I wonder if the bots surrounding it guard it out of direct orders or out of free will?"

"All right. We need to find a way to turn it off." Bow whispered back to the others behind him. "Does anybody have an idea?"

"Rrrrrrrrragh!" Catra roared angrily as she charged head first into the swarm of bots. Pupils shrinking, Glimmer took a double take between Catra and the rope that she ate through, panicking as she saw her method of escape.

"Catra, no!" Glimmer shouted, running after her as her magic was too tapped to teleport.

"Glimmer!" Bow shouted after.

"We'll take care of your friends." The pastry chef stated, rolling pins at the ready in her hands. "You two get that disc turned off."

"Keep them busy." Bow smiled at the assurance, proud that his new friends had the confidence they needed to chase after his friends. Grabbing onto Bow with one of her ponytails, Entrapta shot her long hair extension towards the ceiling, swinging themselves over as the rest of her friends dealt with the bots.

The worry they had for Catra's well-being proved unnecessary as Catra dove into the crowd of the bots, diving both her claws into the first two bots as the rest started to swarm her. None of them were any match for the feline as her quick reflexes worked to her advantage, swiping and clawing at the numerous limbs that came at her before the bots could so much as reach her. It didn't leave Glimmer without worry that her friend was fighting on her own, especially as she saw the small red veins growing closer over her forehead, stretching past her eyes.

The same worry was well-placed as she watched Catra getting grabbed entire torso, pinning her arms to her side. The bot had an arm twice the size of it's body, lifting her off her feet as she struggled to squeeze out of his grip. With the cat failing to pry his grip her, the bot opened it's massive mouth as let out another maniacal scream, right in front of Catra's face.

* _ **SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!**_ *

"Rnnnnnnnngh!" Catra cried out in pain, unable to close her ears as the bot kept her arms pinned together. The veins over her head pulsed brightly as they grew at an exponential rate, growing closer by the inch over a few seconds. There was nothing she could do to protect her sensitive ears or her mind as the virus spread all throughout her brain.

* _Wham!_ *

Dropping the cat girl, Catra fell to the ground as the young servant's foot planted straight into the bot's massive face, kicking it to the ground as she leaped away. Seeing the bot ceasing it's function, she turned her attention towards the downed comrade that she was tasked with saving.

At the same time, the two other servants ran side by side as they passed Glimmer, tackling the robots that neared the princess of Bright Moon. With her pins the chef pounded away at the incoming bots, bashing them out of the way as the other servant short-circuited the others with ample amounts of liquid. The two cleared the path for her as she ran up to Catra in the middle of the room, the girl appearing passed out as Glimmer kneeled, raising her up by her shoulders.

"Catra! Catra wake up!" Glimmer yelled as the smaller servant ran off to take care of the other bots. She had no idea how Catra was, seeing the veins in her head were a single inch apart from each other. Any more and she was sure Catra would forget everything about her, everything about all of them. As Entrapta put it, the Catra they knew would be gone forever.

An ounce of relief filled her as she saw her friend wincing a little, beating the alternative of never waking up at all. Noticing a small twitch in her clawed hands, Glimmer sighed as she turned towards the three servants who continued to bat away at the oncoming enemies. She's never felt as useless as she did now without her magic, unable to assist the others without a weapon and her magic nearly depleted.

At least she could take heart that Catra was fi-

* **Bash!** *

"Ahhh!" The refreshment server yelped as Glimmer was thrown into him, the two crashing against the floor as the other two looked back. With the crash coming to a halt Glimmer picked herself up off the servant, helping him to his feet as she did, then turned her shocked expression over to the one who attacked her.

It wasn't a bot. It wasn't some red giant root that sprang to life.

It was Catra. The magicat who stood on her own two feet, body shaking as her head was lowered. She nor Bow, the latter looking back from the computer he and Entrapta reached, could believe what she just did. That wasn't a play of a teasing or joking manner, she didn't get annoyed with something and wanted whomever to stop. She straight up attacked Glimmer, throwing her into the air so she'd crash into one of the servants who destroyed a bot a second earlier.

Lifting her head, the other four were met with her face. The face of a monster whose pupils glowed red with fury. She gnarled her teeth together as a threat towards the others, Glimmer gasping as she saw several robots approaching behind her. But they didn't attack her, they didn't stare at her with the threatening red that they glared at her with.

They were standing side by side, as if allies in arms.

_**"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!**_ _ **"**_ With a massive scream of rage, Catra stretched her claws out fully, growling at the other fleshy creatures with unparalleled fury. Catra had join the side of the other bots, roaring angrily as she took the charge of the surrounding bots, pressing on the attack.

Catra had been taken by Virus.

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**A/N: And with that, we're one chapter away from finishing the episode ^^! Which is especially great since it means I'll be going back into writing the episodes I remember more entirely. And because of that, I'll be adding my own spins on them which I manage to write out faster than anything scene for scene.** _

_**Translation: it means faster updates again ^^** _

_**Gonna apologize up front because despite the above cliffhangar, the fight itself might be a little short (still a couple thousand words and whatnot) since we are seirously at the last 3-4 minutes of the episode here XP, but i promise it'll still have a nice length ^^** _

_**We're almost there guys! We're almost half-ish way through season 1 ^^! dear god i am praying I get this done before season 2 cause I'll never be able to watch it till I get this one done so I can keep this up in turn with the series XP.** _

_**With that said, hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!** _


	22. Episode 6: System Failure Finale

_**A/N: Hooftah, with a near 11k Words, I am proud to announce we are practically haflway done folks! HALLELUJAH!** _

_**Now as I mentioned last chapter, don't expect that much of a "fight scene", i mean there is basically like 1 minute of the fight left and whatnot. I still think the chapter should be plenty fun though as we get bring our episode to a close, as well as another grandiose flashback regarding Catra's past.** _

_**Hope everyone enjoys!** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

"Adoraaaa!" Catra continued to yell as she ran through her shrinking kingdom.

Everywhere she looked, everything she saw, buildings, the ground, the air itself, all of it was being consumed by the dreadful red light, destroying everything it touched as it shrank onto the kingdom. There was no touching the wall of death, having burnt her fingers from a static discharge it gave the first time she tried it. And all through this chase, this giant run through the city, there were two questions plaguing her.

One, what was this obnoxious screeching sound she heard all throughout the city? During her run through the city, there was this low pitch screech noise that irritated her ears. Thankfully it was quiet enough not to mess with her senses directly, though that still left the question of where it was coming from to begin with. Were the walls making the noise? It sounded like it came from every direction, so that seemed like the most probable solution. At the same time though, it was hollowed out, almost waning. Where was the source of the noise coming from?

Second question, where was everyone else? This entire place was her kingdom, she realized that part of it. What she couldn't figure out was where she was or how she got here. She remembered going on a mission with Glimmer and Bow, going to Entrapta's Castle, and that's it. From there, she woke up, and the next thing she knew she was outside this entire place after the screeching sound began. She couldn't remember it, she couldn't remember anything!

The one thing she remembered was that there was one other person in this entire kingdom, the one person she knew would be at the castle, which supposedly belonged to her.

Looking behind herself as she ran, she gulped silently as she saw the continued desecration of her kingdom, the red walls coming in every direction. She didn't know where the two of them would go from here. All she knew was that anywhere would be better than this. As long as she found Adora, things would be fine.

Coming to the giant wooden doors to her castle, she grunted as she pushed with as much for as she muster, nudging the door inch by inch as she made her way through. She didn't know if these things could destroy everything as quickly as they moved, but if anything could slow it down she hoped these doors could.

Finally managing to slide herself in, she wasted no time turning and slamming the doors shut, slouching against the door as she panted out of breath. That might've been the longest run she's ever gone without slowing down, spanning over three miles to reach the center of her kingdom. "Huff... Huff... Ado... Adora!" Catra called out, being met with a silent echo all throughout the place. Her heart raced a little from the lack of response to this. Was she still here? Oh no, what if she left?! "Adora! Adoraaaa! Where are you?"

"I'm here Catra, I'm fine." Adora yelled back casually as she walked down the large staircase. Catra managed to ease her tension a little, rubbing the center of her chest as she tried to steady her pacing heart. Adora was alive and well, greeting her as she reached the bottom of the stairs. "Geez, you look like you've seen a ghost. Are you okay?" She asked placing a soothing hand on her shoulder.

"There's no time to explain!" Catra yelled. "We need to get out of here, now!"

"Get out of here?" Adora blinked in confusion at the sudden announcement. "Why? What's the hurry?"

* ** _CRACKLE_** *

There was no need to answer her directly. The two of them were drawn towards the door at the sound of the fierce crackling of ground and building. To Catra's shock, the doors and walls of this place proved useless against the horrifying might of the red. Seething at the sight of the red approaching her, Catra grabbed Adora's hand as she took off up the stairs. "I don't know, we just need to get out of here while we still can!"

"And go where?" Adora questioned as she continued to look at the red wall while running.

"I don't know! Maybe there's a secret passage around here? Some magic to teleport us?" There was no telling what they had in this castle, having lost most of her non-essential memories upon her memory's return. For all she knew they might have a time traveling wizard that could turn the clock back for them. "I don't care! Let's get out of here while we still- Ngh!" Catra froze at the sight in front of her.

The walls were coming in from the hallway. At the other end, she saw the wall coming closer. Behind her, a wall was still giving chase. In the middle of this long hallway, where a single window sat, she could see an approaching pile of red coming towards her. No doubt there was more red coming from the opposite direction, throwing that possibility out the window too.

"No..." She couldn't believe it. There was no means of escaping this place. All around her the castle slowly crumbled to bits of dust, falling around her as the walls and ceilings gave way to the walls of death that continued on her path. The one direction she didn't see red was directly below her feet, seeing an empty void above where her feet were standing. If there was any getting through that way she'd take it in an instant. Falling forever into a seemingly-bottomless void was still preferable over whatever thee things could do to the two of them.

Everything was gone, disappearing. Closing in on her here by the second, she could tell everything else was gone. There was no kingdom outside these walls, the castle walls that is, and everyone she knew had simply vanished without a trace. She didn't hear any screaming through the kingdom, not a trace of anyone lied about. She was alone in this very kingdom.

Her, and Adora.

"Now what do we do?" Catra squeezed her hand anxiously, trying to come up with a plan.

"What do you mean  _we_? It's just you now." Catra turned back towards her friend at the monotonous sound of her voice. There was a blank expression on her face as she stared at Catra. It was like she wasn't even aware of the surrounding walls that continued to near them.

"Adora, what... what are you talking about?" Worry started to take hold of her as she saw Adora slowly back up.

"What do you think? It's always been about you. What you wanted, who you decided to like. You just kept pushing everyone else away. Anyone you didn't agree with or didn't like. You never really cared for any of them."

"T-That's not true!" Catra tried to argue, remaining where she was. "I-I didn't push anyone away! I just... I just didn't want anything to do with them! I didn't want to scare them, I didn't want to make anyone angry."

"And you thought by turning your backs on them that they would be the only ones who left?" By now, Adora was halfway between the remaining hallway, stopping in place as the walls came behind her. "You didn't think anyone who cared about who you pushed away would want to stay with you? You didn't think anyone else would be affected by your simple turn aways?"

"...The people..." It was then that Catra finally realized why everyone was disappearing, who was to blame for her kingdom being empty.

Herself.

She was the cause of the kingdom's nothingness, the reason nobody still remained. What short few menial tasks she felt were unnecessary were small tiles on the path of a large chain of dominos. When she didn't want to meet one person, two people were affected. When she didn't want to give any special attention to a lone infant, a couple kids left one by one.

Anyone who so much as noticed those people missing would leave in turn. One by one the people around her started to dwindle and disappear, eventually leaving her with a kingdom without it's people.

A world without any friends. And those who did remain by her side were starting to disappear themselves. It was at that moment Catra watched as the wall finally reached her, Adora slowly fading into the red itself.

"But I... I didn't mean to push anyone away, I swear! I just..." A grave look of despair crossed Catra's face as she looked away. "I just didn't want to be hated..."

"Well good for you." Adora's voice started to echo as the wall consumed the rest of her. "Now you'll never be hated again. Now you'll be alone..."

"Adora!" Catra cried out trying to reach for her. It was already too late as the tips of her claw brushed against the incoming wall, sending a painful jolt against her hand, leaving a crisp burn around it. Her eyes widened in terror as she backed away from the wall, looking around herself as the walls were a couple yards away from her in all directions. "No, no..." Her ears twitched as her tail wrapped around her waist, trying everything to keep herself as far from the walls as possible. Mentally preparing for it, the walls all a foot away, she prepared for the worst of it, ready for whatever pain it had to bring.

There was no amount of preparation for this kind of pain.

* _ **ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT-!**_ *

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Catra cried out in an immense roar as the wall in front of her and behind her pushed closer to one another. Nothing but pain and sorrow came from these walls of terror as an endless jolt of electricity surged throughout her entire body. She was being pressed against the walls in all directions, the walls unable to push passed her body as she blocked herself with own arms. It did little to keep the walls separated, yet enough to stop them from crushing her.

The trouble was, now what could she do? The minute she gave any slack, the second she lost the will to survive, she was going to get crushed. She was going to die. With no one else around her, with no way to get herself out of this predicament, what else could she do by cry out for help?

"Someone... anyone...  **help**!" She begged tearfully. The worst kind of suffering was when you forced yourself to survive through it.

The only suffering worse than that was knowing that no one could save you, not when you found yourself all alone...

...

...

* _wham!_ *

"Agh!" The small servant yelped as she was kicked away square in the stomach by a feral Catra.

The battle taking place outside her mind was far more stressful for the surrounding allies as they struggled to fight off the horde of Robots and a mind controlled Catra. Her eyes were burning with fire as the red veins across her head pulsed brightly, being signaled by whatever force compelled her to do it's bidding.

Sneaking up on her the pastry chef attempted to hold back the feral-turned enemy, Catra hissing and roaring as she hugged her tightly from behind, squeezing her arms tightly together. With a growl, Catra sank her teeth into the woman's arm, the chef letting out a cry of pain and losing her grip enough for Catra to squeeze through. Sliding out from under the arms, Catra wasted no time as she miraculously lifted the large woman over her shoulder, tossing her away at the smaller servant who rolled out of the way, barely in time as the large chef landed heavily on the ground.

Following this brief display of might, she found herself cowering in fear and disgust as she was sprayed heavily by the refreshment's servant, pushing the cat back enough as she covered her face, buying times for the others to make a quick recovery and get back on their feet.

When one of them were fighting Catra, the others were fighting off the robots that came into the room one by one. When they weren't dealing with the robots, one of them were dealing with the much deadlier Catra, the girl's claws sharp enough to cut through their bones if she tried hard enough. Between the two whoever was dealing with the magicat found themself less fortunate, the robots that moved sluggishly being a blessing compared to the feline who was swift and deadly.

Finding the oncoming drench beginning to wane, Catra took the miniscule opening as she dashed over to the servant, jumping to the air and pushing him to the floor. She bared her teeth angrily at the servant, rising her sharp claws to swipe at his face and leave him with a few new stitches if he was lucky.

That's when Glimmer managed to jump in when her guard was down, tackling and pushing her off the servant. Helping him back to his feet, she gathered what little magic remained inside of her into her hands, ready to fight off her friend for as long as possible. "Catra, snap out of it! It's us, remember?"

"What did those bots do to Catra?" Bow asked as he and Entrapta continued their attempts to pry the source of virus from the computer.

"I know, isn't it amazing!" These were her favorite people from this day forward. One after the other, Entrapta found herself amazed and perplexed at the multitude of scientific studies these people were giving her! Whether intentional or pure coincidence, ever since she met these people a few hours ago the fascinations and discoveries never seemed to end! "The robots assimilated Catra into becoming one of their own! They think she's one of theirs now because of the virus inside her and so does she!"

"Is she still in there then?" Bow asked as he pulled at the disc that was stuck in place.

"Um possibly?" The uncertainty in her voice left him concerned. "The sooner we stop the disc the sooner we'll find out!"

"Ngh... agreed... Ghhh..." Bow grunted as he pulled at the device, planting a foot on the machine for a better grip. Despite his best efforts, the disc remained in place. It felt like he was trying to pull a tree out of the ground with how stuck it was. "Ugh, it won't move. What now?"

"Ah! The power conduit!" Entrapta deduced, following the power cables of the super computer to where they were plugged in. There were several large cables plugged into the socket of various color, all plugged into the same socket that powered the entire machine and the robots in turn. The two grabbed as much of the large cables as they could, tugging on the conduit until the large cord finally gave way and snapped from the outlet.

With a hum, the rest turned back to the machine as they saw the power finally die off, the red coated computer monitors flashing briefly before slowly dimming away. At the sight of their victory, Bow and Entrapta cheered to one another, congratulating each other for a job well done!

A job that was short lived as the core of the machine began to shine brightly. The remaining heroes watched as the machine hummed again, statical electricity surging through the entire computer again as life flourished all around it, practically empowered by it's recent turn off as the monitors flashed with a bright red light. All around the core the roots pulsed with a heartbeat, surging it's own energy throughout the complex and bringing life back to it's robotic world.

Returning to life for a second chance, all the robots, including the feral Catra, turned their attention immediately back to the the computer as they charged right after it as a means to defend it. As they did, Catra took lead of the robots as she scrambled by Bow and Entrapta, standing in front of the machine as she gaped, awestruck. Pausing for a second, the others saw her pull out her sword from it's sheath, slowly raising it so it's gem was nearing the disc's center.

"I don't understand, what's it doing?" He couldn't tell if he was more confused at the sight of the machines still bursting with life, or Catra trying to touch the disc with her sword.

"Ooooohhhh! It's running on it's own power source!" Entrapta exclaimed. The stars within her eyes shined like a bright morning sun, escalating with each passing second.

"But what's it trying to do to Catra?"

"Oh, that's the best part!... Well terrible, but still best!"

"What is it!?"

"Don't you see it? The virus wants to integrate it's technology with the sword! It wants to study the sword on a vast scale and replicate it's technology! Or make superpowered bots using the sword's schematics, take your pick." Turning around, she grabbed Bow with her hair as she pulled herself to the ceiling, right before they found themselves trampled by the incoming robots.

Looking back to the disc, Bow steadied his aim as he pulled out the last arrow in his quiver. "I pick we don't let any of that happen!" With his aim focused, steadying his shot, he released his shot, the arrow piercing through the air at top speed as it soared towards it's destination.

* _swiff_ *

"No!"

Only for it to be grabbed by Catra's other hand, never taking her eyes off the machine, stopping the tip from reaching the disc by a single inch. Jumping back to the ground, the two watched as Catra gazed at the evil arrow, fuming at the thought that this one simple tool almost destroyed the very machine she worshipped for some reason.

"Fire another one! Fire another one!" Entrapta begged worriedly.

"I can't, that was my last arrow!" Bow revealed, his quiver empty of ammunition. Backing up to the group herself, Glimmer watched as the robots stood side by side, forming a personal wall between the computer and the heroes on the opposite side of the room.

* **Bang** *

* **Bang** *

* **Bang** *

And that served to prove how little time they had left. Hearing the massive pounding on the sealed door behind them, the others looked on in fear as they saw cracks beginning to form. With every pound the door bent inwards more and more, the cracks beginning to break apart small fragments from the door where the robotic red eyes could be seen.

"We need to destroy that thing fast!"

"How?" The young servant asked behind him. "We don't have anymore ammo or magic, and we're not gonna reach Catra before she destroys it!"

Glimmer knew she was right. There were a few seconds until Catra decided how to break the evil machine and there was no way any of them were going to break through the line of bots while they were low on supplies. There was only one shot they had left, one she hadn't tried yet.

Why was this arrow bothering Catra so much? The more she stared at it, the angrier she felt! She had a strange urge to crush the arrow in her hand, to pull it apart into millions of tiny pieces! It shouldn't exist in this world or any other world at that! She had to destroy it, right here, right now.

Destroy it.

Destroy it!

DESTROY I-!

"Catra!" Glimmer shouted over, grabbing everyone's attention. "Destroy the machine!"

"Glimmer?" Bow questioned as he looked back and forth between the two.

"I know you're in there still! The same girl who lost her best friend! The one who hates me because of it! You have every right to be mad at me but we need you right now!" It was a small chance, but the last chance they had. If any portion of Catra remained in her head, if it hadn't been

"G-Glimmer's right!" Bow shouted in agreement. "What happened to the girl who was tough on everybody around her? I don't recognize this weakling. The Catra I know could be it with both claws tied behind her back!"

Taking the hint, the remaining allies continued to shout words of encouragement over to her. While limited in the amount of praise they could pitch in, having met the girl not ten minutes ago, they knew enough to support her finesse and strength in this short time of distress.

What were they shouting about? Catra didn't know these people, these weird creature things. They were just trying to confuse her! That must be it! There was nothing about these creatures that meant anything to her! They meant absolutely nothi...nothi...not...n...

...

How long had she been in here? Minutes? Hours? Days? Who cared if the last one was far fetched? When your entire body was wracked by an endless pain to the point where your body was numb, you had the right to say anything you wanted to.

Catra didn't know how much longer she could keep this up. The walls were still pinning against her, the one thing keeping them apart being her resistance to give in. Why didn't she want to give in though? Her eyes were heavy, her body was sore. There was nobody around her, no one who cared for her because she drove them away. Who cared if she disappeared anyway?

Come to think of it, she was just dreaming. Yeah, that must've been it. Nothing bad could happen if she just took a little nap, right? Her eyelids were beginning to droop, the pained sorrowed expression on her face dropping with it. Maybe it would be ok to take a short nap, a little break from all the princess duties she went through today, and the ones she ignored. It's not like anyone needed her anyway. Eyes coming to a close, she had to wonder what kind of princess she would be, if no one wanted her to begin with-

_"Catraaaa!"_

Instantly, her eyes sprang open. Who was that? Where did it come from?

_"Catra, wake up!"_

There it was again. A different voice this time, but one calling out her all the same.

Who were these strange people? A voice came to her every second, echoing throughout the place as it replaced the terrible screeching sound that filled her head up to this point. It did nothing to alleviate the pain she had, and she didn't care. If there was a voice calling for her out there, maybe it could help her?

If not... maybe she could help them?

"Who... Who is that?" Catra called out, looking around despite the field of red that surrounded her.

"Catra, hurry!"

"Hello? Hellooooo!" Catra called out, eyes opening slowly as she found energy returning to her arms and legs. She didn't care if it brought along the sense of feeling again, feeling the painful electricity continue to burn around her. All she cared about was the fact she was no longer alone.

Someone was still at her side.

"Hey! Heeeey!" She shouted rasply. She barely registered as she managed to push the red wall a little bit away. It still shocked her, and she was surprisingly fine with it. If this was her chance to get herself out of her then she was going to take it. Growling loudly, she screamed to the top of her lungs as she made one final call.

"Get... me... ** _OOOOOOUT_**!"

...

"Ghhhhhhhh!" The Catra on the outside moaned in agony as she dropped the sword, squeezing her head in severe pain.

Glimmer gasped at the sight of her friend's inner struggle, joy filling her surrounding friends as they saw this. "Catra!"

Eyes still red with rag, the magicat looked to the arrow she was squeezing in her other hand. Why did she want to destroy this thing so badly? Something kept screaming at her to do it, screaming at her to put a stop to everything! It warned her, threatened her, insulted her to destroy it, yet she couldn't do it! Why couldn't she do it.

Turning back to the machine, she ignored the sounds of the door caving in, her friends preparing to defend themselves against a losing battle as the room began to fill with an endless swarm of bots, more of them popping out of the air vents and breaking apart the walls of the room as they forced their way inside.

Something told her not to do it, to let the robots take the people who meant nothing to her. It promised the pain would go away after awhile, that she'd have nothing to fear.

Its last mistake was claiming she was afraid.

"Aggggggghhhhhhhhhhh!" Catra roared for the last time, slamming the arrowhead straight into the energizing disc.

All at once, the entire room filled with an ear piercing sound, the frequency reaching Catra's own ears, causing her to double over in pain as she squeezed her ears tightly. All around her and the others the robots began dropping like flies as the frequency reverberated throughout the room. Any of them hanging on the ceiling came crashing down, the oversized ones toppling on top of one another as they fell over.

Best of all, to Glimmer and Bow anyway, the two ran over to her downed friend in time to watch the horrible red veins dissipate from her head, the same veins on the jewel of her sword disappearing as the beautiful blue light shined at long last.

With the two of them kneeling next to her, Glimmer took Catra into her arms, the look of concern present on her face as she shook her unconscious friend gently. "Catra? Catra wake up, Please be all right!" Glimmer pleaded. There was no telling what effects the virus had on her, and the detail that it could have a lasting effect on her only worsened Glimmer's fear.

"Come on Catra, you have to pull through!" Bow called out, awaiting, and hoping, for his friend's recovery.

"...Ngh... ugh..." Catra meeped as she opened her tired eyes a little, just enough to see Glimmer staring over her, with Bow doing the same on her left. She had that semi-tired look on her face, the small scowl on her expression, but for all they knew that as just from pure exhaustion. They needed some semblance of self to prove that she was all right, that she was still the same Catra they knew and cherished. "...You have five seconds to stop touching me before I scratch you."

"She's back!" Glimmer screamed as she hugged her friend tightly, Catra nearly gagging as all the air was pushed out of her.

"Accckk! Ok, three seconds! Two seconds!" She hissed.

"She's okay!" Bow cheered soon after, hugging the friend he almost lost.

"That wasn't your queue to join in!" Catra shouted, squirming in their arms, the cat was powerless to stop the squeezing that crushed her body, feeling like her face could burst as all the blood from embarrassment and force rushed to her head. And for whatever reason, this prompted the two to laugh cheerfully, the others speeding over to the trio to check on them.

"Eh hem..." Entrapta grabbed their attention as she let out a small cough. Seeing their distracted state the two huggers were in Catra pushed them off as far as possible, springing to her feet soon after. "I would... like to offer my gratitude, cat person... and her two sidekicks, for saving our lives."

"Sidekicks?" Bow raised his brow as he got back to his feet with Glimmer.

"Hmph, least she knows how things work here." Catra smirked.

"I would be honored to join your Rebellion and provide you with weapons." Her announcement brought two and a half smiles from the three as they looked among themselves. Another princess to join the Rebellion was another ally they had against the Horde. More importantly, it brought them one step closer to defeating the Horde once and for all.

"Thanks, guys. You saved us all back there." Bow smiled to the three companions who saved him earlier. "The Rebellion needs regular people now more than ever."

"And we'll be ready!" The two servants put on a dazzling display as they used a fizzy drink to blast a dish tossed into the air.

"Yeah...by the way..." Glimmer spoke up as she took Catra's sword off the ground. "Entrapta, any chance you could do us one more favor?"

...

...

"Save me, Adora!"

"I wonder what else she'll scream if I torture her?"

"Where are you, Adora?"

"You said we would always be there for each other!"

"Do you even care what I do to Catra anymore?"

"I thought you said we were friends, Adora?"

The insults never ceased as Adora meditated within the center of this everlasting darkness. There wasn't a single thing they said that affected her up to this point. All around her body were the blast marks and burns from dozens of direct blasts from the droids, her body still simmering from the burnt skin and the seared clothing.

Every single time she felt something, she was punished for it. When her worry got the better of her, she was blasted from the left. When her anger took advantage of her state, she was shot in the back. Any time she had her hopes up and ran happily to the source of the familiar, joyful, voice of the childlike Catra, she was blasted off her feet. And this was a process that continued without end for the last hour, filled with nothing but pain and suffering, all because she simply cared to much.

She didn't have a choice to care, either. Her heart, the thing that was putting her through this misery, was the cause of her pain. Why did she want to have a heart in the first place? Time and again, it brought her only pain. Pain, stress, confusion, so many conflicting emotions that distracted her wherever she went. It was the bane of her existence at this point, the cause of all sorts of misery and turmoil she found herself going through.

It was also the key to finishing this training she agreed to. She wasn't training to use her heart, she was training to suppress it. She needed to keep it bottled up inside of her. She couldn't afford to let it distract her anymore, to let it make her second guess herself about all her past decisions.

The princesses were using every trick they could, whether it was through direct manipulations or to put the lives of innocents into harms way. The only way she could see anymore to fight against them was to fight the same way they did. She wouldn't resort to harming the lives of innocence, at least not her own allies at this rate, and she would fight them feeling the same way they felt.

Nothing. She wouldn't allow a single emotion to affect her anymore. She was tired of all the pain it caused it, all the manipulations that were played against her with it. If she wanted to save this world, to save her best friend, she could no longer allow herself to feel.

Thus, she found herself where she now sat. In the middle of all this darkness, meditating with her eyes closed as she sat cross legged, she waited. The robots came whenever she followed the sound of their voices, whenever she thought about succumbing to her emotions. So, why not play their own game against them?

She waited here, in the middle of all of this, waiting for the faintest sound to come to her. The robots were designed to attack in her response to her emotions. So what would happen if she decided to wait for them instead?

Sure enough, after what felt like five or ten minutes, she heard them. The insulting voices drew closer to her with each word, the taunts and cries of her friends and enemies voices becoming increasingly aggressive, yet she never faltered from her meditation. It was then that all three of them appeared.

Yards ahead of her, in an arc of twenty feet, they made their presence known. They began to give off a small glow as they prepared to fire, ready to take out the target in one concentrated blast. It would've worked in most cases, seeing how weak and feeble the Force Captain had become. Here, she would've been an easy target for all three of them, if she felt the slightest twinge in her heart.

But her heart wasn't here anymore.

* _Sheem!_ *

It came fast. Too fast for their processors and sensors to pick up. They didn't know what happened at first when Adora swung her arm in front of all them with one swing. By the time they noticed a disturbance in their diagnostics it was already too late. One by one, the three droids slowly felt their upper halves sliding across their midsection. Sliding half way off, the droids exploded one after the other as Adora retracted her massive blade arm.

The sounds of the explosions filled the entire room, the explosions being no bigger than the droids themselves. With the droids destroyed, Adora having yet to open her eyes, she listened to the sound of the doors behind her opening up, the light from outside filling the darkened room, all while a lone figure floated behind Adora, stopping behind her as she placed her hands of comfort on both of Adora's shoulders.

The girl had done it. She suppressed her heart, her emotions, showing no hesitation as she dismantled all these useless droids in one single blow. With a smile upon her head, a sense of pride filling her blackened heart, Shadow-Weaver stroked Adora's head soothingly. Her training had been complete.

Whenever Adora donned the headband, she would ensure she never felt anything again.

"Well done, Adora~"

...

...

"Well that was a waste of time." Catra mumbled as the three traveled along the cliffside.

Like at the start of this adventure, the three heroes found a good distance of space between the three of them, with Bow and Glimmer walking twenty feet behind Catra and Catra seemingly ignoring anything they had to say that wasn't related to her.

Her behavior was a bit more understandable at this point, seeing the results of a particular test they were given not ten minutes ago.

...

"How much longer are we going to have to wait?" Catra groaned, leaning against the outside walls of the castle.

"Catra, it's a sword created by the First Ones." Bow reminded. "I wouldn't be surprised if it takes several days to run her tests!"

"Besides, it's only been a few minutes." Glimmer added, feeling a little sheepish about saying anything to the magicat at this time.

She wanted to be happy that everything worked out in the end and Catra was back to normal. The problem was, Catra was back to normal. She remembered everything from her one, single, friend in this world, the strange dream she refused to mention to these two, and a particular hatred she seemed to have for Glimmer herself. She still hasn't forgotten about the failed attempt of transforming into She-Ra when she needed it most, and she would never forget who she blamed for that failed attempt either.

So when she decided to come clean and ask Entrapta to see if there was a problem with the sword, Catra was a little... less... than amused. This morning she was telling Catra, almost snapping at her, that Entrapta wouldn't be able to fix anything about the sword and she shouldn't bother trying to ask.

Now she was admitting she basically lied to her in front of her face and Entrapta might've had an answer after all.

As predicted, she didn't care what Glimmer's excuse was, she didn't want to hear her reasoning that she didn't want Catra to come up with false hope. Surprisingly, she was actually a little more interested in finding out what was wrong with the sword this time around than her anger issues with Glimmer.

Just a little.

"Well how many  _minutes_  is this going to take? I don't know about you guys but I don't plan on spending the rest of my life around this place." She took a brief glance at the surrounding robots who were repairing parts of the broken walls to the castle. "Especially with those things running around."

"I'm back!" Entrapta chirped as she ran out the front door, sword in hand. Catra wasted no time to take the sword back from her, examining it to make sure there wasn't anything missing or damaged from whatever Entrapta's  _examinations_  did to it.

"See? I told you it'd be quick." Glimmer said with a smile.

"Mmh hope she didn't break anything..." Catra muttered, taking a few swings of the sword in the air to inspect how it felt. "So, what did you find?"

"...Um..." The hesitation and nervousness coming from Entrapta scratching the back of her own head didn't go unnoticed. "Ok, so... promise me you're not going to be mad?

"...I promise not to scratch you after."

"Great! So anyway, good-ish news, depending on what you want to hear and don't," Entrapta went on as she flipped through a handful of papers, "based on what I found, there is a small inhibitor keeping the sword's power from, being fully utilized."

"Fully utilized?" Catra repeated, looking back to the other two who gave her a shrug. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means there actually is something in the sword keeping you from using it's full power." She clarified.

Glimmer took the moment of silence to stare at Catra as she awaited her reaction. How was she going to take it? Staring at the sword in her hands, there was no telling what was on her mind. Was she sad about it? Angered? Confused? She could've been annoyed beyond belief and Glimmer wouldn't be able to tell. The girl did a good job at keeping her emotions to herself, the last several weeks attesting to that.

"...Huh..." Catra shrugged herself, looking at the sword on both sides. "So it is the sword's fault I couldn't transform? I always figured that."

"You're not mad about it?" Bow wondered.

"Well of course I'm mad about it, but it's not anything that can't be fixed, right?" With some hesitation, her ears drooped a little as she looked back to Entrapta. "You... can fix it, can't you?"

A face full of sorrow and regret materialized over Entrapta's face. "I'm sorry about that, but... I can't... I already tried tinkering with it for a few minutes, but the technology itself is actually more complicated than anything I've came across. I mean I'm sure I could of course, but I don't know how long that would take. I don't even know if I can dissect it without damaging something permanently. I might end up breaking it worse than it is now!"

"Typical," Catra rolled her eyes as she sheathed her sword, "I find the one person who can study it and she can't study it."

"Sorry..." Entrapta mumbled, poking her fingers innocently and the tips of her hair. As much as Catra wanted to be angered over the mad scientist's failure over her one tasks, she just couldn't be. Whether or not she lied, this is exactly what Glimmer said would happen at the beginning of this adventure, reminding her why she shouldn't get her hopes up.

"Tch, forget it." Shaking her head, the magicat began to walk off, heading towards the open hole of the walls surrounding the entire castle. "Let's just get out of here, already. I've got a killer headache to deal with."

There were no words to say as the three watched her walk away. For what few seconds she was out of it, she mentioned how she was having a strange dream while she was infected with the First Ones' virus. Obviously, she was less than inclined to tell them the details of it, repeatedly telling them how she didn't want to talk about it and how they should mind their own business.

Another good indication that she was perfectly back to normal!

"...So..." Glimmer waited till she was sure Catra was out of earshot. "Was there anything else you discovered about the sword? About She-Ra, I mean?"

"Oh, that part?" Entrapta flipped through the pages again, feeling a little more chipper at the prospect of talking about science. "I took several more tests on that note, and to be honest... well... You promise not to tell her this?"

"Trust us, our lips are sealed." Bow assured.

"We wouldn't want her to get any angrier about it than she is now."

"Ok, if you insist. As it turns out... there's nothing wrong with it." Entrapta revealed as she showed them a blueprint schematic between the sword and Catra. "Despite the inhibitor built into the sword, whatever it is, it's not affecting Catra's ability to transform into this She-Ra character you keep mentioning."

"Wait, it's not?" Glimmer blinked rather surprised.

"No. In fact, there doesn't seem to be anything to suggest Catra shouldn't be able to transform into this She-Ra."

All this time, even after telling Entrapta not to tell it directly to Catra, she thought there would be a grand reveal about why Catra couldn't transform into the infamous She-Ra, the symbol of the Rebellion. Time after time, she's attempted to transform into the infamous She-Ra, having only three successful marks under her streak, and one of those times were completely by spur of the moment!

There wasn't some cosmic force at work here telling them she couldn't do it. There wasn't some big story explaining why she couldn't transform into this She-Ra. There was nothing. Nothing but surprise, confusion, and worry about how Catra would take this if she decided to tell her.

"But why can't she get the sword to work?" Bow hated to watch his friend try time and again in vain to transform. Especially with all the times She-Ra could've proven useful, they absolutely needed to figure out what was wrong. "She's done it before, so it's not like she's incapable of doing it."

"I've actually come up with a theory on that too." Digging through her pockets, she began typing away on the data pad held in front of her by her hair. "See, a lot of First Ones' tech has a tendency of bonding with the user. At least the ones we've come across so far, right?"

"Yeah..." Glimmer didn't like where this was going.

"So, with that in mind, I tried coming up with numerous scenarios and explanations for why it isn't working for her, and after a few minutes, I've come up with one final theory that should explain everything... however vague it could be."

"And.. that theory is...?"

Entrapta sighed as she prepared her answer. As a scientist, she was never supposed to be the one to give an assumption. Scientists were the cornerstones of every civilization. They provided explanations, reasonings, details that could explain the many mysteries of life! So when she had to tell her what was basically a guess, she felt like a disgrace to the many wonderful, proud, geniuses of Etheria.

"The problem isn't with the sword... it's with her."

...

"Do you think we should tell her?" Bow whispered to Glimmer, making sure they were farther away this time.

"Tell her what exactly?" Glimmer asked back. "Hey, it's not a sword problem, it's a you problem. I'm sure she'll love to hear that. We don't even know exactly what about her is keeping the sword from working."

"Still.. I hate seeing her like this. I can't even tell if she's angry or sad about before."

"Mmh..." Since leaving she's been quiet to the two again, acting the as before when this adventure took off. She seemed cold, acting distant. She didn't care at all if they were twenty feet behind her or twenty feet in front of her, as long as they kept their distance. That was their viewpoint on it, at least. And as much as she wished to keep it that way, she knew it couldn't last forever.

She needed to confront her on it whether she liked it or not.

"I'll talk to her." Glimmer finally decided, speeding up a little until she was a foot behind her friend. "Catra?" The ex-Horde continued walking without giving so much as a notice. "...Look, I know you don't want to hear about it again, and I don't like bringing it up either, but I need to get this said, so I'm going to just come out and say it. I'm... sor-"

"Forget it." Catra stated, catching Glimmer and Bow, who decided to support his friend from up close, off guard.

"W-What?"

"I said forget it." She repeated, shooting her a passing glance as she continued forward. "I don't want to talk about it and I don't want to discuss it, so forget it ever happened."

This was... shocking, honestly. All this time she's been harboring an obvious hate for the other princess and now of all times she decided to drop it? "Are... Are you sure? C-Catra, I was just trying to say... I really wish you didn't hate me all the time, so I wanted to... you know... apologize for it..."

"Hate you?" At this, Catra paused in their walk, giving Glimmer her full attention. "Who said I ever hated you? Both of you for that matter?"

...Was this really the same Catra or did she end up being replaced by some artificial AI that took over her brain here? Because that would be the only explanation for the complete shock of display presented by Catra. That was possibly, without a doubt, the closest thing to an actual nice thing she ever said to the two.

...And it was kind of scary...

"You... don't hate me? About before?" The suspension of disbelief was all over Glimmer's face. "B-But you were so mad about everything, and you didn't want anything to do with us. How was I supposed to think you didn't hate us?"

"Well, duh, I was mad about it, but it doesn't mean I hate you for it. It's not your fault for being stupid." She commented, continuing their walk.

"Gee, that's encouraging to hear..." Ok, now there was about a fifty-fifty-chance this was the same old Catra.

"But you don't hate us?" Did Bow hear that correctly? Was there truly a possibility for the Best Friend Squad after all this time?!

"Of course not. I just don't like you two."

No there was not.

Noticing the lack of response to this, Catra grimaced, looking at her sword again. She hadn't forgotten everything that happened in her dream, how that once blissful reality turned into a ravaging nightmare with a few choice words and decisions. How her entire kingdom came down upon her head in a matter of hours, in the dream anyway, because of who she wanted and didn't want to be around, who she kept close and who she pushed away.

She was tired of the long day she had, all this sappiness that was coming out of her mouth even as she spoke. But... she didn't want to relive that. She didn't care about anyone else, but if that was the kind of reality that awaited her in the future, if it would only last as long as she kept people from feeling pushed away, then she needed to change, if only a little. She couldn't afford to lose her kingdom like that again.

Or Adora.

"But..." The two perked their heads up as she went on. "If it means... anything..." Ugh, why did she have to do this? Wasn't the fact she was fighting with them enough for them? Or did they like to torture her by being a bit more open about this kind of garbage? "Compared to everyone else I grew up with... most of them, anyway... you guys are... I don't know..." A small pink blush picked up on the side of her cheeks, barely noticeable until Glimmer leaned over to her side a little bit to see if she saw what she thought. "... More tolerable. People I dislike the least. All right?"

"Catra..." She did everything in her power from squealing out in pure delight, her and Bow both!

For the first time ever, without any hint of sarcasm or joking behind it, Catra, the very Catra they've tried to open up with since the day she joined the Rebellion, said the very first closest thing to something nice about them! While in retrospect some would find that to be the most unbelievably saddest thing to hear, to the two friends who fought side by side together since day one considered it one of the greatest feats they've ever achieved!

It wasn't merely a sign that Catra could be a bit more open with them, it was a sign that Catra was getting closer to them, however little it proved to be! It was a bleak, unfeeling statement from the girl, yet it sounded like one of the nicest things Catra said or ever could say in their entire lives!

And they were more than happy to take it!

"Can we get a move on, now?" Catra groaned again, scratching the back of her head while blushing. "I don't know about you two but I'm starving. I've had this weird taste in my mouth for the last half hour."

That was one comment that was more than enough to make Glimmer's face beat red. She would spend the rest of existence making sure nobody would ever find out about what Catra did to her immediately after turning feral. "Uh heh heh, gee I can't imagine what could be the reason behind that!" She quickly stammered, grabbing onto Bow so he wouldn't say anything and teleporting ten feet ahead of Catra. "I'm sure the castle's chef can whip us up a big dinner for tonight!"

"Wait, you didn't tell Catra yet about-?"

* _whomp_ *

'Owww!" Bow yelped as he rubbed his newly stomped foot. Already Glimmer was regretting telling Bow everything about what happened between him finding them and Catra turning feral. She would have to enact a brand new law forbidding Bow, much less anybody, from telling Catra about what happened on this day. It would be her utmost priority the day she finally became queen herself. All she had to do now was think of what sort of punishment would be suitable for such a thing...

Watching the two act like the morons she came to know, Catra sighed.

So she wasn't supposed to push people away? Fine. She could deal with that. It was something she was going to have to adjust to over time, but she was sure she could find some way to do it.

But there was no way she was ever going to let people get any closer to her. She didn't need a vision to give her memories about what she was talking about. She could never forget about what happened that day, and she would never allow anyone to make her feel close.

Never again.

...

...

_"Hehehe! Are we almost there?" A five-year-old Catra giggled as she was lead through the complex. She couldn't wait, she was excited_

_After spending who knows how long trying to fit in, trying anything in her power to make a new friend, this would be the day she finally waited for! Sure, she was nervous when Adora told her they were going to try to make friends with the gang of that sector. Who wouldn't be when you were talking to the group of kids who used to pick on you on a daily basis? They were mean, rude, bossed the other kids around, and nobody messed with them since Lonnie, easily the biggest of the kids, was in charge._

_No one would stand up to her. Who would be brave enough to start a fight against the toughest, meanest, and strongest kid within the sector? Naturally she thought everything should go her way, when the adults weren't around anyway. She was the self-proclaimed maturest one on the block and the most **elite**  kid in the sector. Anybody who tried to stand up to her would get pummeled, save for the one time Catra did to get a girl's doll back._

_She learned the hard way not to mess with her, not when almost all the guards had it out for her for being an apparent freak._

_But all of that was going to change after today! After going along with Adora's idea, the two found themselves with their first task in stealing a prison keycard from one of the security patrols in the area. Using her quick wits and judgement, Adora decided Catra was the best kid for the job, using the girl's nimbleness and stealth to their advantage. After securing the target, she made the personal appearance to keep Catra safe from the guard themself, who was completely unaware that he'd been robbed by the time the two made it back to Lonnie._

_Now, she was on her way to her next and last test, as part of her initiation. Admittedly, she was nervous. Not only did she have to wear a blindfold on the way to the next destination, she also had to do it without Adora's help. For some reason the last test required the two of them to do it alone. And while she was easily worried about doing such a thing without her only friend, Adora did assure her and show her confidence in her that she could do this._

_With her encouragement in her heart, she was ready for this, willing to complete it!_

_*Shoom*_

_Her ears picked up at the sound of what appeared to be a door opening, finding the ecoustics of the place they entered to be rather large. "Where are we going again?" Catra asked Kyle as he held her hand. The young boy and the lizard kid at his side were given their own task in regards to Catra's initiation._

_"Um... it's a surprise." Kyle muttered. "W-We're almost there."_

_"Oh, ok." She hoped he could tell she was smiling, having been doing it all the way up to this point. "I'm so excited, I can't wait!"_

_"Uh yeah... You um... You really are excited about this, aren't you?"_

_"Are you kidding? Of course I am! Because once I've done this, I'm going to have three new friends!" She noticed how they stopped walking as she said this._

_"You... really consider us friends?" There was a hint of worry in his tone, but Catra was too excited to notice._

_"Of course I do! We're going to be able to hang out whenever we want, we can play together, and we won't let people pick on us anymore! That's what friends do, right?"_

_"Y-Yeah... of course..."_

_"I hope you're not weirded out cause I look like a cat or something." She said with a small frown. "I don't know why, but everyone else just seems kind of scared of it. The adults won't tell me why, and the kids just make fun of me for it. That's why I'm really happy we're going to be friends."_

_Way to make a kid feel nervous, Catra. He saw the face Rogelio was giving him, being unsure of himself as much as Kyle was. "Umm... Catra, I uh... I think there's something you should..."_

_"Yeah?" She questioned. What was he sounding so nervous about? Was he worried this test was going to scare her? She could handle it, she was sure of it! And then, they were going to be friends after long last!_

_"...N... Nevermind." She felt as he continued to pull her along. "We're almost there."_

_"What did he have to say? Without seeing his face it was really hard to tell. For a second there it almost sounded like he was worried about something, or he had something to tell her?_

_Whatever the case may be, it would have to wait. The ambience of the air began to change around her. She didn't know where she was but it had to be somewhere big. She was almost positive she could feel a great amount of space within the air around her, the sound echoing through her ears. She even thought they were descending an elevator for a moment, hearing the strange noise of one going off as they stopped for about ten seconds._

_After another two minutes of walking, Catra felt the three of them coming to a stop. She started hearing a strange beeping noise followed by a click, then walked forward as she felt Kyle gently pushing her on the back._

_"Ok, keep going forward for a few seconds and you'll find your test." He informed. Smiling, Catra felt her way forward. Oh man, what was it going to be? Maybe they had some sort of obstacle course for her? Or maybe it was some sort of surprise they made her for! Or maybe-!_

_*tap-tap*_

_"Huh?" Catra felt as the tips of her claws brushed against what felt like solid metal. Curiosity getting the best of her, she decided to finally remove her blindfold, taking in the scene that lied in front of her._

_A wall. A single, metallic, wall. How was this supposed to be a surprise? Did she need to get passed the wall or something? Come to think of it, the room itself was actually pretty small. There walls were only about seven feet apart, the ceiling ten feet high, and the floors themselves were practically rusty. Heck, there was even a small bed in here, and... a toilet? Why was all this weird stuff in here? What did it have to do with her test?_

_"What is this place?" Catra asked looking around. "Hey Kyle, how is this my... Kyle?" Turning around, she saw a small frown on Kyle's face with Rogelio standing beside him. Without saying a word, he lifted the keycard to the side of the wall, outside of her field of vision. What was with this weird place? Why was there an uncomfortable bed in here? Why was the entrance a giant hexagon in shape? Why did..._

_Catra's eyes widened as she gasped, realizing too all too late where she finally was. "Kyle, nooo!" She begged running for the entrance._

_* **Bzzzzt!** *_

_Right before she could pass through it, a green electrical barrier dropped in front of her, zapping the poor girl as it blasted her a foot away. Catra let out a cry of pain as she licked her injured hand, fighting back the urge to wail a she stood back up, staring at Kyle through the translucent green. "Kyle! What are you doing?"_

_"What do you think he's doing, freak?" That voice was impossible to forget as the figure made it's presence known. How could she forget what Lonnie sounded like when she heard her voice not ten minutes ago? Walking into view, Catra's urge to cry out increased as she saw the smug grin on her face. "He's putting you into your place." She patted Kyle on the back as he looked away. "Well done, Kyle."_

_"I... I don't get it... is this part of the initiation?" She asked looking around the room again._

_"Initiation? Pfffft hahahaha!" Lonnie bursted out laughing, holding her gut to keep herself from falling over in a fit of chuckles. "Oh my gosh, you actually bought all that?"_

_"W-What do you mean?"_

_"What do you think I mean you stupid brat!" She snapped, managing to make Catra fall back in fright. "There is no initiation, there never was!"_

_"B-But why did you have us do this?"_

_"Oh come on, you can't be this stupid. Why do you think we had you do this, idiot?! It's because we didn't want you here!" Catra's heart ached at the words as tears gathered in her eyes. She was confused, scared, unable to comprehend why they were doing this until now. No matter how badly people considered her a freak, they never treated her anywhere near this badly._

_"You think anyone would want a freak like you hanging out with them? I'm surprised Adora hangs out with you as much as she does! You keep messing up everything you do and your a bother to everyone you come across! What kind of moron goes around and ruins storytime for people for crying out loud?!"_

_"I-I'm sorry about losing storytime!" She cried. "I didn't mean it!"_

_"You think this is just about Storytime? Everything you do is annoying! You're always the freak hanging out where you're not wanted, you're always the crybaby in sparring classes! The fact is, nobody wants you here! Everyone practically asked us to do this!"_

_"T-That's not entirely tr-"_

_"Shut up, Kyle!" Lonne yelled back, cutting the kid off._

_"W-Where's... " Catra placed her hands around her mouth as she prepared to call out. Noticing this, Lonnie quickly used the keycard again on the side of the door. Instantly, a large metal wall slammed shut in place of the barrier, filling the room with a pitch black darkness. "Adoraaa!" Catra cried out, begging for her. "Adorraaaahahaaa!" Hearing snicking on the other side of the wall, she watched as she saw a small rectangular panel open in the middle of the wall. It was about the size of a serving tray, no doubt used to give prisoners their food._

_"Adora can't hear you, brat." Lonnie stated, peeking her eyes through the opening. "These walls are soundproof. They're used for putting rotten prisoners like you in the hole where they belong. As for Adora, the little squirts outside right now, doing the **real**  initiation."_

_"R-Real initiation?" As they spoke, the scene shifted to a view of a five-year-old Adora. The girl was smiling to herself as she sat within some inner tubes outside on the playground, watching the rain fall outside of it._

_"All she has to do is spend the night outside. If you ask me, she's taking it a lot better than you are."_

_Wiping her nose and tears, Catra slowly got up as she made her way towards the light. "W-Will you let me go if I do the initiation, too?"_

_"Of course not! We made that stupid initiation thing up! Even if you did the same initiation, we'd never let you pass!"_

_"W-Why..." Catra sniffled as she wiped her face again. "Why don't you like me, Lonnie? Is this about what happened a few months ago? I'm sorry for scratching you." She hiccuped, sniffling._

_"What? The incident with that stupid doll? I'm all over that." She raised herself to her feet so all Catra could see was Lonnie's night time shirt. "As for why we're doing this?" Although she couldn't see it, Lonnie grinned. "Because Shadow-Weaver said we could."_

_Without another word, the room filled with perfect darkness again as the small hatch was closed. They couldn't hear her screaming, they couldn't hear her pounding on the door, they couldn't hear anything. From within the prison cell, Catra broke down into tears, pounding on the door endlessly for someone to let her out. No amount of night vision was going to help her within this cell, the walls and ceiling specially designed for hybrids with features like her that could let her see easier in the dark._

_All that was left was a lonely, crying, five-year-old girl named Catra, who found herself trapped and abandoned within a prison cell she didn't belong._

_She was helpless._

_Frightened._

_And worst of all, alone..._

...

...

Never! Again!

...

...

...

**_A/N: Yeah, yeah, I know, I know, the bit of her friends encouraging her was a bit "cheesy" and cliched, but in my defense, this is still basically a kids show (granted a very AWESOME ONE!) so of course there would eventually be a bit of a cheesy/cliched "friendship-encouragement" moment somewhere XP Don't worry promise you won't see that often...hopefully..._ **

**_Anyway! We've finally hit the end of ep 6, and are practically at the halfway mark as of now! More importantly, unlike this episode, the rest of the episodes I have more planned out for so aside from updates not being as tedious, I should be able to push some better quality writing, not on the spot bits like this one left me._ **

**_With that said, hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you out!_ **


	23. Episode 7: The Horrors of Mystacor Part 1

_**A/N: Dun dun di dun dun duuuuuuuuuuuun! Yes people, it's true. You're not hallucinating, you're not imagining things, it's legit. Behold, not just a new chapter, but one posted ON THE SAME DAY as the previous one :D!** _

_**Yeah, who cares if there was like a freaking 13- hour difference, it's still the same day XP. I am more than happy to say I have a more concrete plan for this one, as shown with the numerous additions i had thrown in here and there. And I actually got a good 1/4th of the episode done, so we might actually get this limited to 4 parts ^^ Not that I'm against more parts, but if I'm going to finish his before season two, I need to limit these as much as possible XP** _

**_No, no worries, that won't affect how much I write, so relax on that part XP. Anyway, enjoy!_ **

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

Sleep. One of the most important parts of the day for every living creature.

It offered rest and respite from the harshness of the world, allowing one to relax and recharge their energies for whatever tomorrow had to bring. Within the center of the Whispering Woods, that's where we found our hero of three lying about, all resting peacefully on the ground without worry nor care.

After the events of Dryl, in their mission of recruiting Princess Entrapta, things had gone relatively normal, back to the way they once were between Catra, Glimmer, and Bow. Catra no longer seemed to be harboring the same hatred for the princess she once did, after a concerning issue regarding Adora on the previous mission left her ignoring Glimmer for over a week. The girl was still snide and sarcastic, she seemed to have the same lack of manners she used to, but it was a least a little more peaceful and welcoming than straight out ignoring her like she had been.

Matter of fact, things might have gotten a midge better since then. She no longer seemed intent on telling Glimmer and Bow to leave her alone. She no longer used her  _comforting_  words like "bug off", "get lost", or their personal favorite, "get within five feet of me and I'll claw you". She seemed a lot more passive than she used to be, no matter how much she insisted she wasn't. At one point, she almost asked them to leave her alone.

Asking someone to leave her alone was beyond shocking to the two, Bow almost fainting in how polite it was in comparison to all the other times. There was still a lot of the same old Catra within her, of course. She still called Glimmer "Pinky" and Bow "Bowey", but it was still just as welcoming, if not more so, than the week she went on ignoring the two.

Overall, things seemed to be right back to normal, the way Glimmer and Bow liked it.

Catra on the other hand was dealing with two of her own problems. First off, as told by Entrapta after studying the sword for a few minutes, there really was a problem with it that prevented her from exposing it's full power. Something within the sword kept her from bringing out all its might, restricting her to possibly the bare minimum of what the sword was capable of. And while she would've been more than fine with that, the troubling part was that it had nothing to do with her ability to transform into She-Ra.

Unbeknownst to her, Entrapta had informed her friends of that minor detail. As it stood, the scientist wasn't entirely sure what the cause of it was. The only explanation she could come up with was the fact most First Ones' technology had a tendency of bonding with the person using it. In that sense, she came to the conclusion that whatever was keeping Catra from transforming wasn't with the sword, but with Catra herself.

Naturally, the two refused to tell her about this additional detail. All it would do is cause Catra to be upset and angry about everything again because of something outside of her control. Even if they did tell her about that it wouldn't do anything to help her with her transforming. Until they figured out the cause behind Catra's inability to transform, they found it safer to keep it between the two of them.

The other problem Catra was facing wasn't anywhere on the outside. It was the dream she was having on the inside. Evident by the pained expression on her sleeping face, the way she tossed and turned in her sleep, something was going on in her mind that brought discomfort to the young girl.

Where was she? Where was anyone? There was an endless, vast, darkness surrounding her on all sides. Almost being aware of the fact she was dreaming, the magicat took a walk through the darkness, hearing her footsteps echoing all around her. There wasn't any Glimmer, Bow, no one. The ground itself was pitch black, half the time making her wonder if she was about to step into a hole by accident.

"Hellooooo?" Catra called out, being met with the same echo several times. "Is anybody there?"

Was this what remained of her fallen kingdom after the hallucinatory dream she had last mission? During her time in Dryl, she came under the effects of a virus created by First Ones' technology, in part thanks to Entrapta fiddling with the device in order to study it. After destroying a robot and being infected through her sword, she found herself in a dreamland-like setting, where she was the princess and having the greatest day of her life.

That day slowly escalated into a horrifying nightmare as people began to disappear one by one, all while the kingdom itself started to get surrounded by massive red walls in every direction. After examining these walls, the nightmare took a deadly turn as they started to hound in on the girl, disintegrating the kingdom and everything it touched as it narrowed on Catra's own castle. If not for the encouragement of her allies as they shouted to her through the dream, she might've found herself crushed along with the rest of the kingdom that had abandoned her.

Now she was surrounded by darkness, one that possibly could've existed within the same space as her kingdom, and at the same time not. It had a distinct lack of wind, much less everything else, yet she could feel a strange coldness emanating from her surroundings. Could those walls destroy the wind to begin with? Was that even possible?

It as hard to say.

All she knew was that she was alone again in this darkening abyss, without a single soul around her. "Can anyone hear me?" She shouted again. Scratching the back of her head, she finally came to a stop as she started to think. "Ok, so... probably dreaming right now, so... I gotta wake up at some time, right?"

Seemed like the best option, all things considered. If she could wake herself up from in here, great. If not, no biggie. She doubted she would be trapped in this place forever, and it's not like Glimmer and Bow wouldn't wake her up if she didn't by morning. All she had to do for now was think of a way to pass the ti-

"Catraaaa..." A single voice called out through the darkness. The very instant it reached her ears, her heart rate spiked up, the hairs on the end of her skin rising out of sheer terror.

"W-Who's there?" She prayed the voice didn't belong to who she thought it did. There was only one person in this world she knew of with a voice that twisted. One that seemed comforting and wholesome on the outside while being filled with terror and maliciousness on the inside.

"Oooh, have you forgotten already?" The voice asked almost amusingly.

"You're not here... This is a dream!" Catra yelled, looking all around herself to find the source of the dreadful voice.

"Do you really think you're safe anywhere you go, you little wretch?" The voice let out a cackle of laughter at that. "When will you ever learn? There is no place you can go where I can't find you."

"S-Shut up!" The forceful shouting was diminished at the sight of her drooped ears. There was no intimidation coming from this frightened girl. "Show yourself!"

"And now you think to give  ** _me_  **orders?! Oh, Catra, Catra. I thought you learned your place a long time ago. Clearly I was wrong~"

"Shut up!" She shouted louder, lacking the ferocity she usually had behind it. "You're not here! You can't do anything to me!"

"Oh, can't I?" The voice grew deeper as it approached, Catra continuing to search in all directions in vain. "Haven't you realized, yet? No matter where you go, no matter who you claim to be, I am always right behind you."

"Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up!" Catra repeated squeezing her ears shut. She closed her eyes as she shook her head, drowning out all the noise that she could as she tried to ignore it. This was her dream, out in the middle of thee Whispering Woods, where no one can find her. She could say all she wanted and she could make all the threats she had, and Catra knew she wouldn't be able to touch her out here.

She was safe here. She had to be safe here. Even if this was a nightmare, it was still a dream, right? There was nothing she could do to reach her out here, no actual pain she could cause her.

Opening her eyes, she took a quick look around in every direction twice, including above and below her. Without and sign of the mysterious voice Catra sighed. It was a dream. All of it was a dream. As long as she kept telling herself that, everything would be all-

* _Gnnk!_ *

"Agh!" Catra yelped as she shot out of bed, panting heavily. Right before she woke up, when she thought everything was all right, she felt it. A cold, scathing, hand belonging to the one person who loathed her most of all tightening around her neck.

She felt it.

FELT IT.

Darting her eyes back and forth she realized she was awake, sweating profusely as she huffed. She was back in the Whispering Woods where she fell asleep with the others. Bow was sleeping a few feet away from her on her left, and left of him Glimmer was sleeping a few feet away, curled up with the cape over herself like a blanket and a small bundle of bushes as a pillow.

That wasn't a dream. It couldn't be. Pain was something people could never feel in a dream no matter how much they thought they did. Here, before she woke up, she felt everything. She felt the squeeze on her neck when she grabbed her, she felt her airwaves constrict for an instant.

Looking at her own arms, her eyes widened as she realized her own hands were at her throat, pulling them away as quickly as she could. They weren't the ones choking her, she was positive on that. They were trying to pry the grip from her suffocating throat, the person who attacked her in the one place she thought she was safe.

She didn't want to think about her. She didn't want to remember that without Adora she wasn't safe around her. All the sweat, all the worries building up in her mind, all of it was living proof that she was here in some way, in some form. Gulping to herself, Catra stared up at the night sky, seeing the moon looming over them.

She uttered the one name she feared most of all.

"Shadow-Weaver..."

...

...

**_The intro starts with Shadow Weaver in the Black Garnet chamber spying and glaring at a image of Catra. Than the image dives into the water of her scrying spell._ **

**_~ We're on the edge of greatness ~_ **

**_Where we have Catra at Bright Moon looking both determined and forlorn out into the distance._ **

**_~ turning darkness into light ~_ **

**_A scene of kid Catra and kid Adora training together in the fright zone under Shadow Weaver. Before being replaced with a image of Adora glaring at a heart broken looking Catra who's on her knees across a battlefield._ **

**_~ We're right beside you ~_ **

**_But than Glimmer and Bow teleport to Catra side raising her spirit back up, as shown with her surprise blinking when Gimmer offers her a hand, than she smirks accepting the help as she takes the lead ahead of them._ **

**_~ Ready to Fight! ~_ **

**_Catra raises her sword, transforming into She-Ra in a glorious flash of light_ **

**_~ (fight, fight, fight fight) ~_ **

**_Then She-Ra rushes off into battle with Glimmer and Bow following right behind her._ **

**_~ We're gonna win in the end! ~_ **

**_Mermista rises out of a tide, blasting Horde soldiers with water._ **

**_~ We must be strong, And we must be brave ~_ **

**_Perfuma burst from the ground, capturing and tying up Horde soldiers with vines._ **

**_~(we must be brave) ~_ **

**_Frosta rides an entire wave of frozen water, freezing Horde tanks in their tracks._ **

**_~ We're gonna find every bit of strength that we have ~_ **

**_The scene shifts to Hordaks throne room where the evil shadowy figure sits upon his throne, his red glowing eyes being the only noticeable part of him, surrounded by notable members of the Horde, consisting of Adora and Catra's squadron, Shadow Weaver, Adora, Scropia, and even Entrapta._ **

**_~ and never let go ~_ **

**_The scene shifts to an epic clash between Catra and Adora, the She-Ra gritting her teeth as she presses her sword against Adora's electrical baton, as the Force Captain herself grins with chaotic excitement as the red jewel from her headband shines._ **

**_~ (Oh ah Oh) ~_ **

**_Adora and Catra push each other off as they back up into their friends- Entrapta and Scorpia for Adora, and for Catra Bow and Glimmer._ **

**_~ We must be STRONG! ~_ **

**_The scene ends with a final shot of both sides looking across the field, a transparent image of Catra and Adora's faces filling the sky as the colors are split between them;_ **

**_A majestic darkness shining into light upon Catra's side, and a horrid light seeping into darkness on Adora's half._ **

...

...

* _splash_ *

"Ngh..." Catra splashed the water from the pond against her face for the third time within the last several hours. Kneeling in front of it for the fifth time by now, she took a deep breath. She needed to rub the sleepiness out of her eyes, the exhaustion of the days events leading up to this. Being a bit more awake than before, she looked at her reflection within the waters, waiting for it to calm as her reflection cleared up.

"Ok... You're fine... You're safe..." She spoke to her reflection quietly. "Shadow-Weaver's not here. She couldn't be." Raising her head she saw the tranquil scenery around her. All across the large pond was beautiful fauna and trees, the sound of birds chirping in the early morning to greet her. "This place is way too peaceful for her to be here... right?"

Staring back at her reflection, she flinched at the new face she was greeted with. It wasn't her own, it wasn't one part of her that greeted her. It was Shadow-Weaver's own sinister eyes glaring at the young girl, her blackened hair waving out of control. "Ahh!"

She wasted no time swiping at the evil figure that stared back at her, falling to her back from the shock of the image. Shaking her head clear she crawled up to the water, sighing when she saw her own reflection again. "Get it out of your head!" She told herself lightly pounding against her forehead. "She's not here, all right? Nobody else is here. It's just you and-"

* _rustle-rustle_ *

Her ears perked right up at the sound of the strange rustling noise, making a dash to the nearby tree as she pressed her back against it. She breathed silently to herself as she grabbed her sword. If someone was out here, they must've been working for the Horde! How else would Shadow-Weaver find her last night? Yeah, that must be it!

She wasn't about to let them make a fool of herself either! Slowly pulling the sword out of her sheath, she waited until she heard the stranger beginning to pass by. Waiting until her heart rate finally settled down, she let out a massive shout as she grabbed the figure from behind, slamming them against the tree she was against as she raised her sword to their neck. "Hah-!"

"Ahh!" Bow yelped as he raised his hands surrendering. "Catra! It's me! It's me!" He panicked.

"Bow?" Glimmer could be heard speaking up as she came through the same bundle of bushes. Imagine her surprise when she saw Catra holding a sword up to his neck in a threatening manner. "Catra, what are you doing?!"

"Huh?" The girl in question did a double take between the two, shaking her head again as she backed away from the endangered Bow. "What are you guys doing here?"

"What do you think? We came here to find you!" Bow sighed rubbing his neck. Any longer and he swore she would've cut it. "I didn't realize you weren't a morning person."

"Oh... yeah..." Rubbing her eyes again, she suppressed a small yawn welling up within her as she sheathed her sword. "Sorry..."

"Catra... What were you doing out here?" Glimmer asked. There was a strange speck of sorrow and discord twinkling within her eyes, from what remained the question.

"N-Nothing!" She insisted walking back to the pond. The two watched as she took another handful of water and rubbed it thoroughly against her face. "I was checking the perimeter to make sure the place was clear. We were being foolish keeping ourselves unguarded in the middle of the night."

"And you decided to... do this by yourself?" Bow pointed out the detail in her explanation.

"Y-Yeah! I mean, someone had to, right?" She rubbed her face some more to get every trace of her sleepiness out.

"Exactly... how long were you keeping watch, Catra?" Glimmer and Bow could easily see the tired state of their friend's eyes. From the looks of it she was awake well passed an hour or two.

"I don't know. It doesn't matter." The girl's insistence did nothing to convince the two If anything it only made them worry more for her. "Someone had to keep watch and that's exactly what I did."

"Why were you so convinced you had to keep watch?" Bow asked looking around. "Did you hear something last night?"

"Um... Y-Yeah, of course I did!" To emphasize her point, her ears twitched back and forth. "I'm a light sleeper, remember? I can hear a pin drop from the other room when I'm asleep!"

"But if you were having so much trouble sleeping, why didn't you wake us up? We could've helped find a solution to your sleeping problem."

"I... I don't know, OK!" The magicat was unaware as her ears drooped while she hugged her knees, staring into the water.

Did Catra still have trust issues when it came to the two of them? She thought they were making progress over the last few days yet it was cases like this that left her doubtful. On top of that, Glimmer felt that wasn't the whole story. There was something coming off the girl that rubbed her the wrong way. It wasn't some strange sadness, she didn't seem angry about something she or Bow did again, she just seemed a little... troubled...

Almost... frightened...

"Catra-"

"Hngh!" Catra nearly jumped as Glimmer brushed her shoulder, the princess nearly teleporting herself out of reflex. It reinforced her thoughts that something was wrong with her.

"Did... you get any sleep at all?"

"Yeah!... Maybe... Someone had to stand guard, all right?" Catra stated as she walked along the pond with the others following her.

"Okay, I know you're on edge because of what happened with Entrapta's infected robots, but it's all over now!" She smiled to her friend as she patted her shoulder. She still looked pretty glum as she stood against a tree holding herself. A part of her wondered if the events that took place in Dryl were a good thing or not given her recent personality change. "You've got to relax. In fact, what you need is a vacation. Which is why we're going to Mystacor "

"Huh! Mystacor? No way!" Catra couldn't tell if she should be happy or nervous given Bow's reaction to this. The boy looked like he saw a superhero for the first time with the way he was squeezing his head in disbelief.

"Who's Mystacor?" Catra asked, genuinely curious.

"Not who, where!"

"It's a secret floating kingdom that's home to all of Etheria's sorcerers." Glimmer explained. "It's got tranquil gardens, beautiful beaches, and healing springs. And, my Aunt Castaspella just happens to be head sorceress there."

"...And... what part of that is supposed to convince me to go?"

"Trust me, Catra, you'll love it!" Bow assured. "Plus, you won't have to worry about the evil things in the woods." He became more excited as he saw her ears rise a little higher at this. "Mystacor is protected by an invisibility spell, so evil can't find it!"

"It's the safest and most peaceful place in all of Etheria." Glimmer added.

"Really?" She contemplated his words as she gazed around the forest. There was a definite look of possibility on her face, one that told Glimmer and Bow she was actually considering it. Even if they didn't know what was troubling her at the moment they knew she was more than open to the idea of going somewhere peaceful for a change. "Well... I... Guess it wouldn't hurt to find somewhere to sleep where I don't have to pop my head up every ten minutes..."

"Haha! Then it's decided!" Bow cheered as he threw his arms around the two. "Mystacor, here we come!"

"Hey! Personal. Space."

Compared to usual, Glimmer smiled as Catra said this. Even her threats were becoming less aggressive than before! From straight out punching or scratching the next person who would throw themselves at her like this to threatening them directly with violence, she gave a very direct and straightforward warning that didn't contain the threat of violence. No matter how much she insisted to the alternative, Catra really was changing on them.

However small.

"Heh, sorry." He chuckled releasing her.

"Are you sure there's going to be a way for me to relax, though?" The skeptical magicat continued to question. "I know it might  _shock_  you, but I'm not exactly a fan of water."

"They've got other methods of relaxation there, you know." Glimmer counted off with her fingers. "There's spas, saunas, meditation chambers, a whole bunch of stuff."

"...And what do they have to relax there?"

Glimmer mentally rolled her eyes at this. "Maybe it'll be better just to show you."

As the three took off, Catra took one more glance behind her. She couldn't figure out what was bothering her so much. There was something in the air surrounding her, some sort of tingling in her skin, telling her to be afraid. She didn't see anything, and she hoped it stayed that way. If Mystacor was as peaceful as Glimmer said it was then there shouldn't be anything to worry about, regardless if Shadow-Weaver can reach the girl or not.

Besides, she wasn't one to say no to a vacation... mostly because no one ever offered her one in the first place. If these vacation things were as relaxing as they told her then they should be able to relieve her of her troubles too, right? An entire kingdom full of sorcerers and sorceresses ought to be well defended compared to anywhere else in Etheria. And if it gave her the chance to relax for a change compared to going somewhere where trouble was stirring, then she would gladly take it!

All the while, the three heroes were unaware of a figure made of pure shadow, poking it's head out from above the trees. It was silent, deadly, and hidden from the keen senses Catra was known for. She would never be able to catch these things spying on her unless the shadows wanted to be found themselves.

And it brought such wicked glee for a certain witch watching these events.

...

...

She felt a wave of energy as she recharged her powers from the Black Garnet. The stone gave little resistance as it filled the witch with it's dark energies, the gem atop of Shadow-Weaver's mask glowing radiantly with a red, pure, light. The stone knew better than to defy her, it's master by all right. She wouldn't accept anything less than complete obedience, no matter how much she had to bend the massive stone's will.

With the door opening to the room, Adora made her presence known as she walked in. This would be the sight she was usually greeted with, seeing Shadow-Weaver starting about her day by absorbing whatever energies she could from the strange stone. At times she wondered herself whether the stone could feel pain or not, often hearing Shadow-Weaver demanding a portion of the stone's power, as if it was alive.

Clearing her throat, Adora stood at attention as she gave a salute. "Shadow-Weaver, I was told you wanted to see me?"

"Ah, Adora." Shadow-Weaver greeted calmly, draining the last of the stone's power she needed for the day. Turning around, she walked over to her favorite pupil, patting her head as she always did. "How have you recovered from your training injuries?"

"Fine, all things considered." Adora smiled back. To say she was fine would've been an exaggeration for anyone who knew what Adora went through a short while ago.

With the events that have been since Catra's defection, Adora found herself wrought with endless misery and stress, doing what she could to support her friends innocence against the rumors that disgraced her name. She didn't put up with anyone's insults towards Catra, she wouldn't allow them to speak their mind in her presence regarding her. She knew her friend was innocent, and she wouldn't allow anyone to spread false information or lies about her.

They would often say how Catra was never really one of them, how she's doing all of this for her own selfish reasons. There were times Adora wanted to question it herself, but she knew better than that. Catra was a friend of hers and still was. Somebody she knew had a good heart, despite dark mood she always brought with her. She saw that and she wanted everyone else to see that.

If they weren't going to accept that then fine. But  **no one**  was going to call her a traitor as long as she was around!

Because of these events, she found herself relying on a certain gift given to her by Shadow-Weaver, one that cleared her mind of most doubts and stress she came across through the last several weeks. While only having worn it twice, it felt wonderful to equip the headband given to her. It made her worries disappear as if they never existed, pushed back to feeling like it happened centuries ago, not recently. It gave her a sense of peace that no one else could, save for her dear friend and the motherly figure of her life.

Yet as good as it was, it came with one major drawback. Whenever she wore it, it amplified everything about her. Her speed, her strength, her mentality, and, the part that made it the most troubling, her emotions. They ran erratic every time she wore the thing, making any emotion she felt suddenly explode at first feels. A chuckle would make her roll on the ground in laughter, a doubt would make tears drain from her eyelids.

Anger would make her unleash her fury on anyone unfortunate enough to find themselves near her.

Thus, at Shadow-Weaver's suggestion, she subjected herself to a harsh and cruel training exercise, one where she mastered closing off her heart to her emotions whenever she wore the band. Naturally, the always bright and good hearted Adora had difficulty with this at first, unused to the emotionless cold state that her friends and allies were used to. It took nearly three hours for Adora to be blasted constantly by the training droids, ones specifically programmed to draw out Adora's emotions, before she finally mastered closing her heart off.

Now, whenever she wore the band, she felt nothing. She didn't feel any joy, any sorrow, any anger. All her emotions flowed to her head where they were locked away for safekeeping.

It didn't mean they stayed that way either. As long as she kept the headband off she could feel any of her natural emotions whenever she needed or wanted to. It was only as a last resort that Adora used the headband, which, as of late, has become more and more necessary.

"The nurse said my burns should heal completely within the next day or two." She continued. Being used to Shadow-Weaver's expressionless mask by now, she could tell the floating figure was smiling at her as she lifted her chin in her fingertips.

"I can not express how proud I am of you for your hard work, recently." She complimented.

"Heh, yeah, I know... you kind of mention it everyday." She chuckled. "So... what did you need me for?"

"Ah yes, about that," Shadow-Weaver began as she lead the girl to her fountain, "it would appear our... ally... is being lead straight to Mystacor, as we speak."

"Mystacor?"

"I trust you've read up on your studies, Adora?"

"Yeah, for what little there is." Adora rubbed her chin as she tried to recall. "A lot of people questioned if it even existed or not, but it's supposed to be an entire nesting ground for sorcerers and sorceresses, right?"

"Always so informative, aren't you?" She chuckled stroking her cheek. "As you can see before you, Mystacor does, indeed, exist, and they're headed there as we speak."

Peering into the water, she glared as she saw the particular princess that was the cause of all of Adora's suffering, the one who was known as Princess Glimmer, walking alongside Catra as if they were friends. "I'll begin preparations for an attack right away, Shadow-Weaver. I promise you I'll get her back this ti-"

"No." Shadow-Weaver stated, cutting her off. "That is not why I brought you here, Adora. I brought you here because I am about to attempt a ritual that will hopefully bring back your dear friend. What I require for you is to stand outside my door and make sure I'm not interrupted."

"You... don't want me to take care of this?" Adora felt a little discouraged as she asked.

"Not this time, I'm afraid. As strong as you are, Mystacor is filled to the brim with the greatest of magic users from all across Etheria. Even if you were fully rested from your injuries, you wouldn't stand a chance no matter how many people you brought. That doesn't even include the barrier that protects it."

"B-But I can do it this time!" Adora said pulling out her headband. "I've been training for this. I can be in and out of there in no time! Just let me get a strike team put together and-"

"NO!" Shadow-Weaver's shout of rage actually made Adora jump. The Force Captain couldn't recall the last time she ever heard Shadow-Weaver shout directly at her, and possibly for the first time because of what she herself did. Seeing the small glimpse of fright upon her face, Shadow-Weaver quickly changed personas as she gently placed her hands on Adora's shoulders. "You're one of the Horde's greatest soldiers, sweetheart, but we can't afford to lose you. I can't afford to lose you. Do you understand?"

Adora turned her head away at this, even after Shadow-Weaver's expression shifted to something softer and more motherly. She knew she treasured Adora dearly like a mother would, but she wished she trusted her enough for a mission like this.

Still, she was right about one thing. Adora didn't know if Mystacor was even real up until now, and clearly Shadow-Weaver had a better grasp on the situation than she did. Sighing in defeat, she returned Shadow-Weaver's gaze with a solemn expression, nodding apologetically. "I understand, Shadow-Weaver. My apologies."

"It's quite alright, my dear." Shadow-Weaver replied, turning back to the fountain. "I understand your concern for your friend. I promise you, I will bring her back from this. You have my word."

"Yes, Shadow-Weaver." With another salute, the Force Captain made her way to the door, exiting Shadow-Weaver's chamber.

Waiting for the captain to make her exit, Shadow-Weaver immediately fumed as she looked back to the image of Catra through the fountain. "Oh, Catra, Catra. You have no idea how much you're making her suffer. Or how much closer you're bringing her to me." With a simple laugh, she began to channel a massive force of energy into the palms of her hands, electricity dancing around her arms as they flowed towards the fountain itself.

From outside the walls, Adora could feel the ground shake as Shadow-Weaver began to work her magic. Curiosity building up, she was powerless to resist the temptation of poking her head inside the room, letting out a small gasp as she watched the scene unfolding in front of her.

"From the farthest regions of Etheria, I command you, be as one!" With a single roar, Adora watched as the numerous shadows began to draw towards the fountain in the room, reminding her of how it felt when those dark shades infested her body the first time. Within the fountain itself, a single diamond-shaped ruby formed, glowing from a dark twisted shadow mass of shadows that grew out of the pool. Adora watched in horror as the shadow gave shape and form, enmassing into a large, single, entity that let out a monstrous roar.

Letting out another small breath of shock gave away Adora's hiding spot as Shadow-Weaver turned around, seeming unamused but unbothered by the girl's presence. Turning to the monster in front of her, she pointed towards the image of Catra within the pool, the creature of shadows dissipating as it understood perfectly well what to do.

There wasn't a single lie within that statement. The creature knew of it's purpose upon creation, and would never question or resist the call of it's master. It would set out to find it's target, and fulfill it's master's wishes as directed. And it would solve all of their problems after all time time.

 _Hers_ , anyway...

...

...

The morning had proven nerve wracking for Catra during the entire trip, which didn't go unnoticed by Glimmer and Bow during the trek up here. Every couple of minutes, they would spot Catra looking over her shoulder worried about something, And every time they tried to question her on it she would just say it was nothing. They would've been more inclined to believe her if it wasn't for the fact she continued to do it even after they called her out on it the last dozen times.

Thankfully, the group had finally neared the end of their journey as they came across the cliff side, one overlooking a peaceful-looking pink cloud. That was the one thing that eased her senses a little. No matter how tense the day had made her since last night, they did travel across a rather peaceful forest. The day itself was bright and sunny for what few clouds loomed overhead.

"We're here!" Glimmer announced as the three stood atop the cliff.

"...Uhh Pinky? We're on a cliff." Catra pointed out. Was this supposed to be the whole  _amazing Mystacor_  they kept going on about? The freaking bathrooms at Bright Moon looked more relaxing than this! "And we're overlooking a thousand-foot drop."

"Yes, we are." She nodded happily. "But not for long!"

"Woo-hoo!" WIth a mighty cheer, and a near-heart attack from Catra, Glimmer and Bow happily jumped from the thousand foot cliff, cannonballing into the sea of clouds below.

"What the-!" Catra screeched. What the heck did they just do?! How was she supposed to tell the Queen about this?!  _Oh hey Queen, hope you're not unhappy or anything, I just wanted to tell you how your daughter and her strange friend suddenly decided to throw themselves over a cliff while I happened to be with them! No hard feelings, right?_  "Guys? You better not be dead!" She was already contemplating the numerous ways the Queen would execute her when she found out about this.

That's when she heard the telltale laughter of her two allies, watching them as they began to rise up with the stone platform that rose to the air. To her relief she wasn't going to lose her head anytime soon. The two were happily waving to her as they rose to the air, coming up to the cliff's level then some.

"Come on, Catra! Jump!" Bow yelled over, watching as his friend stared dumbfounded at the scene.

Taking a deep breath to relax, she slowly backed up a couple feet, clearing her head before she sprinted to the ledge. With a giant kick from her legs, she leaped over to the other side where the platform was, ready to grab onto the ledge as it passed her.

At least, that was the plan until something else caught her attention. Hearing the strange sound of the wind coming below her, her attention shifted back to the cliff as she was caught by surprise. There, squirming against the ground as it moved, her jaw dropped a little as she saw a familiar shadowy figure sliding into the clouds themselves. The distraction was so great she barely registered as her head collided to the side of the rising cliff.

"Ahhh!" She screamed as she stared to fall. Knowing her luck, something told her she wasn't going to be greeted with a peaceful landing of another floating platform like the first two were.

Racing over to the cliffside, the two gasped as they saw Catra plummeting back to the ground, with no possible way for the girl to get back to them or save herself from the severe fall she was about to suffer. Reacting quickly, Bow shot one of his many arrows at the girl, passing by Catra in time as a rope sprang from his bow, stretching all the way passed Catra. Without needing to be told otherwise, Catra frantically grabbed onto the long extension, washing over with relief as the two grabbed onto the rope and began pulling her up.

Pulling repeatedly on the rope for over a minute, the two watched as Catra's claws finally made it's way to the platform, Catra herself panting out of breath as she made it to the top of the platform after long last.

"Are you okay?" Glimmer asked worriedly, trying to check on her.

"I'm fine!" Catra hissed, slapping her hands away. She didn't give the girl a single notice as she stood up and walked passed her, trying to distance herself a little between the two, standing in the center of the magical debris.

"Catra, what happened back there?" Bow asked stepping forward.

"Nothing, ok? I just got a little... distracted. That's all."

"You? Distracted?" Yeah, and Bow was president of his own fan club... if he had one yet. "Catra, you have greater senses compared to most people I know, and I don't think I've ever seen you get distracted."

"W-Well it was just a slip up, all right?"

"Catra, it's fine. It's the stress, isn't it?" Glimmer guessed, trying to comfort her.

"Y-Yeah, just the stress." Catra looked back to the cliffside again to check the coast. It was clear from her viewpoint, not that it did anything to make her feel any calmer. All she saw was the cliffside fading into the distance and the clouds what surrounded it. "Just the stress..." All while she and the others were completely unaware of the shadow that attached itself to the rising earth from underneath them.

Taking in the view that approached them, Catra looked with surprise as they came up to a large transparent barrier, one that lit up as they easily slipped through it. That wasn't as interesting as the giant fortress they came across as the platform continued on it's route to the massive temple itself.

Layers upon layers of the temple were surrounded by mountainside and buildings all stretching into the mountain itself, several other floating platforms around the place with their own buildings too. Out of all of the places Catra had been to up to this point, this one definitely felt the most mystical, and a possible nightmare for anyone else who had a severe fear of heights. Thankfully she didn't fall into that category, not with her history of climbing around the Fright Zone.

WIth a small crash, the other two laughed with excitement as they jumped from the platform, Catra racing after them from behind.

"We road a flying mountain through clouds." Bow smiled with delight. "It never gets old."

"Uhh... yeah..." Catra mumbled, taking one more look at the mountain they flew on before joining them. "It was... interesting..."

"Just so you know, my Aunt Casta can be a lot." Glimmer commented. Catra didn't know what that was supposed to imply. Did she mean a lot like her? A lot of magicalness? Or a lot like Glimmer's mother? The very thought of it made her shiver briefly. "But don't worry, I know how to handle her."

"Is that my Glimmer?" A perky young woman called out as she approached, arms open and ready to embrace anyone.

"Hi, Aunt Casta." Glimmer waved over.

"It's been so long since you came to visit!" She squealed, hugging her dear niece in a tight hug. "And Bow," she greeted with another hug, "so nice to see you too." Noticing another member among them she smiled. "And who's this?"

"This," Glimmer began pulling Catra a little closer, "is my friend, Catra. She's also sometimes this mystical warrior named She-Ra who transforms by using a sword she found in the woods created by the First Ones." She continued, pushing her closer to her aunt. "So don't freak out when it happens."

"Uh... hi?"

"Catra." There was a small hint of wonder in the woman's eyes, one that disappeared as quickly as Catra picked it up. She wouldn't be surprised if she actually imagined it it was so fast. "How nice Glimmer has finally started making some new friends."

"Well,  _friends,_  is a bit of a strong word..." Catra mumbled looking away.

"We were all so pleased when she started bringing Bow around. I was pretty sure she made him up at first."

"Pffft." Catra rubbed under her nose as she held back the urge to snicker. Seeing the small blush on Glimmer's face confirmed exactly what her aunt said, making it all the more hilarious for Catra. "Yeah, sometimes I wonder if he's imaginary too!" She joked.

"Eh hem!" Glimmer interrupted clearing her throat.

"Oh! You've done something to your hair?"

"What? Yes. I cut it."

"I can see that. I also see you're not wearing the sweater I knitted for you." She commented, pulling on the outfit Glimmer was currently wearing. "Don't you like it?"

"Sure, I like it. It's great!"

Catra found this too good of an opportunity to pass up as a devious grin grew on her face. "Really? I thought you said that old rag was too itchy for you?"

"What?!"

"S-She's kidding, Aunt Casta!" Glimmer fretted as Catra burst into a fit of laughter. Backing up to the irritating cat, she elbowed her enough in the gut to make her stop. "CATRA, has this crazy idea that she's so funny..."

"Ghhh..." Catra groaned, rubbing her gut.

"But you'd tell me if you didn't like it, right?" Her aunt asked worriedly.

"Yes. I'd tell you." The expression on Glimmer's face was too priceless for Catra. She had this nervousness in her eyes as she tried putting on her best, forceful, smile.

"I'm wearing the socks you sent me." Bow pointed out.

"Well, I've always been fond of this one." Aunt Casta smiled to the young man, glad someone seemed to appreciate her work. "So, what brings you all the way out here to visit your aunt? Is it once in a blue moon already?" She teased as she lead the way.

The unamused expression on Glimmer's face said it all. This is the kind of thing Glimmer warned Catra about before coming her, about how her Aunt can be a lot to take in all at once, and Catra couldn't have found it better. If she could hear any more hilarious facts about Glimmer while she was here then this entire trip totally would've been worth it. "We're on a diplomatic mission, Auntie. I'm rebuilding the Princess Alliance-"

"My goodness, then you must be starving." Her aunt interrupted again. "I'll have a feast prepared." She totally ignored the facepalm this earned from Glimmer as she walked off. "I'm sure your mother hasn't been feeding you."

As always, Catra had to be the witty one around here as she leaned over to Glimmer's ear, smirking as she whispered. "Really? Cause I've heard some guards say otherwise~"

"Zip iiiiiiit!"

...

...

The view around the temple couldn't have been anything less than what Catra expected from the proclaimed Magic Capital of the World. All around her, as far as the eye could see, she saw sorcerers and sorceresses one after the other. Young and old, wise and weird, the mages and spellcasters came in a variety of people, the interesting differences in them matched only by the variety of magics they displayed as they trained.

Some were forming fireballs within their very hands, juggling back and forth several at a time and then dissolving them into thin air. Then they would regrow the fireballs to repeat the process all over again. Others worked with the air itself, forming small waves of water from the elements in the air surrounding them. Waving their hands, the water would dance across their arms as they smiled, enjoying the peaceful touch of the water's texture as it slid across them. Then, with the flick of their wrist the water would evaporate into the air once more, or, in another case she saw, spread across the ground beneath them to make the flowers grow.

Suffice to say, this was the very definition of a mage capitol. And if this was what they were capable of doing just by playing around, there was no telling what they could do if they ever joined in on the war.

"You've come at the perfect time." Her aunt continued as she lead the way. "There's an eclipse this evening." Gesturing to the sky, the three saw three different moons, all crescent, from smallest in front to biggest in back, staring back at them. "I'm headed right now to inspect the Lunarium for the ceremony. And nothing would make me happier than to give my favorite niece and her friends a tour."

"Uh... Bow and I have had the tour before." Glimmer replied, trying to be polite. "And we don't wanna get in your way."

"it's all right, Glimmer." Bow spoke up. "Catra hasn't seen it yet. It'll be fun." For a moment, she gave him a glare of irritation, one usually reserved for Catra or coming from Catra, Bow shrugging in confusion as to why that bothered her.

"Oh. Well, I guess it's up to Catra, then. What do you say my dear?"

"...What?" Catra turned back to Casta, distracted from her previous observations. She wasn't really sure what she was talking about, only seeing Glimmer standing behind her mouthing a "no" to her while waving her hands. If she had any more interest in socializing with people, she would've been able to translate her strange gesture more accurately. "Uhh... Let's go?"

"Oh, I like her." Casta beamed as lead Catra directly, pushing her in the direction as Glimmer groaned.

This was going to be a long vacation...

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**A/N: Yeah, I know it's a bit of a weird spot to stop it but it's 8k alone, and I'm 5 minutes/ 1/4th into the episode so seems like a good stopping point XP.** _

_**You know one of the only annoying things I have to deal with with this and autism? When I use words repeatedly X/ when I write my chapters so close to each other i keep getting paranoid I either write one word too many times or end up not using another word enough. Hopefully that doesn't become too distracting, sorry if the writing quality is a bit lacking as of late.** _

_**You're also probably wondering why I write such big summaries explaining what happened last episode. Well, aside from people who are new to the fic and just reading the most recent chapter, it's a good way to summarize everything that happened last episode in it's entirety rather than having to read a near 40-50k words, ya know XP?** _

_**Plus blame my history of reading, i swear those freaking high school books authors wrote have some sort of drug-like addiction to writing as much as possible because they put SO MANY ANNOYINGLY UNNEEDED DETAILS into a thing T_T I swear to god i once read five pages about something describing a freaking spoon, so consider what I"m doing a blessing in comparison _** _

_**With that said, hope you enjoyed today's episode! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!** _


	24. Episode 7: The Horrors of Mystacor Part 2

**_A/N: Another chapter done and man was it a fun one! While I can't say how many this chapter, much less all future chapters, will have, I can safely declare this fanfic halfway done you guys ^^!_ **

**_As always, had a lot of fun with this one! Not much else to say that I can think of off the top of my head, except for one celebratory HUZZAH because we've reached the 100 Review Milestone on Fanfiction dot net! Not only that but I current come in first place for the most reviews for a she-ra fic on that site which I consider an accomplishment!_ **

**_So, here's hoping you guys enjoy the episode as much as I did with all the fun I was having!_ **

**_Enjoy!_ **

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

_"Mmh... stupid Lonnie... dummy Adora..." A young six-year-old Catra grumbled as she poked at her usual morning breakfast of gruel and fruit._

_Life sucked._

_Everything sucked around here, more than usual now because of Shadow-Weaver's involvement. It wasn't bad enough that she was constantly picked on day in and day out. It wasn't enough that she was harassed and mocked by the numerous kids and staff running around the place either. And apparently it wasn't enough for her to be locked into a jail cell for over twenty-four hours until a guard finally found her, scolded her for **playing around** , and had her returned to her bunk room where all the other kids were._

_She didn't tell Adora anything about what occurred that day, and that's the way she planned on keeping it. What would be the point of it anyway? Adora wanted to be friends with the very bullies who put her in that cell to begin with, and after returning to the kid's room, she finds a happy and excited Adora going on and on about how they were all finally part of a gang, how they both had friends now. As much as she started to hate those around her, she couldn't bring herself to shatter Adora's view of the world or ruin her chances of possibly making friends. At least then she would be safer than she would be if she protected Catra all the time._

_And that wasn't what bothered Catra the most._

_No, now she got slapped in the face with a hard ball after the revelation Adora had to make the other day..._

_..._

_"What do you mean you're leaving?!" Catra whined as Adora continued to pack her bag._

_"I'm sorry Catra, but Shadow-Weaver said I have to." Adora replied, frowning a little. "She said me and some of the other kids have been doing a really good job around here that they're taking us to an advanced class."_

_"Who are you talking about? What other kids?"_

_"Simple. Lonnie and the others." Adora said, waving to Lonnie, Kyle and Rogelio as they packed their own bags. Catra gave a small glare at the girl as she smirked back. Something told her this was their reward for that horrible prank she pulled on Catra, when she lied to her about the initiation and cruelly trapped her in a prison cell for over a day. "Shadow-Weaver said we're the hardest working kids she's ever seen, and she said if we do a good job in that, we'll be promoted to Junior Cadets early!"_

_"Junior Cadets?" No one hasn't heard about the Cadets. When one became a cadet, an entire world of opportunity opened up in front of them! They could then work towards a different career in the Horde between engineering, weapon's expertise, prison guards, the whole nine yards! Better yet, there were a whole bunch of better benefits that came with it! Better food, softer clothes, comfier beds, and so on._

_Usually kids wouldn't start training to be a cadet until the age of eight, but if Adora and the others were going to become cadets earlier, then they definitely had to have impressed somebody around here!_

_Or, more likely, Shadow-Weaver was pulling the strings to advance their training. She did always favor Adora, after all._

_"But... what about me?" Catra frowned, drooping her ears a little. Adora went silent at this, sharing the same frown as her best friend. Both were aware of what this meant for them._

_"...I'm sorry, Catra but... Shadow-Weaver says you need more training." Adora replied, zipping up her bag. "I tried to ask her to bring you too. Lots of times! But she says the training will be a lot harder than the classes that they're giving here. She says some of them are even dangerous."_

_"So you're just going to leave me...?" Catra said as the tears started to form in the corners of her eyes. "We're not friends anymore?"_

_"No, of course we're still friends." Adora gave her a hug with a small smile. "It doesn't mean we won't be friends anymore. We'll just... see each other a little less..." There was no easy way to bring up that bit of news. "Most of the classes we'll have will be different from the ones we used to do... and there's another sector they're bringing us to, so... we won't be able to sleep together anymore."_

_"B-But..." Catra sniffled. There wasn't any positive side to this that she could think of. Adora was her best friend, and now she was going to go away for who knows how long? What if they never saw each other again? What if an accident happened that separated them for life? What if she got another promotion that sent her to another sector again?!_

_"But hey, it's not all bad!" Adora tried to cheer her friend up. "With Lonnie and the others going, no one else will pick on you as much. And that means no one will be stealing muffins on Muffin Monday anymore, so that's good, right?"_

_"...I guess..."_

_"And we'll always be friends forever. Remember the promise we made before?" As if she needed a reminder of that day._

_"Yeah..."_

_"No matter how far apart we are, nothing bad can happen to us-"_

_"-as long as we have each other." Catra sniffled._

_"And we can still write to each other too! No one says we can't write letters to one another around here, so we'll be able to keep in touch with each other, no matter where we are!" While that might've sounded good to some people, Catra wouldn't be surprised if those letters conveniently disappeared while they were being sent back and forth. In fact, she wouldn't be surprised if she got Adora's letters and Adora didn't get her letters, making her think Catra didn't like her anymore._

_"..." She didn't know how to respond to that. Was she supposed to accept everything that happened and move on? Who on Etheria would be that cruel to her? It made things worse when she saw Adora's own pained expression, knowing she wasn't feeling any better than Catra was about the situation. "I hope you have fun, then." Catra mumbled as she walked away. She couldn't bare to look at Adora anymore, more out of sadness than anger._

_The only one who did have her ire right now was Lonnie, the girl she gave a silent hiss at as she continued to smirk back at her. Lonnie was the second worst person in her life. She picked on her, pranked her, and did so many cruel things to her for a five-year-old, and she was being rewarded for it!_

_She didn't care about Kyle or his excuses when he tried to apologize for the prank, she barely paid any mind to Rogelio while still being as angry at him. She was taking her best friend away, they all were. Why couldn't Adora see that? This felt less like a promotion and more of a means to torture Catra even further. And just because Lonnie and her goons were leaving didn't mean the pranks would end! It's not like Lonnie was the only one who pranked her every time, just the one who did it the most._

_All she knew was that the world was against her right now. Lonnie was against her, Shadow-Weaver was against her, and for the first time, the thought of which made Catra's heart ache, she felt like her best friend was against her._

_..._

_*splat*_

_Speaking of which..._

_"Freak!" The shout of laughter that followed the handful of gruel that was in her hair went on to prove her point. It didn't matter if Lonnie was gone or not, she was still going to be picked on, she **was**  being picked on. She could feel every slimey bit of it oozing through her hair, the stickiness making her ears twitch as she felt it._

_Why? Why did this always have to happen to me? Catra would ask herself. It was like the entire universe was against her! Everyone hated her, nobody else wanted anything to do with her, and the one person in the world who liked her was now leaving her, possibly forever! It was unfair, it was cruel, it was heinous! To be treated this way no matter how many times she tried to be nice, no matter how often she tried to ignore it!_

_That's when it finally hit her. The tears that used to form in the corners of her eyes quickly dried up as her face contorted with an unfamiliar anger. What was this feeling? For the first time in her life, she didn't feel the sadness of being picked on, the terror she was inflicted with whenever she was bullied. She felt a different feeling boiling up inside of her, a volcano that was dormant until today._

_She hated these people. She hated the way they always treated her. Most of all, she hated Lonnie and Shadow-Weaver._

_Claws outstretched from her fingers, she picked up her tray. Her ears were tilted back with irritation as she casually walked her way over to the thrower's chair, tightening the grip on her tray with each step. Standing right behind the young boy, she tapped his shoulder, grabbing his attention as she pulled back the tray in her hands._

_"What do you want, freak?"_

_* **WHACK!** *_

...

...

"-end usually do that?" Was the first thing Catra heard as she came back to reality.

"She's fine, Aunt Casta." Glimmer replied as the four of them stood in the hallway. "She just has a habit of... daydreaming, from time to time. It's no big deal."

"Ngh..." As usual, Catra moaned as she rubbed her head, letting the others know she was back to normal from whatever vision she was recently having.

"See? She's perfectly fine!" There was some lie and some truth to that, the lying part of it Glimmer hoped wouldn't be picked up by her Aunt Casta.

Ten minutes into this vacation and things were already off to a rocky start.

Following the morning, which was more like Midnight in Catra's case, the girl found herself pretty exhausted from spending the whole night keeping watch for the three of them as the other two continued to sleep in the middle of the woods. It's not like she didn't want to get back to sleep either, but the nightmare that woke her up in the middle of the night kept her from ever thinking about going back to sleep again.

Shadow-Weaver. The person who used to torment her on a daily basis through various means, and the person she feared the most since defecting to the Rebellion. When she was in the Horde, Shadow-Weaver wouldn't dare to strike against her unless she was punished for some reason, taking any excuse she could find to do so. She constantly mocked Catra and scolded her on a moment's notice, and did everything in her power to remind her how she was inferior to everyone else no matter how many times she tried to prove herself.

She also reminded her how she was no longer safe, no matter where she was, since joining the Rebellion. Her twisted magics could reach her anywhere, she could infiltrate the girl's dreams and turn them into nightmares if she wanted. She could make Catra suffer beyond the wildest horrors Catra could conjure up.

She had a very thorough experience of that memory.

There wasn't any Adora that could keep her safe anymore. There wasn't anyone strong enough to protect her from her magic. All save for this place, Mystacor, the magic capital of the world, she currently found herself in. Being protected by a magical barrier and enchanted with a spell that kept the land invisible to others, she hoped this place could offer the relaxation Glimmer promised her that she desperately needed. She needed it, and the others knew she needed it too.

Ever since this morning when they found her, she's been on edge. Always checking over her shoulders, always pausing to check her surroundings, even going as far as to grab Bow out of nowhere and threatening to cut his head off when they snuck upon her at the pond earlier. The girl was clearly paranoid for reasons she wouldn't explain, chalking it up to the pressure and stress she was under after the events of Dryl.

That's why they hoped this place could offer her some moment of peace and respite. There was no other place in the world Glimmer could think of where she would be protected and capable of resting better than Mystacor, the one lead by her very own Aunt Castaspella.

Now if her aunt stopped dotting on her over every single little thing, then she'd be able to relax too.

"You all right, Catra?" Bow asked, rubbing her shoulder.

"I'm fine." Grumbly attitude, shaking him off of her, wanting to move on and completely ignore the conversation. Yup, she was all right.

"Are you sure you don't want to consult with one of our mages?" Aunt Casta asked with a hint of concern. "We have a lot of mages that can help you with your daydreaming issues."

"I think I'll take my chances." Catra folded her arms behind her head as she walked passed her down the hallway.

"She really is fine, Auntie." Glimmer assured with a nod. "She's always like that, trust me."

"It'd be worrying if she didn't act like that these days." Bow joked as they continued down the same hall.

"Well, if you're sure she's okay." It always warmed Glimmer's heart to see her Auntie caring about others as much as she did, even if it became a little tedious every now and then for her.

"Anyway, onto the Lunarium!"

...

"Woah..." Catra stared in amazement at the room.

All around her, from top to bottom, back to back, side to side, were thousands upon thousands of beautiful pink diamonds. Surrounding all across the walls, all of them reflecting it's beautiful magnificent light off of each other from the skylight in the ceiling above, Catra could turn and watch ten or twenty diamonds sparkle in every direction.

The floor itself was nothing to gawk at. Beautifully crafted with a pristine violet color, which helped to reflect the sun's warming ray, and polished possibly three times a day by the looks of it. Everywhere around the floor was spotless and clear, her reflection greeting her wherever she walked.

This room was the very definition of beauty, or the closest thing Catra could consider.

"The Lunar Lenses." Aunt Casta spoke as they looked around. "We use them in the monthly ceremonies to renew Mystacor's magic defenses, and keep us shielded from the outside world. You will be coming to the Eclipse Ceremony tonight, won't you?"

"Uh..." She wasn't sure how to respond. Does she decline her offer and possibly incite some sort of vengeful aunt on herself? Or does she say yes and partake in possibly the most boring who-knows-how-many hours of her life?

"Aunt Casta," Glimmer thankfully interrupted, "I've seen the ceremony dozens of times. And we're all really tired from traveling." She slouched as if to emphasize her point. "Maybe we'll skip it this time?"

"Nonsense. Your friend Catra hasn't seen it yet," she retorted, pulling Catra closer to her, "and it's quite a sight to behold for a newcomer." It was the most awkward feeling for Catra when the sorceress suddenly booped her on the nose out of nowhere. "Besides, don't you want to spend more time with your aunt?"

"Of course!" The princess frantically nodded in assurance, doing everything she could to keep from looking rude to her dear aunt. "But we also really wanted to show Catra the beach."

"Well, if the beach is the only reason you're here, I really shouldn't keep you, should I?" Oh no, she was doing it again. The one thing Glimmer hated that her aunt would always try to pull on her to get Glimmer over to her side. The Guilt Game. "I certainly don't want to waste any of your time. I mean I know it's been so long since we last saw each other, but what's another year or two, I suppose..."

"Ugggh... Auntie, please don't do thiiiis..." She groaned.

"Do what? Just remind you of how much I care for you and ask to spend a little quality time around here?" While the three tweedles were currently preoccupied, Catra walked along the room to examine the diamonds up more closely.

If she ever came to this room on her own, she'd think this was some sort of treasury. All the crystals were neatly organized and arranged in every direction, not a speck of dust covering a single inch of this place! Maybe when she got her own kingdom and her own castle she could make a treasure room like this, filled with nothing but beautiful diamonds and jewels, decorated gems from beyond the seas, and floors covered in solid gold which would fill the room with a beautiful yellow hue.

Looking at this place made her crave her own treasury more, and this was just some stupid Lunarium room! Imagine what the rest of this place could look like, she wondered to herself as she stared at the large mirror-sized diamond in front of her. Maybe they have a dining room the size of a baseball field around here? Maybe all the servants used magical projections of their elements, like summoning golems and whatnot to do their bidding! Even the shadowy figure in the mirror seemed-

"Huh?" Catra quickly shot behind her as she saw the apparition in the mirror. For a single, solitary, second, she saw it. A ghostly mass of shadows which dissipated as quickly as she saw it. Where did it come from? Was it a part of this place? Her instincts were telling her to investigate down the hallway, the source of the strange creature seeming to originate from there.

As she did, Bow took notice of the missing member from their group. "Catra?" Grabbing the others' attention, Aunt Casta smiled as she saw Catra run her way towards the hall.

"Well, someone is enthusiastic."

...

The hallways were just as elegant as the rest of the building, if not more so than the rooms they connected to. Between the walls and the interiors, the opened windows that shined the magnificent sunlight in, the archways connecting to the doors of this open place, everything was decorated and painted with a serene view. It went on to give showmanship for the crafts and details of this fine temple, further indicated by the amount of display brought onto each wall.

But she wasn't here to sightsee.

Ever since this morning, she's had this nervous twitch in the back of her mind going off. She knew she must've been hallucinating after the nightmare she had last night, but why was it still bothering her? The last time these strange twitches went off was when she ever found herself alone without Adora, if Shadow-Weaver was somewhere nearby.

That couldn't be though, right? She was possibly thousands of miles away from her at this point. All around Mystacor were hundreds of mages, a spell that casted invisibility over the land, and a barrier that warded off evil. On the off chance she was around here someone would've easily spotted her by this point.

 _Yeah, it's all in my mind._  Catra told herself. She was in an empty hallway all by herself, one housing several statues on the right hand side of her within the walls. Ha, imagine that. She wasn't really alone, was she? She had these stone dummies looking across the halls all day. Some of them looking majestic, others regal, all kept in check as they spent the rest of eternity staring across the room.

So why was she still feeling an uncertain chill in the air?

"Ah, yes. The Hall of Sorcerers." Aunt Casta made her presence known as she spoke next to Catra. She was followed by Bow and Glimmer in line, Catra joining in on them as they explored the halls. "Theses are the Great Ones who led Mystacor through the ages." Coming to a stop, she smiled brightly as she stood in front of the statue of a great man. "This is Micah, my brother. We trained in these very halls together. Glimmer looks just like him, you know?"

"He had a beard." Glimmer reminded with a small blush.

"Hey, wait a minute. You mean Glimmer's dad was your brother?" Why did no one tell Catra about this sooner?

"Catra, you do know what aunt means, don't you?" Bow whispered over.

Trying to play it nonchalantly, Catra rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms. "W-Well of course I do! ...It's the rank that comes after general, right?"

Glimmer clearly understood what Micah meant to her Auntie. After all, she was his daughter. The way she smiled whenever she talked about him, the sadness hinting in her eyes whenever she recalled what happened to him. It was the sign of what true family was all about. "Auntie, we're going to avenge my dad and make sure that the Horde never hurts anyone else. Mom believes in us, and in She-Ra."

"...Well, if your mother believes, who am I not to?" A small unapproving scowl crossed her expression, raising her hands in the air in exaggeration. "She's an angelic being, after all, and I'm just a common sorceress."

"Ugh. Please, not this again." Her Aunt Castaspella was considered the head sorceress of Mystacor, how much more could she ask for? Glimmer would gladly trade her own title of princess for anything as grand!

"She never writes to me, you know? I send letters, but do I ever get a reply?" She went on as she lead the way down the hallway.

So far Catra's impression of her was... interesting. She seemed to go on and on about herself while still embarrassing Glimmer from time to time, a personal plus if you asked her, yet also seemed rather full of herself half the time. Yeah, it was something Catra felt like she could relate to, wanting something better of herself, but the way she repeatedly put it off by talking about Glimmer and Queen Angella felt weird to her.

At least she wasn't anywhere near as terrifying as Glimmer's mother was.

That was when she came across one statue in particular, one covered in a faded shadow from head to toe. It was that strange stare she saw in the statue's eyes, one that emanated a deep hatred even through stone. "Who... Who is she?"

"Light Spinner." Casta's voice dropped as she breathed in an air of hate. "A scar on Mystacor's past. She sought power and complete control above all else, and she was cast out. Although some say she never really left. That she's only biding her time, waiting to exact her revenge!" Somehow the strange yet obvious creepy performance Glimmer's aunt was putting on was actually creeping Catra out. Was it more of her own stress and exhausted state affecting her or was she legitimately creeped out by this?

"But those are only children's tales, of course." No amount of smiling from her could make the creep factor suddenly disappear. "Anyway, on with the tour. Are you hungry?" Taking Glimmer and Bow down the hall, Catra stared back at the outcast of a statue. Her voice faded into the distance as the two followed behind her. I've had the dining room redone since last time you were here, Glimmer."

Who was this Light Spinner she was talking about? The face, that stare, the eyes. There was a familiarity to it that she couldn't quite put a claw on. She felt like she should've known her from somewhere, like it was on the tip of her tongue, and it kept going right outside of her reach.

Maybe it was the strange chill in the air that distracted her? Maybe it was how this strange place was all sorts of different compared to what she was used to? Maybe it was the sinister statue that she was looking over that gave her the chills? Or maybe it was the shadow looming over her from behind, one as silent as the air itself.

The shadow gazed upon it's target as it blended into the wall behind her. Its target was distracted by the sight of the statue, perplexed at what she was staring at. Without making a sound, the shadow began to seep it's mist-like tendrils through the girl's ear as she continued to stare at the woman made of stone. Catra couldn't feel any sort of draft as she stared ahead, feeling as if everything was all right little by little. By the time she bothered to move on, over a third of the shadow had entered Catra's mind,

For one moment, both of Catra's eyes flashed yellow, before returning to the same heterochromia blue and yellow they always were.

* _Swoosh!_ *

"Ah-!" Catra yelped as Glimmer and Bow materialized right in front of her.

"OK, Aunt Casta's going to fix us a big dinner and now it's finally beach time!" The entire time Glimmer spoke with her eyes closed, Bow stared into Catra's eyes. For possibly the very first time since meeting her, she actually looked kinda timid. It took a brief silence to fill the air before Glimmer saw Catra's uneasy expression, seeing the pupils shrinking a little in her eyes. "Catra, are you okay?"

"Wha..." Catra shook her head to get all the fuzzy feelings out of it. "Uh yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

"Because your claws are stretched out like you're about to attack someone, for starters." Bow commented pointing to the dangerous duo. Sure enough, looking down herself, Catra was surprised to see her claws fully on display and ready to pounce on the first person that attacked her.

"O-Oh... my bad..." She mumbled retracting them.

"It's worse than we thought." Glimmer felt so sorry for her distressed friend. She doesn't know what sort of horrible nightmare of a dream Catra could've gone through when the virus took over her. Patting her shoulder, she gave her a soft smile as she gestured out the hallway. "What you need right now is warm sand and calming waves. Stat."

"Uh... sure..." She felt strange all of a sudden as she followed the two. She felt like something was creeping up on her skin, but she couldn't put her finger on it. There was a certain chill in the air that followed around her as she was lead through the hallways, Glimmer and Bow giving her as much of a comforting smile as possible from time to time to make sure she was alright.

"Trust me, Catra, the beach is the best place to relax." Bow assured. "There's the warm sand, the smell of fresh water, the perfect place to drown Adora."

"Yeah..." Catra blinked to herself as she realized what he just said. "Wait, what did you say?" She asked with a small hiss in her voice, Glimmer and Bow looking at her like she saw a ghost.

"I said it's the perfect place to get some rest." He replied. The certainty in his voice left her baffled. For a moment, she could've sworn he said something different. "What did you think I said?"

"N... Nothing, nevermind." Catra rubbed her hands along her arms as she tried to warm herself up, continuing to follow the two to the beach. She was sure of it for one second that he had said something entirely differently. And the way he assured her of what he said left her doubtful of it at the same time. Was this a result of the stress getting to her? And why was it so chilly around here? "Is anyone else cold around here?" She asked as she continued hugging herself.

The two gave her an odd look but said nothing. After all that she's done for them and knowing what a harsh life she's had up till now, she deserved some nice R 'n R. It was going to be tricky to find out what made her feel relaxed but in a place as grand as Mystacor, they were sure they could find something fun for her!

...

...

And as they left, they were all unaware of the shadow slowly rising out of the ground behind them. The spectre was a little shorter compared to it's original size, not that it's master was about to complain. From the other end of it's view, through the fountain of Shadow-Weaver's vision, the witch of darkness grinned to herself while in contemplation.

"Hmm... It seems the traitor has a little more mental resistance than I gave her credit for." She surmised, splashing a finger across the fountain as it focused on Catra. "Who would've thought she had a stronger mind in that empty head of hers... Oh well." With a wave of her hands, darkness seeped into the fountain as she continued her work. "She'll play her part accordingly as she has with everything else so far."

"Even if I have to snap that mind of her's in half!"

...

...

This was the farthest thing Catra expected from a beach. Then again, if they were hundreds of feet up in the clouds, she supposed it was the closest thing this place had to an actual beach. With still warm beach sand she could feel under her feet and the clouds acting as the seas themselves, this was basically the same as an ocean-filled beach in every way.

And for some reason it still didn't get rid of the chill creeping up on her.

"So... this is supposed to be some magical sitting thing?" Catra questioned as she watched the two lay out some towels on the sandy beach.

"It's called,  _relaxing_ , Catra." Glimmer said as she flattened out her and Catra's towels. "Didn't you do this kind of thing in the Horde?"

"Not unless your definition of relaxing involving breaking apart droids that kept blasting at you."

"Well, luckily for you, it's really easy. You just need to lie here for awhile, take in the sun, and let your mind wander."

"Sounds like something Bowey's used to." She joked, earning a chuckle from the other princess.

"Hey!" Despite the joke being put on him he still managed to give out a chuckle in fair game. The two were genuinely glad to see her in such a jokeful manner after the long morning she had. Hopefully she would get a good amount of rest out of this by the time this day was over. Smiling at the towel lying before him, Bow casually slipped on top of the towel as he rested with his arms behind his head. "Ah, this is the life."

"...And when does the whole relaxing part kick in?"

"As soon as you lie down." Glimmer gently pulled Catra to the ground on top of her towel, watching as the magicat spread herself against the cloth as she settled in herself. "And now you just relax!" With a smile, she closed her eyes as she enjoyed the peaceful weather around her.

"Hmm..." Catra, on the other hand, was enjoying less of the weather than the other two simpletons were.  _Ok, so I'm lying down... now what?_  Did she need to have some sort of magical power to make these things work? This didn't feel any better than the beds back in the Horde. In fact, it almost felt a little rougher than lying on the beds in the Fright Zone. Least those had comfortable pillows compared to lying her head back like this.

"Ngh..." Maybe lying sideways like this so she was facing Glimmer would help? The princess seemed to be doing relaxing all right, and with all the problems she had to face on a daily basis that was saying a lot. She looked so peaceful with her head lying against the ground and her arms covering the stomach. And she had way too bright of a smile.

"Ugh..." Deciding to try lying down the way she was used to, her curled up into a little ball at the end of her towel, hoping some semblance of how she used to sleep with others would give her a peace of mind.

Still nothing, unfortunately.

"Huff..." That stupid chill was still bothering her too! She tried facing Bow's direction to see if he had any idea on how to do this but he was of no help. He had the same stupid grin Glimmer had on her face as he slept, and it might've been even more annoying because he was facing her direction as he rested with his eyes closed. The least he could do is pop in and check with her on how she was doing of all things!

"Mhh..." Trying the same way he did when he started relaxing proved fruitless too. Resting both arms underneath her head as she lied completely on her back yielded zero results. Why was she having a hard time with this? It's called relaxation, not torture. Then again, at the rate it was going, it felt like practically the same thing to her. And she wasn't the only one having a hard time relaxing around here.

There was also Glimmer, the Princess of Bright Moon, daughter of an Immortal Queen, who also found herself struggling to rest and relax. Not out of the lack of trying or inability to, but because of Catra's constant moaning and groaning every five seconds, her shuffling around the towel being louder than the moaning itself. It was quite an impressive feat for someone to be able to do that for over a minute.

After another three minutes of Catra trying to do everything in her power to relax, which including all the moving around and moaning that went with it, Glimmer finally gave up. "Ok. This isn't working for you, is it?"

"No. Can I get up now?" Catra whined.

"Yes."

"Finally." She stretched out her arms as Glimmer and Bow rose from their towels. Catra surprisingly looked worse after the course of the last three minutes. She looked more exhausted and somehow grew a small amount of baggage under her eyes, the dark blurs barely noticeable from afar.

"Clearly, we're going to have to take this relaxation to the next level. Bow, wake up." She ordered clapping her hands, Bow springing up to his feet almost instantly.

"Wha-? What's going on?" Catra envied anyone with the ability to fall asleep as quickly as Bow did.

"We're taking this up to the next level." She informed. "I think this calls for...  _it_!"

"Huuuuh! You mean...  ** _IT_**?!" Bow's eyes shined with a bright morning star at this, squeezing his cheeks with excitement at the prospect of it.

"Yes, Bow.  **It**!"

"And... what exactly is  _it_?"

...

"Mmh... How much longer do I have to wait?" Catra asked herself as she sat in the chair.

Ok, the beach thing made sense... sort of. The idea was to go to a tranquil beach where they could have peace and relaxation, where anyone could get the perfect amount of sun. While it might not be anything Catra was used to, she could feel the general idea of why it was so relaxing.

What she couldn't understand was this new thing Glimmer suggested to her. Heading over to the Northeastern wing of the mighty citadel, she brought Catra and Bow to a little spa area of Mystacor. Passing along the halls, the interiors changed from it's hardened stone-covered floors to a verily soft and cushiony white carpeting that stretched throughout the entire area.

There were dozens of doors on each side of the halls with various numbers or symbols on them, half of which were unknown to Catra. Some had designated signs like men and women bathrooms, others had a simple round circle on the frame of the door with various colors designating them. The weirdest of these doors were the ones with squiggly lines around them, ones Glimmer told her they were only for the advanced mages around here.

Not that there was any reason or desire for her to examine the rooms, of course.

After five whole minutes of walking did they finally come across a door with a bizarre symbol on it, strange even for a place like this. It displayed five different hands with eyes in the center of all of them. All the hands angled their fingers and hands in unison with each other, all working together to make a single star on the top center of the door. All the hands seemed welcoming and peaceful while being slightly threatening at the same time. What kind of person who draw a single eye in the middle of all the hands anyway?

The room inside of it wasn't any better and made things even more confusing. Taking the appearance of a doctor's office, Catra saw a lone padded rectangular table in the center of the room with two different shelves on the right side of the room, and one shelf on the left side of the room. The right side was housed with different peaceful-looking plants that brought a sense of comfort to her, while the shelf on the left side of the room had dozens of different incense-like candles that were still freshly lit. It wasn't overpowering to Catra's senses and it wasn't too little to notice either.

It felt peaceful in here. Nothing more, nothing less.

"It won't be that much longer, Catra." Even Glimmer's assurance did nothing to quell Catra's recent chill. "Trust me, after this you'll feel dead as new."

"I'll feel what?"

"Good as new?" Glimmer raised a brow to this as she repeated herself. Strangely, this was about the fifth time today either her or Bow had to repeat themselves because Catra couldn't hear or understand what they were saying. While most people might've misheard the average person once or twice a week, there was never a time when Catra didn't or couldn't understand what the two said. If anything, her hearing should've been sharpened compared to everyone else. "Catra, is your hearing okay?"

"It's fine, why?" The cat grumbled a little crossing her arms.

"Because they've been twitching a lot more than usual lately." She replied. Feeling around the ears herself, Catra shrugged this off as she looked away.

"It's nothing, it's fine. Probably just the lack of sleep." Sadly that was the biggest distraction out of all of this. All this stress she's apparently going through and all the confusion she's felt all day, all of it amounted to the possibility of stress. There was no way to tell if her strange behavior amounted to something else. "And why do we have to wear these stupid dresses?"

"They're not dresses, Catra, they're bath robes." Bow corrected, pulling on his own white robe to feel the smoothness of it against his skin. "They're supposed to help you relax. I mean feel how comfy they are!"

"I just feel a little less cold if anything."

What was going on with her? Her behaviors been increasingly strange ever since arriving to Mystacor and it was beginning to get harder to tell if it was the result the stress or the actual lack of sleep. Something about Catra's behavior, between the strange twitches and the chills she was feeling was far too strange to ignore. "Catra-?"

* _creeeak_ *

"Ah, hello." A female wizard interrupted, speaking as she entered the room. She had curly pink hair while donning a white robe herself, the edges of the trim colored in a dark purple, while her underclothes consisted of long skinny grey pants and a plaid white short-sleeve shirt. She also had a simple small pair of glasses planted in her hair. "I take it you're all here for the spa treatment?"

"Yeah, we're here to help our friend get settled in. It's her first time." Glimmer replied as the three stood up.

"Excellent!" She didn't give Catra the chance to do it herself as she immediately took the girl's hand, shaking it profusely. "My name's Dr. Kiroh, and I'll be giving you your massage today."

"A massage?" She looked back to the other two as they smiled to her. "I came all this way for some massage?"

"More like the best massage of your life!" Bow exclaimed. "They use their magic to mix hot and cold temperatures on your bones while giving you a massage, you'll feel like you're melting away from the feel!" She couldn't tell if that was another part of his recent mishearing or if he actually meant it that time. "I got it done here once, I was so relaxed that I fell asleep in under a minute, and I woke up feeling like a year had passed!"

"Trust us, Catra, you'll love it." Glimmer assured. "Bow and I are gonna head over to our own massage areas, we'll see you after a little while." Nodding back to him, Catra watched as the two made their way through the door, leaving Catra alone with this Kiroh girl who stood a good foot over Catra.

"Ok, let's hop up on the table and we'll get started!" She stated, patting the foamy tabletop in the middle of the room. With a sigh, Catra surrendered to the bed of comfort as she lied on her stomach, resting her chin at the top of the table as Kiroh stood at her side. "Oh, shoot, I forgot a towel. I'll be right back!" She quickly walked over to the door, shutting it quietly with a small click as Catra tried to make herself comfortable.

"Ok, relax... relax..." She kept muttering to herself as she lied her arms under her chin, closing her eyes trying to sleep. She did have to admit, as weird as this place was and the current relaxation method seemed, she did feel a small sense of comfort. The table itself was surprisingly comfortable for what it was, almost as much as her personal bed back in Bright Moon. With her ears drooping with exhaustion, she felt herself slowly drift away, unaware of a creeping shadow that slowly seeped in from underneath the doorway.

The shadowy assailant slowly crept along the floor and over the table itself as Catra continued to rest her eyes. Like it had done previously, waving it's smoke-like arms towards her head, little by little the smokey spectre dissolved as it penetrated the girl's ears, shrinking every second as it seeped into the girl's head. The more it did, the more Catra felt the strange chill creeping up on her, but she ignored it. It wasn't any colder than it was before, but it did feel like it was lasting a little longer than usual.

Maybe it was the result of her trying to relax? Every time she tried to feel comfortable around here she felt a strange chill, so maybe it was a good thing? Even if it wasn't, based on Bow's description of the place, the chill itself should slowly melt away when the massage itself began.

As it continued, it's attention quickly shifted back to the door as it heard another click. Hissing to itself silently, the spectre, now a third of its original size, dissipated into nothingness right before the doctor finally entered the room with a small white towel under her arms.

"Ok! How are we doing so far?" She asked perkily.

"Beats me. We haven't started yet from what I know." Catra shrugged back, keeping her eyes closed.

"Well we can get started right away." Catra opened her eyes a little as she felt the doctor raise her chin, sliding the white towel under her head. "Here, these should feel more comfortable to you."

"Thanks..." Hmm what do ya know? It really was a lot more comfortable. Unlike the pillows she felt basically anywhere, these felt as silky as the robe she was wearing and foamy like the table she was lying on. Paying little mind as she wrapped the towel around Catra's neck, the magicat made herself even more comfortable than before.

 _Maybe it won't be so bad after all?_  She thought to herself. Being in a comforting room with the delightful smell of incense filling it, it really did make her feel a lot more relaxed than when she came here. If the massage itself was anywhere near as good as Bow described it then she couldn't wait until they actually began the massa-

* ** _SCRUNCH!_** *

"Ack-Ough!" Catra suddenly gasped for dear life as she leaned up. All around her she felt an immediate lack of oxygen as the towels around her neck tightened immensely. Unable to pry the painful towels from her throat, she shifted her eyes to the left where she saw Dr. Kiroh, giving off a sinister smirk as she pulled both ends of the towels apart as it squeezed the life out of the poor girl.

"Oh, dear, poor, Catra..." There was an ominous tone echoing in the Doctor's voice. "It pains me dearly to see you so stressed out." Grinning, the magicat felt as the grip tightened, increasing the suffocation tenfold. "But don't worry. Soon, all your troubles will wash away, and you'll fall into a deep, deep, sleep...

"Urk-! Guh!" She rasped as she continued struggling against the immense pressure squeezing her throat. Seeing how she couldn't overpower the surprisingly powerful grip from the doctor, she did the second best thing she could think of. Stretching out her claws, she started cutting away at the towels against her throat, taking care as to not cut herself by accident as she did. With every thread she felt cut she felt the towel loosen it's hold on her, feeling the airwaves coming back to her.

She might not have known what their version of massages were in Mystacor, but she knew they had to be better than this. With her mind reeling from the pain, she knew that she had to deal with the doctor before the doctor dealt with her...

...

It was at this time that Glimmer and Bow had finally found their assigned doors for their own massages, smiling to each other as they found them ten doors down from Catra's and placed right next to each other's.

"You sure Catra will be fine on her own?" The concern on Glimmer's face was more evident by her voice.

"Relax, she'll be fine." Bow nodded back. "I mean what's the worst that can happen?"

* **CRASH!** *

Neither of them could've been prepared for what  _happened_  immediately after. The very second the two of them reached for their own door, they turned back down the hall after hearing the familiar sound of wood being crashed through by a heavy object. What made the situation worrying was how the object was less of an object and more of a particular doctor.

A doctor named Kiroh at that.

With eyes widening, their mouths dropped as they saw Catra jump in front of the doctor, growling at her like a ferocious beast as she pulled back a claw. The doctor herself was easily terrified of the strange humanoid cat that just tossed her through the doorway, finding herself too frozen with fear to fight back against the menacing creature, staring at the multi-colored eyes feeling like she had already taken away her life!

"CATRA, STOP!" Glimmer shouted as she teleported herself and Bow hastily over to her. Right as Catra pulled back her sharp claws in order to strike, Glimmer and Bow popped up right behind her, each of them grabbing her arms before she could do any more damage.

"Ngh! Let go of me!" She screamed, frantically trying to reach the doctor that assaulted her.

"Catra, what are you doing?! Stop!" Glimmer struggled to maintain her grip as she tried to worm her arms out of Glimmer's hands.

"No! You have to let me go! She tried to suffocate me!" Catra yelled, snapping her teeth as close to the doctor as possible.

"I-I didn't do anything!" Kiroh cried, sniffling as she rubbed her own sore shoulders. "I was just giving you a towel to lie your head on!"

"Yeah, and then you wrapped it around my neck and then tried to suffocate me with it!" Glimmer and Bow looked to each other with confusion at the strange accusation. The sorceress was trying to suffocate Catra? Here, in the middle of Mystacor, of all places?

"I didn't even touch the towel after I gave it to you!" The doctor cried.

"You liar!"

"Catra, get a hold of yourself!" Bow snapped yelling right into her ears. The immense pitch of the shout was enough to rattle Catra's eardrums, enough to grab her attention for a brief moment. "Look at her, Catra! Does she look like someone who would try to kill you?!"

What was he babbling on about? Of course she was! Just look at her! That evil look in her eye as she cried, the trembling in fear as she stared at Catra, the way she was covered in dust after being thrown through a wall... the way she... didn't defend herself after being attacked... the way tears flowed... from her... face...

"Wha..." Catra finally slumped in their arms as she shook her head. "Wha... I don't... Where..."

"Catra," Glimmer spoke stern yet patiently, "you need to calm down."

"I..." Feeling like their friend was no longer a threat, the two released the grip on her arms as she rubbed her head, making the doctor jump for a moment thinking she was going to attack again. "I don't know what's... What's going..." Why was she finding herself so confused? There was a whole lot to her life that she had to adjust to but not one of those things confused her as much as this did. She didn't feel any control of her mind at the moment, like someone else yelling propaganda and paranoia into her brain.

And everything they said was true. She was staring at the doctor crying to herself on the ground after she attacked her. She didn't seem the least bit threatening to her and she didn't look like the person capable of coming out and suffocating a person out of nowhere. She just seemed... innocent. "I'm... I'm sorry-"

"Get away from me!" The doctor cried out as she slapped Catra's hand away when she tried to help her.

"I am very, very, sorry for what she did." Glimmer apologized kneeling to her level. "Please, don't tell my aunt about this, I'll take her to see a sage right away."

Kiroh stared at her eyes for a few seconds. She knew Glimmer was the niece of the head sorceress here and there was no way she would voluntarily bring a person as dangerous as Catra was here unless she needed help in some way. While she was still terrified of the fact a girl younger and shorter than her managed to toss her through a door, one that could easily be fixed in seconds with her magic, she knew Glimmer was innocent enough to assure her this was an accident.

"J-Just get her out of here for now." She instructed with a bit of a harsh tone, getting back to her feet as she channeled her energy at the door's remains. "I need to clean this up." With her magic, she began levitating the pieces of the door, almost perfectly without a crack in-between the pieces as they re-originated back into their proper place.

Nodding thankfully to the compassionate and understanding doctor that she was, both she and Bow took Catra's hand as they pulled her down the hallway.

Catra herself was at a loss for words. First the strange chills, the constant misunderstandings, and now this? She felt like she should know something was going off around here, but the paranoia building up in her mind kept her from acting out and investigating on it. All she saw was the destruction she was causing and the people she was hurting, and she felt like she herself was the blame for it!

**_What's happening to me?!_ **

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

**_A/N: As above, not much to say, other than a thank you to all the fans and supporters I have out there for this series and have been reviewing on Ao3 and Fanfiction for helping me reach this milestone! I appreciate all the feedback and fans of this series and hope for the continued support as season 2 draws near._ **

**_Fun fact: I recently found out the series is intended to have 52 episodes :D! Which means, if we're lucky, we'll be looking at a glorious 4 seasons of 13 episodes or so each ^^! God I can't wait!...actually I can because until I get this done I don't intend to watch a single episode of it XP Ugh..._ **

**_Anyway, hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!_ **


	25. Episode 7: The Horrors of Mystacor Part 3

**_A/N: As always, not much to say, but SUPER HYPER HYPED for the season 2 ^^!!! Anyone else see the preview? Only saw it once but OH MY GOD IT LOOKED AWESOME ^^! It looks like we're going to get to see some more princess power action as well as warfare (You know, what all kids should learn XP)._ **

 

**_Personally, Im both hyped and distressed by it cause it just goes to prove how LITTLE TIME I HAVE LEFT X_X!!! I need to get this fic done by season two or I'll be stuck with who knows how much unfinished X( don't ask why, its complicated._ **

 

**_With that said, I might end up rushing a few bits here and there, but overall I still intend/plan to keep thing as planned, so if something is rushed/doesnt make sense (least wait till after the end of an arc here since most stuff is explained by the end XP), let me know so I can see if i need to correct it or not._ **

 

**_With that said, hope you all enjoy today's episode!_ **

 

**_..._ **

 

**_..._ **

 

**_..._ **

 

 

 

_"You're always miles behind, freak!" Lonnie sneered as she looked over a young Catra dangling over a pit._

_..._

_"Maybe you should go back, Catra, before you cause any more trouble for us." A midteen Kyle commented with a solemn expression._

_..._

_Why don't you watch where you're going you little brat!" An angry guard yelled at her before butting her in the head with his baton._

_..._

_"You think you're in pain now? I will show you what true pain is like for what you did to Adora!" Shadow-Weaver roared as shadows and streaks of red-colored lightning surged from her hands towards her._

...

...

"Ahh!" Catra yelped as she rose from the table, panting and panting at the bizarre horror show she had playing on in her head.

"Catra, Catra, calm down!" Glimmer shushed calmly, gently helping her friend back down as the sage continued to work his literal magic.

The last half hour had been nothing but trauma and confusion for the young Magicat and her two allies.

After all the stress and disasters that have plagued Catra up till now, Glimmer thought it'd be a nice idea for a little vacation. A little relaxation went a long way, and when you were a symbol of the Rebellion who was in charge of saving the entire world, it was a little understandable that you would find yourself stressed out too. After all, people can only be tasked with saving the world and leading an army at their backs while rescuing countless lives for only so long until it started to take it's toll on them.

So with that in mind, Glimmer decided to bring Catra and Bow over to Mystacor, the magic capital of the world. Home to a vast array of mages and wizards who studied a multitude of crafts, one of the safest places one could find around Etheria, and one that happened to be lead by her very own Aunt Castaspella.

And how did the relaxation go so far?

Horrible.

Ever since the three arrived here, Catra's been on edge. She kept complaining about this strange chill in the air, this strange sense that something was amiss despite being unable to put a finger on it. With her animalistic genetics, she was used to picking up on numerous things around her, her senses heightened compared to that of an average human. However, as of late, she's found herself unable to pick up anything, save for the paranoia that was currently occupying her head.

It started with a simple chill and she thought it was her imagination. Then Bow and Glimmer started saying weird things around her like how they were going to drown Adora or how this relaxation technique would make her feel as good as dead. Personally, it would've been more than welcoming if it stayed like that so she could get on with the rest of the possible relaxation.

Sadly, things took a turn for the worst in the midst of her last relaxation technique which involved getting a magical massage. It was supposed to ease her tension and fill her with the greatest relief possible, and it ended as terribly as everything else. Why? Because what started out as a seemingly innocent therapy session that was supposed to make her feel better ended up turning into a nightmare when her doctor started strangling her with the towel wrapped around her neck. And that wasn't the worst part!

The worst part was after she snapped out of it, after throwing the doctor through the door and being stopped by Glimmer and Bow, she realized the doctor wasn't trying to do any sort of thing. The paranoia had built up so immensely at this point that she started hallucinating the sense of touch along with her hearing and sight. Any worse and she, along with Glimmer and Bow, didn't know what would happen.

And for the first time compared to her normal visions, these visions were absolutely terrible. They were mixed and split between a variety of them compared to the usual visions she had where she saw an entire scene play out in front of her before snapping out of here. Here, she was experiencing the worst examples of her life! They weren't even at the same time periods, some parts of it she recognized as years apart.

That's why Glimmer found it imperative to bring her to the sage that was currently examining her mind. Within the large round room, Catra had to stare up at the large purple crystal sticking out of the ceiling, one that gave off an occasional shine as she stared at it. The old sage himself was a bald man with a light blue beard, wearing a green scarf as he wore an aqua blue robe that stretched all the way down to his feet.

As for Glimmer and Bow, they stood at the side of the room, about three yards away from the table, with Bow leaning against the wall as Glimmer twiddled her thumbs anxiously. Like Catra, the two of them were still wearing their bath robes they were given at the start of this spa treatment.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Bow asked, never taking his eyes off of Catra as she was examined.

"I don't know." Glimmer fretted. "I don't even know what's wrong with her. She didn't eat anything weird this morning, did she?"

"She was up since midnight last night. There's no telling what she ate." For all he knew she could've eaten some strange berries she found in the middle of the woods while everyone else was sleeping. "I'm sure she'll be fine after she gets some sleep."

"Yeah, that's the problem though." It was an annoying reality she had to keep coming back to. "How are we supposed to get her to sleep in the first place?"

"Get away!" Catra suddenly yelped, leaping from the table as she walked back a few feet from it. Confused and concerned by her sudden antics, Glimmer quickly teleported herself and Bow to Catra's side, nearly causing her to jump again in fright.

"What happened?"

"Nothing." The sage replied. "I was just checking her forehead to see if there was any signs of physical trauma that could be affecting her mind."

"The heck you were!" Catra snapped back as she stretched out her claws defensively. "You were trying to push your thumbs through my eyes, I felt it!"

"Catra-" Glimmer winced as her friend jumped from merely touching Catra's arm softly. She could feel the irregular pulse going on through her arms, the tension going on between her nerves. If this was how the nerves in her arms felt at the moment, she couldn't imagine how fast her heart was beating.  _She needs to calm down before she makes herself sick._  Figuring the magicat was going to be too paranoid to answer her directly she decided to take her chances with the one who inspected her. "Do you know what's wrong with her?"

As much as she hoped for, the wise old sage could only sigh regretfully. "I'm afraid I can't find anything physically or mentally wrong with the young girl. I can amount it to stress for sure until I know what's causing it. I'm afraid I'm not much help."

"That's okay." Bow smiled in return as he patted Catra's shoulder comfortingly. "Thanks for trying to help anyway."

"You could try the Steam Grottos at least." The sound of the recommendation filled Bow with a grand excitement. "She keeps complaining about being cold, so warming her up would be a great idea."

"The Steam Grottos, of course!" Glimmer's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree at the suggestion, looking back to Catra with glee. "Catra, wouldn't you feel better if we got you warmed up?"

Warmed up? Like what? Like set on fire?! Yeah, sure, she would love that! And why stop there? Why not continue stabbing her with pitchforks and stick an apple in her mouth while you were at it! After all, everyone knows roasted Cat is supposed to be a delicacy in some parts of the world, and she-!

Catra shook her head heavily, doing her best to physically shake the thoughts from her mind. Why was she acting so paranoid like this? She knew she was acting crazy, even for herself, and there was no reason these people would be trying to harm her... right? She was She-Ra, partially, and they needed her to be She-Ra. If they didn't want her to fight for them they would've imprisoned her and given the sword to some other nobody a long time ago.

Focusing on Glimmer's voice, Catra lowered her ears as she gave a small frown. "Y-Yeah... I guess..."

"Good." She smiled at the sight of Catra seeming to fully understand what she said, given all the paranoia she's displayed recently.

"Woohoo! Steam Grottos!" Bow cheered raising both his fists. "Trust me Catra, there is no better way to relax than in the Steam Grotto!"

"I'll believe it when I see it..." She muttered as Glimmer held her hand, leading her out the door.

Turning around Bow gave one final wave to the sage as they departed. "Thanks for the help again, man. We'll come back if there's any other trouble."

It was nice to see a young boy so respectful and helpful like Bow. Often, people like him might've seemed a bit more selfish or into things for their personal desires, so Bow was a nice change of pace.

Which was a shame too. A real shame as a matter of fact. People like Bow were the easiest to manipulate around Etheria, and Shadow-Weaver would've had more than enough fun bending someone like that to her will. Watching the three helpless friends making their way out the door, the form of the old sage slowly shifted. Bending, turning, dissolving into a fearsome spectre with a glowing red eye dead center in the middle of its head.

With her friends assured that everything was fine with Catra, there was no way they would take her to see someone else until it completed it's corruption of her. Dissolving under the floor, it gave chase, jumping from shadow to shadow as it followed them to their next destination.

It would ensure it's mission went off without a hitch. All it needed was one more opportunity to complete it's task...

...

...

"Tadaaa!" Bow and Glimmer cheered as they finally brought Catra to the Steam Grotto.

During the entire walk here, Catra's recent state of paranoia became all the more obvious and ominous for the two friends trying to lead her here. At least twice so far on the ten minute walk it took to get here, she lashed out in hysteria about whatever crossed her path or when the two said anything around her.

At one instance she thought one of the approaching guards patrolling the place were coming up personally to stab the girl with the staff in his hand, one that happened to be blunt by the way. It took a lot of convincing and pleading on Glimmer's part after she got Catra to let him go to not tell her Aunt about this. She promised him this sort of thing wouldn't happen again and how she would keep a closer eye on her friend.

While he wasn't one to give people second chances, especially ones that attacked him after first meeting them for no more than two seconds, he was willing to let it slide since Catra seemed genuinely sorry immediately after. The girl was shivering and hugging herself like she saw a ghost, one that haunted her to this day.

That was the other thing that concerned Glimmer and Bow. Since the paranoia kicked in, Catra's been a lot more docile and complacent with everything she did. Perhaps docile isn't quite the word to use for someone who threatened a guard a few minutes ago, but compared to all the times they asked her for something and she responded with a threat or violence in response, this was the most peaceful and calming Catra they ever came across.

One that attacked when she felt threatened and was willing to listen to anyone as long as they didn't seem threatening to her.

This was probably the saddest state they've ever seen Catra in. Catra was their friend no matter how many times she insisted to the alternative, and while she might've seemed a lot more trusting in them as of now and willing to listen, this wasn't the way they wanted her trust. They wanted her to trust them because she wanted too, not because she was too scared of what could happen otherwise.

Which is the other thing that worried Glimmer herself about this. Catra was scared. Legitimately, certifiably, scared. She can't recall the last time, if ever, she's seen Catra this scared before. She might've jumped occasionally when someone popped in front of her out of nowhere, specifically Glimmer herself, yet she never found herself actually scared like this. Sure, she didn't like the ocean but even then she maintained her fear better than she was now.

It was here they were hoping she could get the much needed rest she rightfully deserved.

And hopefully before she got anymore paranoid.

"So, what do you think?" Bow asked as he walked around the grotto.

"It's... warm..." A small smile came to Catra's lips as the chills subsided. "Really warm."

"That's the steam grotto for you!" Smiling over to Glimmer, the two nodded to each other as they disrobed the bathrobes from earlier, donning the inner white garments covering themselves where it was most needed.

Standing here in the middle of the grotto, she actually felt a bit of her tension relieving itself. This place was actually calming compared to the rest of the places she's been to so far. Maybe it was actually working this time around? Her paranoia didn't seem as strong around here, and every breath felt like a breath of fresh air, calming her nerves and her heart rate that once skyrocketed with fear.

Looking over to the archer of the group, she watched as Bow got himself settled into one of the many tubs of hot water. "Ooh! Ahh! Hah!" He whimpered to himself quietly, easing in as he slowly descended into the semi-boiling. Letting the water flow around him, he let out the greatest of sighs as he took in all the warmth and comfort the grotto had to offer.

"These pools are full of magical minerals " Glimmer explained as she helped slide off Catra's bathrobe, the girl wearing the same underclothes as she was. "Sorcerers use them all the time to cleanse themselves of their worry or fear before a big ceremony or spell." As she brought herself into the waters, Catra grew a look of fear as she pulled her hands back.

"Er, I'm good from right here." She muttered scratching the back of her head.

"Oh please, you'll be fine. These waters are perfectly warmed, right Bow?" The two were met with an already resting Bow, one whose head was slowly disappearing into the waters.

"Mhh... so... warm..." He mumbled as his head slowly sank. After a few seconds of being completely submerged, Glimmer let out a small chuckle as he quickly shot himself back to his feet, fresh steam rising from his slightly reddened face "Ah! Hot! Hot!" And as before, he slowly slid himself back into a sitting position, being careful not to have a repeat of before.

"Yeah, well... I think I'll sit this one out." Catra distanced herself from the pool as Glimmer held her hands. "I'm plenty warm as is, thanks."

"Hmm..." What to do, oh what to do. There was a cat who was the hope of the Rebellion and future of mankind, who happened to be having the most stressful, paranoia-inducing, day of her life, and a pool that could make all her problems float away. Mentally smiling to herself, she rolled her eyes playfully as she waved off Catra's concern. "Oh, ok, you win, I won't make you force yourself to go in."

"Huh... Thanks..." Maybe Catra really was wrong about this girl... or was that the paranoia acting up? Was it actually making her nicer in some regard? Either way, at least now she didn't have to worry about getting we-

* _swoosh!_ *

* _splash!_ *

"Ah-!" Catra yelped as she found herself Glimmer standing waist-deep in one of the steamy pools of water, one Glimmer teleported the two of them into. Almost immediately her entire body was shot up with a shiver that crawled up her spine, though this was far more comfortable compared to the shiver of chills she recently got. That still didn't get rid of the irritation welling up inside her, grumbling to herself as she gave a small glare to the evil princess standing proudly next to her. "Have I ever told you I hate you?"

"Everyday in fact." Still smiling with glee, she took Catra's hands as she lowered the two of them into the steamy grotto, one inch at a time. "Now, just clear your mind. Breathe deeply."

"Huff..." She breathed, doing her best to follow along. "I guess it is a little warmer than standing around here..."

Trying to listen to the instructions, she allowed herself to be lowered into the waters as she gazed into Glimmer's eyes. "Focus on the warmth on your skin. Let your body go perfectly..."

It was weird. Too weird for Catra. With every word she uttered she felt herself being drained away of all energy, but in a good way. She felt a strange warmth washing over her in more ways than one. Her irritations and paranoia seemed so distant compared to what they once were, they were minor thoughts in the back of her head. Lying her head against the soft stone-like edge of the grotto, she felt a small smile creeping up her chin, letting go as...

...

"...Mmmh..." Catra hummed a little as she came to.

How long had she been out for? She felt an incredible relaxation as she lied against the rocks, taking in all the heat from the water and the steam-filled air. Everything around her felt surprisingly comfortable for a change. She couldn't feel an ounce of the paranoia and trauma that plagued her mind earlier, she didn't consider all the problems she felt in the world for once. Sitting here in the middle of this steamy grotto, everything actually felt, as much as she hated to admit it, peaceful.

"Ah." Oh, and then there was Glimmer, that little cueball of pink hair, resting against her chest... wait...

"Eh..." Catra blushed as she realized what was pressed against her side, the gentle weight of it nudging against her as the princess slept. Hands down. No comparison. No competition. This was the weirdest experience so far in Catra's life, and given everything she's going through in the last month, that was saying a lot. She couldn't tell what the appropriate response to this entire scenario was.

Should she wake her up? She looked so comfortable laying against Catra that it would be rude to do so, especially since she was the one who gave Catra this method of relaxation in the first place. Plus, you know, she was a princess. It would be disrespectful to awaken her like this.

Then again, the awkward feeling of having someone other than Adora pressed against her in her sleep was a bit...strange. She slept with Adora plenty of times, since they were kids in fact. This might've been the one single person she has ever found herself sleeping with in her life. It was like being friends with somebody throughout your entire life and then one day they brought one of their friends over for the three of you to hang out at the same time.

Not exactly bad, just really awkward when you tried to think of what to say to the new guy.

"How does it feel?" She heard Glimmer whisper, keeping her head down.

"Umm... good, I guess?" She couldn't find the words to describe how this  _feeling_  was to her. Nor did she understand exactly what she was referring to.

"Really?" She raised her tired head up to her face, showing off her half-asleep eyes. "So you feel relaxed now?" She spoke softly, blissfully unaware of what she as doing.

"I guess so, yeah..." She lifted her head up at this as she examined the steam around herself. "I don't feel any bit of stress that I felt earlier and all... Yeah, I guess I'm relaxed now."

"Oh... that's such a shame..." Shadows fell over the top of Glimmer's face as Catra looked back to her.

"Why's that?"

"Because, it'll be such a shame to see that innocent smile fade away..."

"Fade away? What are you talk- Agh-! Uuurgh"! Catra was not prepared for the Princess's newfound strength and cruelty as she suddenly pushed Catra's head underwater, holding onto her throat as she did.

 _What are you doing?!_  Catra screamed to herself, feeling te water boil around her skin as she struggled to get back up. This wasn't paranoia, it couldn't be! Just look at her, she was factually pushing Catra into the water, keeping the girl's head underwater as Catra watched the air bubbles float above her! This wasn't paranoia anymore, it couldn't be! She could feel the water itself filling her throat as she tried in vain to break free!

Through the murky water she could see it. Those dark, twisted eyes of evil that she's always known her to have. That face of disgusting glee she was getting out of drowning Catra. The wicked smile plastered on her face as she watched Catra trying to break free of her immense grip with each passing second!

Was Adora actually right? Were the Princesses actually evil!?

That was the least of her worries as she felt her lungs beginning to collapse, having a disturbing sense of De Sha Vue the last time she drowned. This time she would've had the disgusting pleasure of drowning in boiling water over freezing water, possibly being the only highlight out of this situation.

 _She's going to kill me if I don't kill her! She's going to kill me if I don't kill her! **She's going to-**!_ Catra's mind kept repeating itself as she slowly pushed herself up. She couldn't allow the princesses to kill her, not if it was all true! Growling to herself, Catra pushed herself from her feet as her head resurfaced. Not giving the horrible ex-ally of hers a chance, she quickly grabbed Glimmer by the neck and gave her a taste of her own medicine, pushing her down into the watery depths all her might.

"Urrph!" She heard Glimmer gurgle as Catra glared daggers at her.

"Doesn't feel so good, does it!" Catra shouted angrily, trying to keep the princess pinned underwater for as long as possible. As expected the princess flopped and flailed her arms all over the place as she tried to resurface to the top. Catra had battle experience. Far more than Glimmer could ever hope to compete against. She didn't stand a single chance against Catra's brute strength no matter how hard she tried.

"Wha- Catra!" She ignored Bow's yelling as he started to wake up. "What are you doing?! Let her go!" Rushing over to her side, he started pulling at Catra's right arm, giving Glimmer the strength she needed to get a part of her head above water, enough to breath as the other one kept the rest of her down.

"She's trying to kill me, she has to die!" Catra yelled, pushing Bow away with her right arm as she went back to submerging Glimmer's head underneath.

"I didn't want it to be like this, Catra." She turned her head towards him as he dug his arm under the water. With fury in his eyes, fear overtook more of Catra's heart as she saw him raise a giant knife out of the water with a serrated edge, gripped tightly in his hand as he raised it over his head. "But you left me no other choice!"

"Nooo!" Catra yelled in fear, forgetting what she was doing as she jumped out of the water, narrowly dodging the incoming stab. As she did, she saw the room filling out with shadows coming after her, intending to take her down to the horrifying darkness that awaited her if she was captured.

This was beyond terrible! What was she supposed to do?! Scrambling over the floor, incapable of finding her cherished sword. Cherished? Yes, of course it was! It was more than capable of slaying the evil princess and her lacky! Why didn't she ever listen to Adora? She was right! They were evil, all princesses are!

Searching left to right for her weapon, her eyes widened in terror as she saw a darkness slowly beginning to surround her, the blackness as thick as the steam it covered over. All around her she heard the terrifying laughter of Bow and Glimmer surrounding her, spewing taunts and insults constantly as she covered in fear.

"Ha, I can't believe she thought we were allies!"

"Poor, wittle, kitty. No big strong Adora to keep you safe."

"S-Shut up!" Catra yelled, almost cried. Unable to tell where the voices were coming from, she started swiping her claws randomly around herself, trying to strike at the voices wherever she heard them from. She didn't realize as the tears swelled in the corner of her eyes she was so scared.

"Maybe she would've been better in the Horde? It's not like she's useful to us."

"Why did I even want her to join us in the first place? She's barely done anything for us."

"I-I'm trying!" Catra screamed. The more she listened to the voices the worse the darkness became. Now she was starting to see apparitions. Strange, shadowy, creatures that started taking the form of Shadow-Weaver herself. "I swore I would help you guys for a kingdom, honest!"

"A kingdom? Ha! She actually thought we'd give her one! No wonder the Horde hated her, she's too stupid for her own good!"

"I wonder which method of torture my mom's gonna use the next time we bring her to Bright Moon? Do we stretch her limbs out one by one? Or maybe we'll just leave her in a cell to rot for the rest of her life? Or until she slowly starves to death, whichever comes first."

"Stop it!" The sadness slowly started to replace with anger as her claws became sharper, striking faster and faster at whatever shadows appeared next. "S-Someone help! Please help!" She screamed.

"Catra, you need to stop-"

"Ahh!"

* _swiff!_ *

"Ah!" That time she hit something. She finally managed to hit one of the apparitions that have been circling her all throughout the constant harassment. She felt good for a change that she finally managed to get one of the evil figures right where they stood, right when they grabbed Catra's left arm.

It was a short lived feeling though as reality finally came back to Catra. Her vision of the black smokey haze dissolved around her as she saw what, or more specifically who, she ended up attacking at that moment. It wasn't some horrid monster that wanted to do who knew what to her, it wasn't some Horde soldier in disguise that wanted to plunge a knife in her back.

It was her ally, Glimmer, aka Pinky to her, who was wincing at the sore scratch mark she rubbed over her right hand.

"Catra, what is wrong with you?!" Bow shouted as he rushed over to Glimmer's side to inspect the hand. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah..." Glimmer winced again as she pulled back her hand. "I'll manage." While she was still in pain herself, she couldn't help but look over Catra, seeing her trembling where she stood with her claws shaking and an emptiness in her eyes. "Catra? Are you okay?"

What is wrong with her? She attacks her and she asks if SHE'S okay? That wasn't... that wasn't anywhere near what she should've been asking! She acted like she cared for Catra when she clearly didn't! She wanted her to be okay so she could use her again, like she always did!

Or maybe it was worse than that! Yeah, she could see it now! She says she's okay, Glimmer hugs her pretending to care again, and then when she least expects it, she feels Bow plunge a knife into her back while her arms are pinned! It's genius! Horrifying cruel, and genius!

Because that's what the princesses were, evil geniuses!

"S-Stay back!" She threatened as she backed away, stretching her claws in their direction as she warned. To Bow's surprise, as if she ignored what Catra had done to her, Glimmer slowly made her way towards the girl, arms stretched out cautiously as she tried to calm the girl down.

"Catra, look at me. It's fine. No one is going to hurt you." She stated.

"Y-You're lying! I know you're working with Shadow Weaver!"

"Shadow Who?" She looked back at Bow for the moment who could only shrug in response.

"You tried to drown me a minute ago!" She snapped.

"Drown you? Catra, why would I try to drown you? How could I?"

"Simple! You waited till my guard was down and then you pushed my head underwater as you tried to drown me!"

"Your head's not even wet!" Glimmer informed, catching her off guard. "If I drowned you how could you dry off so fast without a towel? Or your hair for that matter?"

"Don't try to play that on me!" She shouted, feeling around her head with one hand while keeping the other at the ready. "Of course my head's-!" She stopped as she noticed something missing.

Water. Wetness. Moisture. Something that was supposed to be in her hair to prove to her, and them, that she was telling the truth. But no matter how much she scrambled her hand around her hair, how hard she tried to get a feel for it, there was nothing there. The entire scene at the grotto she went through, all the drowning and water she felt enter her lungs, none of it seemed to be true.

"I... you... You grabbed me and..." Her tail brushed up against the sword she was searching for, finding it lied nice and neatly against one of the many pools.

The same place she left it and thought to check first.

"Catra." Glimmer called directly, grabbing her attention. "We didn't do anything to you. You just started flailing around and jumped out of the pool. That's it."

"B-But he had a knife!" She shouted at Bow. "I saw him pull it out of the water myself! He must've planted it before we got into the water."

"A knife?" He questioned. "Why would I bring a knife here to begin with? And if I brought it in beforehand, how would I know which pool we were going to use?"

This... this didn't make any sense! She felt everything, she heard everything, she saw  **everything**! But every time she tried to counter something of theirs, they just shot it back with simple and easy logic. She couldn't find a hole in their explanations, nothing to suggest that these two were lying.

So why was it making her skin crawl so much?!

"You... You're both trying to... trick me..." The steam around the area began to clear a little as Catra backed up to another outstretched pool of the grotto. All around her she saw nothing ominous or threatening to herself, nothing she could find suspicious or misleading. If both of them were telling her lies, it was definitely one of the most convincing ones she's ever heard. "I... Then how did you..." Her head swarmed with continued paranoia as she tried to piece her own logic together.

"Catra," Catra nearly jumped again as Glimmer grabbed both her hands, "you need to breathe. Ok? We're only trying to kill you."

While she flinched at the statement she made, she was pretty sure she knew what she actually said. A part of her did at least. From the way it was looking, her best chances of getting through this mess was to use whatever logic and reasoning she could against whatever the paranoia was telling herself. 'Y-You said help me, right?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I said." She helped ease Catra against the edge of the grotto as she sat down beside her. "Catra, who's this Shadow Weaver you keep talking about?"

"N... No one, she's nothing." She rubbed her eyes with the palm of her hands, trying to push out whatever thoughts were being sent into her mind.

"She doesn't sound like nothing." Bow commented, sitting on her right. "If she's got you this worked up, she's gotta be someone important."

"SHE'S NOTHING!" She yelped, walking ahead of them, squeezing her head in frustration. "Leave me alone, alright? Go bother someone else for a change!"

"But Catra-" Glimmer tried to protest, taking a step over to her until Bow grabbed her hand.

"Glimmer, maybe she' right." It felt strange to her to hear Bow suggesting they leave her like this.

"Are you crazy too?" She whispered over. To their reluctance, in the current state Catra found herself in, she was too paranoid and out of it to pick up on their talking with her sensitive ears.

"Think about it for a second. She keeps hallucinating only when someone else is around, right?"

"Yeah...?" She followed along with where the logic was going, although it didn't do anything to ease her feelings.

"So maybe she'll be better off if we give her some space? For a minutes at least."

She tried to contemplate what he said as she looked back to her distressed friend. On the one hand, leaving her to pace back and forth in the middle of having a paranoia-induced episode was possibly the worst idea ever! She was fragile at the moment, terrified. Everything she saw and heard were completely backwards from whatever was happening. At the rate it was going, it looked like it was starting to affect her on a physical level as well!

On the other hand, they had yet to ever leave her side at this rate, at least not without one other person being with her. If these hallucinations affected her when she was with someone only, maybe they would go away if no one else was present at the time? It was worth experimenting at least.

"Catra? Do you promise to remain here if we leave you alone for a while?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever! Just, leave me alone!" She growled. The other two glanced at each other, unable to think of what to say, as they made their way to the door, leaving a distraught Catra to pace around the room on her own.

What was she supposed to do? Was she supposed to try to relax again? What if it ended up like last time and some sort of terrifying water monster attacked her this time?! Oh god, what if it was something worse?! What if the air suddenly decided to pick on her, attacking her from all angles while she was too powerless to defend herself?! She didn't have any magic! That stupid sword wasn't going to help her any time soon!

And then there were the devil twins she came to know as Glimmer and Bow! Oh, she could see it now. The minute she tried relaxing in the pools again they would pop out of nowhere and capture her. Bound, gagged, helpless, they would carry her over to the edge of the cliffs of Mystacor with all her past allies watching and pointing with amusement, and cackle after they tossed her over the edge, proving themselves the traitors that they were-!

"NGH!" Catra shook her head, pounding her fist a little against it. "Stop that!" She shouted to herself.

Why were these thoughts coming to her in the first place? Forget about the fact these guys could never possibly get the jump on her if they wanted to, not including the teleporting as a factor. They've been with her for a good while now and they didn't seem the least bit intent on her own annihilation! Who was making these thoughts for her?

Under normal circumstances, she would've easily been able to deduce the culprit behind all this, with no other possibility other than Shadow Weaver. However, these were the farthest things from normal circumstances at this time. In addition to the spectre plaguing her mind with paranoia and madness, it was also disabling her ability to formulate and reason, the way Shadow Weaver intended it to be. She made sure there was zero possibility for Catra to rationale for herself, and this went on to prove it.

"What are we going to do about her?" Her ears perked up as she overheard Glimmer's voice outside through the entrance. Creeping up on it, she slowly made her way against the wall, keeping herself hidden as she stood next to the door. "She's catching onto us!"

"Wh- No!" Catra rubbed her head immediately after hearing this. "You're hallucinating again, that's it!"

"Can you believe she was stupid enough to listen to us after we lied?" She heard Bow chuckling, going on to chat in a mocking tone. "Oh, don't worry Catra, I don't have duh knife. Ha! She didn't think I just tossed it away after we ran out from us?"

"Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!" She grumbled to herself, lightly pounding the side of her head against the wall.

"I know, right? Of course her head wouldn't be wet! She's a cat! A fleabag! It dried off so fast that she didn't even notice!" Glimmer laughed. Catra slid against the wall to the floor as the verbal abuse rained upon her.

"Do you think she'll still be there when the guards come back?"

"I bet she'll still be running around the room like an idiot if we didn't come back till tomorrow with them!"

"Please, stop..." Catra muttered to herself. She tried blocking out all the sound by plugging her ears against her palms, with little to no results to show for it.

"Sometimes I wish someone else found the sword. Someone more competent, worthwhile, better. Maybe that Adora girl would've been a better pick."

"Yeah, I bet she would've won us the war by now instead of that stupid cat."

"Ooh, I know! Let's get rid of Catra and then we'll go and kidnap that friend of hers!"

"Yeah! I bet with enough torture, we can make her bark like a dog if we wanted her to!"

"DONT YOU DARE-!" Catra roared as she popped her head out from around the corner. She was met gazing at the same person that always greeted her when she shouted today.

Nobody. There wasn't anyone around her. All she saw was an empty clearing with several bushes on each side of the path, and a nice clear sky that was filled with clouds. She saw a floating island passed the grand landmass, a part of part of the structure that comprised of Mystacor, but nothing else. There wasn't so much as a bird to greet her passing by, the severity of her insanity starting to dawn on her more and more.

"Ugh!" With a groan, she squeezed her eyes again as she slid against the triangle shaped archway of the entrance. "I'm losing my mind..."

...

...

"I doubt you could relate." She muttered staring at the statue in front of her.

She was back in the middle of the hallways where her insanity first kicked in. Here, staring at the statue of Light Spinner, she pondered about all the days events. Was Light Spinner innocent after all of this? Was it possible that at some point she went insane too just from being in Mystacor? Given the days events that lead her here, it wouldn't surprise her! In fact, knowing the constant misunderstandings she had here, she found it more plausible that everyone else was misunderstanding her and they were the ones insane!

By now she was donning her regular outfit again, complete with dark red pants with slits at the knees, traditional Horde vest with a lighter red coloring on the bottom and a dark red on top, and her favorite tiara that stretched to her cheeks.

She was Horde. This is what she always wore when fighting for them. She was supposed to remain Horde from the very beginning, and here she was fighting for the enemy instead. Was everything Adora said about the brainwashing possibly true? Was this all some elaborate scheme concocted by the Princesses ever since she found this sword? If that was true, then the villagers must've been in on it too! Lulling her into a false sense of security while they worked willingly for the evil princesses!

The men, the women, the children, all of them were in on it! They must be! Why else would there be such evil creatures surrounding her? Why, Shadow Weaver herself treated Catra much better tha-

"Gah!" If she scratched her head anymore at this point, she swore she was going to start hitting bone. "Why am I thinking about Shadow Weaver being nice?" She grunted as she stretched her right claws out in front of her. "There was never anything nice about her... nothing..."

"Heh heh heh..." A mystifying voice echoed through the hallway, refilling Catra's body with that same chill of death. "Always one to blame others for your own faults, aren't you, freak?" It was Lonnie's voice, the diminutive sound of her voice talking down to her as always. "Geesh, and I thought Adora was stupid for liking you. Now I realized she liked you because of how stupid you were."

"Grrrr Lonnie!" Catra hissed, staring into the empty air as she walked down the hall. "Where are you?"

"Huff, Catra." This time she heard Kyle's voice pop up. "I might've been the weak one, but at least I wasn't stupid or gullible. Maybe that's why Shadow Weaver was nicer to me compared to you."

"She didn't care about you in the slightest, dweeb!" She retorted. "She's always had it out for us since we were all brought to the Horde! She didn't care about anyone except for herself!

"Caring only about herself? Gosh, do you even hear yourself now? You should look in the mirror, you might learn something new. Then again, maybe asking you to learn is asking for too much."

"How about you show yourself instead and you can help me count the scars I make over your face!"

"Do you always turn to violence when I'm not around?" She gasped at the sound of Adora's voice, slowly retracting her claws as her ears drooped.

"Adora... It's not what you think, I swear..." Adora wasn't new to Catra's aggressive state, don't get her wrong. What she wasn't used to was seeing exactly how aggressive Catra could be when she wasn't around. She always held back a bit whenever she was picked on in front of her, refusing to show how extreme her violent side could get when the situation called for it.

At least to the people Adora considered family.

"Catra? Where are you?" There was a sense of worry in her voice as Catra became tense.

"Adora? Adora, can you hear me?"

"Who are you? No, stay back! Stay back! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

"ADORA!" Catra screamed running down the halls to the Lunarium. She didn't know why Adora was in Mystacor all of a sudden and she didn't care! Her one and only friend in this world was being attacked, hearing the strange noises of scrapes and crashing all throughout the hallway, growing louder as she neared the source of the screaming.

With each passing breath the screams became more terrifying. Starting from a simple scream, they echoed with intensity as they became more horrific, the sounds of torture and pain going through Catra's ears constantly. No doubt her friend foolishly came all the way to Mystacor in an attempt to  _save_  her again, unaware of how powerful these people truly were! It didn't matter to her at that moment if they were with the Rebellion or not, she refused to let these people do her harm.

Entering the Lunarium itself, she scanned all over the place as she tried to find her friend. "Adora!" She called out. She pulled out the sword from her back as she prepared for whatever came at her next. Slowly making her way to the center of the room, she continued, "Adora, where are you?"

"Hahahaha!" The voice. That voice. The voice of terror and agony that made Catra's skin stand on ends whenever she heard it, one belonging to the person who tormented her the most since day one. "Hello, dear, Catra." Shadows engulfed the walls of the room, only revealing a small bit of light from the enchanted crystals that surrounded her.

"S-Shadow Weaver..." She was here! She had to be! Without an Adora to stand at her side, there was no telling what terror she would push onto the girl. "W-What do you want?"

"Is that anyway for you to greet your former teacher?" It chuckled. To her right, she saw Shadow Weaver appearing in one of the large-sized crystals of the Lunarium, seeing her ghostly image laughing at her.

"Ahh!" Catra screamed as she thrust the sword at her.

* _Crash!_ *

All it was met with was the sound of broken crystal as Catra cleaved through the divine crystal. It didn't faze the girl in the slightest however as she saw Shadow Weaver's body swimming through the crystals, one after the other. "You missed~"

"Ghhhh!"

* _Crash!_ *

Once again, her efforts proved futile as she destroyed another crystal. Following each taunt was the sound of shattered crystal, the sound matching the size of the crystal she destroyed.

"So violent, aren't we?"

* _crash_ *

"And useless on your own."

* ** _CRASH!_** *

"I'm not coming back with you and that's final!" Catra shouted, lunging for another crystal.

* _Crash!_ *

"Come back?" She watched the sickening master of darkness place her back wrist against her mouth, stifling a laugh. "Oh hah hah... Oh, you stupid child. You think I want you back period?"

* _crash_ *

"Ever since you left, Adroa's been  _listening_  to me much more often."

* _crash_ *

"I should've gotten rid of you years ago if I knew you'd bring her so much closer to me."

"LEAVE HER ALONE!"

* _Crash!_ *

"I admit. Even I was afraid what would happen if I laid a hand against you while she was around... At least, a more permanent hand against you. Do you remember our  _special time_ , together?"

"Urk-!" Catra groveled in pain as she collapsed to her knees, hugging herself with her left arm, refusing to let go of the sword in the other. The mere mention of that event still made her stomach churn with agony, like it always had whenever she remembered it.

_"Catra, what have you done?!"_

_"It was an accident I swear!"_

_"Ahhhhhh!"_

_"I gave you one simple rule and you defied **me**!?"_

The flashes of the event were enough to make the bile rise to her throat, doing everything in her power to force it back down. That was the day Catra learned never to cross Shadow Weaver again, only taking minor shots at her from time to time whenever Adora was with her, whenever she knew she was safe.

So much regret.

So many tears.

So much pain.

"Oh, so you do remember?" Shadow Weaver spoke with intrigue. "Did you have as much fun as I did? I couldn't tell back then with all your screaming.

"SHUT UP!" She yelled angrily as tears filled her eyes. She didn't care how much pain she felt from the memory or how terrified she was of her. She had a sword. It cut things. And cutting Shadow Weaver to bits was the first instinct on her mind as she lunged towards the current crystal!

* _Crash!_ *

"I really don't have time to play with you."

* _crash_ *

"I just wanted to stop by and offer my gratitude for everything you've done for me."

* _Crash!_ *

"For giving me such a performance for her in Plumeria..."

"Agh!" She used the entire event back then to bring Adora closer to her?!

* ** _CRASH!_** *

"For making it necessary for her to receive my precious gift..."

She didn't need to think anything on that. She knew what the gift did to her, the reminder only fueling her seething hatred for Shadow Weaver.

* _Crash!_ *

"And for giving me this precious gift."

That was the one thing that held pause in Catra's strike, keeping the sword raised above her head as she stared off in confusion. "What gift?" At this, all the shadows and Shadow Weaver dissolved, right around the time another figure made its way to the room filled with the sounds of destruction.

"What have you done?!" Fear filled her heart immediately as she heard the distraught shout coming from behind her. Slowly turning, her eyes widened in fear as she saw a familiar face, one belonging to one of Glimmer's relatives.

"C-Castaspella..." She stuttered. Having turned around, she saw the remnants of her recent rampage, everything it had wrought.

Destruction. Cold, ruthless, destruction, by Catra's very own sword. Looking at it, her palms shook rapidly as she realized everything she had done, dropping the sword as worry clouded her mind. ALl around her was nothing but the destroyed remains of the shattered crystals. From rows upon rows, hundreds upon hundreds on each side of the wall, thousands of the crystals had now been destroyed by Catra's overwhelming hatred and fear.

Shadow Weaver used her again. She used her and succeeded like she always had. Time and again she would tell herself she would be ready for whatever the evil witch had to throw at her next, ready to anticipate her every move as she unleashed whatever diabolical scheme she had waiting for her. And like every other time, it ended the exact same way.

Defeat.

She tricked her into destroying the thousands of crystals, large and small, that littered the entire room. Glimmer's Aunt gasped in silent horror as she picked up several of the shattered pieces, trying hopelessly to put them together as easily as pieces of a puzzle, watching in dismay as they shattered further from simply touching them.

"I... I-I-I'm sorry... I wasn't...I didn't-" What was she supposed to say at a time like this? How it wasn't her fault? How she let her anger get the best of her because some lady she saw in the crystals goaded her into doing it? She couldn't believe it herself she was in so much shock! Her face was contorted with the pain of guilt, her tail, wagging downwards as the stress overtook her.

"Catra!" Bow and Glimmer yelled worriedly as they ran into the room. They barely caught her in time as she nearly collapsed to the ground, her legs trembling from the weight of the situation.

"Your friend has destroyed a thousand years' worth of sacred writing!" Aunt Casta yelled, displaying the numerous crystals scattered around them. "She could've destroyed the lenses that protect Mystacor!"

"She didn't mean to!" Bow insisted, patting his distressed friend's shoulder. "Catra would never-"

"This," Catra started backing away as Casta marched her way towards her, directing her finger towards her in anger, "is the kind of person you associate yourselves with?" The magicat nearly jumped as she backed into a wall, the aut having little care for the face of depression and remorse filling her eyes. "One who cares naught for what they ruin or destroy?!"

"Auntie, wait!" Glimmer pleaded as she spaced herself between the two. "I know you're in shock, but I'm sure there's a perfectly good-"

"I don't want to hear about it, Glimmer!" Her aunt yelled, huffing and puffing as she made her way to the exit. "Your mother will be informed on this matter, immediately!"

All three pairs of eyes lit up at that statement. The Queen already was on edge for everything Catra did. She failed to make much of a good impression, she was fighting for the Rebellion under the condition that she was rewarded largely for her efforts, and she didn't seem to care about the fact a warrior dressed in Horde clothing made herself known by practically invading the Throne Room when they first met.

This was the very last thing she could afford to happen.

"G-Glimmer..." Catra struggled to manage a single word. She couldn't feel anything inside of her except a deep emptiness.

"It's ok, I'll handle her." She assured with a small smile, following after her.

"But-"

"The Horde isn't here, Catra." Bow stated, cutting her off from chasing as well. "You need to sleep. Promise me you'll try," like the previous times, this was followed by, what she hoped to be, a hallucination, "or I'll have to help you try." He threatened with a sinister grin.

...

...

* _creeak_ *

"How is she?" Glimmer asked as she poked her head into the bedroom.

"See for yourself." Bow suggested, opening the door.

The room itself was very basic in design and shape. Housing a single, albeit comfortable bed, it stood at the end of the room as it sank into the wall a little, large light violet curtains hanging over the large hole it went into. There were two long diamond shaped windows on each side of it, allowing all to gaze out the room to witness the clear evening skies that loomed overhead. From here, anyone could see the three moons drawing closer to each other as they prepared for the eventual eclipse, the monthly event that gave Mystacor it's grand protection from the forces of evil.

This was not the least bit of interest to Catra, however. All she cared about at the time was looking at her fingers as she sat at the edge of the bed.

This was possibly the guiltiest look Catra had ever displayed to the two friends since they met her, along with all the deepening emotions Catra's been displaying all day. She couldn't fathom what was wrong with her or why she was hallucinating, only knowing Shadow Weaver was somehow involved.

But what would be the point in telling them that? For all she knew, the next time she saw Bow and Glimmer they could be simple hallucinations again, ones planning to set her on fire or crush her under a collapsing building! The insanity spinning endlessly through her head was starting to get out of control, even for her. She couldn't even bring herself to tell them about Shadow Weaver, unsure and a little frightened at how they would respond, thanks in no small part to the paranoia infecting her.

The safest thing she knew to do was to sit in one spot. Sitting, waiting, ignoring all the hallucinations she's been through in the last half hour with Bow in the room. It was the last bit of rational thought she could muster at these dark times.

"Catra?" Glimmer spoke as she walked over to her. Seeing the girl continuing to keep her head down, she did her best to comfort as she sat at her side. "Are you okay?"

"...I'm sorry..." She squeaked. Catra apologizing strengthened the possibility of whatever was wrong with her, sadly surmounting to the idea of pure stress and exhaustion. "I... I didn't mean to-"

"Shhh, it's okay." Glimmer shushed softly, patting her back. "I spoke with my aunt. I managed to convince her not to tell my mother, so there's no need to worry about that. That's good, right?" She smiled a little as she saw Catra's head shoot up from this.

"T-Then let me go talk to her! I need to apologize to-"

"I can't." The frown appearing in the corner of her eyes gave Catra a bad feeling. She felt it necessary to stand up again as she walked in front of her. "I told her everything, and she promised not to do anything... as long as you get some sleep tonight."

"Wh... What are you saying?" She saw Bow growing the same look of uncertainty, followed by regret at what he was realizing.

"I mean... until tomorrow, you have to stay in your room." She revealed.

"You mean I'm a prisoner here?!" She yelped getting back to her feet.

"I-It's only for tonight though! Just so you can get some sleep!" Glimmer tried to come up with the best way to explain this, preferably without the word "prisoner" in it. "She says you're more than free to walk around in the morning again, I swear! I mean look, it's almost night time anyway, it'd be a great time to get some shut eye-"

"I don't care about that, you're calling me a prisoner for pete sake!" Oh no, she was right! They were taking her prisoner! Soon they would entrap her further, dangle her over a boiling pot, and then-! "Ngggh!" Catra groaned as the dementia clouded her mind again.

"See? You can't even talk for two minutes before you start hallucinating." Bow remarked, pointing out the distressed status she was currently going through. "You need to calm down, Catra. Sleep is the best thing for you."

"B-But-"

"Look, Catra, I promise, we'll sleep with you too as soon as the ceremonies for the Lunar Eclipse is over, okay?" She tried to brighten her friends thoughts as she held her hands. "You won't feel alone by yourself, or feel like a prisoner."

"Mmh..." There really was nothing to say around here for the first time. She can't say yes or they could think of a much more permanent jail cell for her to stay in, and accepting it outright was... Why was she having so much trouble trying to think about this?! "...You promise to come right back then?"

"Yeah!" Bow nodded enthusiastically, pleased Catra was willing to trust them. "I'll even bring some food too in case you're hungry!"

"Ugh... fine..." She snarled, flopping over to the bed. It didn't make the two friends feel any better about her current predicament. if anything they felt a little worse that she was being so compliant. "Just don't take too long, got it?"

"Of course! We swear, we'll be right back in thirty, forty minutes top!" Bow replied, rushing out the door as Glimmer followed him.

"Have a good night, Catra. Try and get some sleep while we're gone, too!" She suggested almost playfully as she closed the door.

* _click_ *

Following the small sound of the door presumably locking, Catra groaned burying her face into a pillow.

 _So now I'm a prisoner, I don't get to see whatever light show aunt Hilda or whoever kept going on about, and now I'm stuck in a room waiting to be tormented by dumb and dim in a slumber party._  Catra thought to herself, trying her best to bury her face further into the pillow. The only assurance she had out of any of this was knowing she had her sword this time, resting peacefully against the bed like she wished she could.

_Why can't this day just **end**?_

The plea to no one seemed to give rise to an unlikely response, as well as the last response she needed at this point. With her face buried into the pillow and her senses keeping her second guessing anything and everything around her, she had no knowledge of the strange black mist that started pouring into her room from the open windows, the chill she was feeling being no different than the chills she dealt with all morning.

From behind her, floating above her back as she tried to sleep, the phantasm grinned to itself as it poured it's shadowy tendrils into Catra's ears. There was no stopping the process this time, not with everyone else preoccupied. Her friends were out of the picture, the door was firmly locked, and Catra was none the wiser of what was reality and what wasn't. Viewing everything that happened from the fountain she always had, Shadow Weaver's voice echoed through the background as her work continued unheeded.

"Yes, yes!" She roared. There was no stopping things as it was now. Little by little, the spectre diminished as it entered Catra's mind, filling her head with darkening thoughts and shadowy visions. She took pure delight as the creature ultimately shrank into nothingness, the spectre now fully in control of Catra's senses and her feelings. With the wave of her hands, the entire pool blackened about the same time Catra felt an unbearable pain shooting through her head. "And now, it's time to play..."

"Ghhhhhhh!" Catra screamed through her teeth as she pulled her ears. Out of nowhere, for reasons she couldn't comprehend, she felt the worst kind of pain being split throughout her mind! It felt like someone was pulling apart every little string of her consciousness, pulling it out as far as possible as it played with her like a toy for their amusement. "What's happening?!" She shouted to herself, slamming her head into the bed.

All around her, her vision, colors, hearing, smells began to spiral out of control, the room itself spinning with various colors that warped and blended into each other as the pain increased. She felt terror, happiness, giddy, sadness, stress, confusion, every possible emotion swimming through her mind at the same time, all playing with her as it tried to achieve dominance at the expense of her misery. She wanted it all to end, she needed it all to end.

Eventually, through whatever force heard her wishes, everything slowly faded to black as her consciousness came to an end.

...

"...Mmmh..." What happened to her? She felt like her head was smashed against a rock from every angle, followed immediately by the feathery touch of a fluffy pillow. "Where am... Huh?" No amount of questioning and reasoning could convince her of what she saw next.

All around her, the once pristine and colorful room she passed out in, was now replaced with one that was littered with the destructive and ruined remains of what was originally her bedroom. There were gashes in the wall and the small of soot in the air, numerous tears all over her bed that spilled out the cotton that made up her comfy mattress. The floors were somehow worse for wear, with cracked floorboards scattered about and dust everywhere. It's as if a thousand years had passed in this room during the time she was out of it, leaving behind nothing save for collected dust and the sight of smoke through the windows.

Smoke? Wait. How could there be smoke around here? Everything had a bluish hue, one associated with the touch of death. Her ears slowly twitched as she picked up the sound of small explosions going off in the distance, followed by what sounded like screaming over the horizon.

"What's going...Hngh!" Walking over to the window, terror beyond comprehension filled Catra's eyes as she saw everything outside. Fires, explosions, broken debris, sprawled all around the ground level of Mystacor. Everywhere she looked, she saw destroyed buildings and broken down droids all over the field, filling her vision as far as she could see. "N-No..." She gulped as she backed away. "T-The Horde's here?!" Grabbing her sword, she quickly ran over to the door, pounding on it without pause.

"Hey! HEY! Somebody let me out of here!" She screamed. Wasting no time for an answer, she started swinging her sword against the planks of word, doing everything in her power to chop the door down in every swing that followed. It didn't bother her that the door was still locked at all to begin with. All she cared about was getting out of here and possibly finding some help. By the looks of it, she'd be lucky to find anyone alive after how long she must've been passed out for. "Get! Me! Out!" With one massive heave, she shouted as she crashed herself through the door, battering against the chipped remains of the door with her shoulder until it gave way.

Panting from the excess force she used, she looked up and down the hallways to find them in the same state of decay that her bedroom was in. "How long was I out for?!" She yelled to herself as she went up the hallways. "I gotta find Bowey. Pinky too!" Yes, they'll know what to do! They must know what to do!

It didn't matter how exhausted she was. No matter what her state of tiredness was, she should've heard something given all the destruction around here. There were missing chunks of wall, wrecked droid parts over the occasional yard of the floor. There were tears and breaks in the walls as if an epic war had taken place here, one she slept through in it's entirely somehow.

Coming around a corner, her ears picking up the pleasant sound of voices, she yelled for help as she rounded the corner, panting heavily as her heart raced with increasing tenacity.

"Hey! Huff..." She puffed, slowly lifting her head from her knees. "You need to help me! The Horde's here and-!" She stopped dead in her tracks as she saw the originators of the strange voices. She didn't see simple Horde soldiers wearing helmets and stun batons in their hands, she didn't see stupid round droids like the scrapped remains she passed on the way here.

She saw Shadow Weavers. Plural. There wasn't one Shadow Weaver, there wasn't two, and she never wished to see more than three. There were Shadow Weavers all over the room. All of them floating as they gazed at the girl with a loathing hatred in their eyes, hearing the low tone chuckling coming from them as they stared at her one at a time. There must've been over a dozen by the time she finished counting them.

"N-No..." Nightmares was what she was wishing for at this moment. Nightmares were something one could wake up from after enough stress had passed or the morning light finally came. It would give her back the moments of peace she needed as she stared at these horrid Shadow Weavers in terror, something to tell her this was all a dream.

This. Was no dream.

She didn't wake up no matter how many times she pinched herself.

She could see the Shadow Weavers looking at her, she could feel the touch the floors underneath her feet, and she could hear distant explosions still ringing off in the distance.

This was not a nightmare.

This was a war. And no matter how frightened she found herself, she held her sword up with as much bravery as she could find, ready to face down the dreaded creatures, no matter how many of them she had to strike down...

 

**_..._ **

 

**_..._ **

 

**_..._ **

 

**_A/N: Fun fact, the last 2k or so words I did in under 30 minutes (blame work i gtg soon XP). So with that said, let me know if anything is too rushed to the point it doesn't make sense, but keep in mind everything usually comes together by the end of these episodes._ **

 

**_With that said, hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, fav, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!_ **


	26. Episode 7: The Horrors of Mystacor Part 4

_**A/N: You know the hard part of a writer? When you have to rewrite something here or there. It's hard because depending on how far back it is, you have to change not just whatever your rewrote it, but EVERYTHING after if you brought it up at any point between then and where you're at.** _

_**For me it happens from time to time. Sometimes I go back, add in or remove a thing for a later plot point, yadda yadda yadda. I do it about once or twice a fic when I need to correct or change something, and it's not that big of a deal.** _

 

_**Here however, i had to rewrite the ENTIRE FIRST 4K WORDS I HAD TO THE FIC!** _

 

_**Why? Because I wasn't satisfied with how the original was coming out. With allergies and flu season coming on, I'm in the middle of having a minor cold. Nothing too big, just a stuffy throat, but still annoying. So I take cough drops. Unfortunately, i'm rather addicted to the stuff so I eat them like candy from time to time (I can't help it, the cherry taste is good XP).** _

 

_**As such, when I wrote the first 4k the first time, it was towards night, aka when my writing is at it's least good. By the next morning I was so disappointed with it and displeased with how it was presenting that I decided to rewrite the whole thing (basically had to since even trying to correct it here and there wasn't enough to fix how bad i found it).** _

 

_**So with that said, hopefully you guys enjoy the episode's chapter! As always, when writing over 1-to-2 days, some parts/bits get rushed. Sorry if that happens, hope you still enjoy regardless ^^!** _

_**...** _

 

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_**...** _

 

 

 

"Aaaagh!" Catra roared as she threw another Shadow Weaver off of her, running down the hallways.

When people woke up, their day usually started off on the right foot before things got bad. Without any stress or knowledge of what the day would bring, they could start their day off with a simple smile if they wanted to, ready to greet the day as they prepared their mornings for whatever it had to offer. It gave them a sense of clarity and relief, disguising any possible troubles they were going to face for the day with a happy sun or simple rain cloud looming over their head.

Catra's day, however, was the farthest thing from a sun shiny or happy day.

There were no sunshine and rainbows greeting her outside, there were no happy civilians going about their day with a smile on their faces, there wasn't even a cloud in the sky to look down on her with a face of curiosity. There was carnage. Destruction. Everything she saw outside her bedroom when she woke up in Mystacor, at who knows what point in time since passing out, was in ruins and utter chaos. As if this day couldn't get any worse!

She thought all the hallucinations and paranoia she was dealing throughout her day was the worst of it, that the rest was all behind her. After dealing with hallucinations for nearly the last twelve hours straight, filled with terror and paranoia that made her question her own sanity and brought about visions of her friends and allies betraying her, she was at her wits end.

She couldn't differentiate fiction from reality, she didn't know who was real or if the words they spoke were true anymore. Anything from what she heard to what she saw was fabricated, faked. Half the time she saw someone approaching her with a knife in her hand, others she heard them contemplate betraying her and possibly harming her best friend when this was all over. And with how frequently these episodes of paranoia were setting in, she would never figure out what was real and fake ever again.

The events that lead her to passing out minutes ago were considered the last straw by Glimmer's enraged aunt. After getting some semblance of peace, figuring out for herself that some of the things she saw or heard were hallucinations, she tried separating herself from the others. She couldn't risk harming her allies and they believed giving her space would keep the hallucinations at bay. If no one was around her, she couldn't possibly misunderstand or have false visions of what she was seeing, right?

Oh how wrong they ended up being.

After finding herself secluded to the hallways, she began hearing voices all around her, ranging from the people she loathed to the people, specifically person, she most cared about. The voices drove her through the hallways until she found herself in the middle of the Lunarium, It was there, all her fears and all her anger were solidified into one being, the person who spent a majority of Catra's life feeling unwanted, who made it their personal vendetta to make sure the girl she was worth nothing more than a weapon.

Shadow Weaver.

She taunted the girl endlessly, enticed her into fits of rage and tears as she tried to prove her own courage. She wasn't going to allow her to see she was terrified, weak. She wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of proving her useless on her own, that she needed everyone else around her to get the job done. And she wasn't about to acknowledge that without Adora around, she was frightened, helpless to fight back against one of her greatest fears.

As she predicted, she acted accordingly by striking across hundreds of crystals with her blade, trying everything in her power to strike at her former mentor and prove to the world that she was not afraid. With each swing another insult was thrown at her, another bout of laughter at her inability to do things on her own, and a reminder that because of her, Adora had never been closer or trusting of Shadow Weaver as she had been now. Everything reminded her that it was her fault.

By the time the insults were over Shadow Weaver's work had been completed, and the girl did exactly as she expected her to. Entering the room, a devastated Aunt Castaspella was shocked and dismayed to see thousands of crystals lying shattered beneath her feet, the single magicat in the center of the room being the only source of blame. By the time Catra had realized what she had done herself, it was already too late.

There was a fire in Aunt Casta's eyes as she yelled at the girl, the shield between Catra and the aunt's possible wrath being Glimmer herself. With the threat of telling Glimmer's mother about the incident, knowing how much she already distrusted the ex-Horde, Glimmer was forced to comply with her one condition: she wouldn't tell her mother if Catra was locked away in a bedroom for the rest of the evening, somewhere she would be safe and others would be safe from her.

It was from there, after passing out, through unknown reasons, that she awoke to find this horrifying new reality, one where everyone was gone, a warzone had filled the environment around her, and Shadow Weavers filled the halls endlessly. All the walls were in crumbling ruins and disarray as she passed them. She didn't know where her allies were, she didn't know where to go to find help. All she knew was that, for whatever reason, something was telling her to go straight to the Lunarium, the place where all her troubles would disappear.

The one thing she didn't know, however, was why she forced herself not to cut down these Shadow Weavers she kept coming across. It wasn't out of mercy or decency. Heck she would've loved nothing more than to cut down as many of these Shadow Weavers as possible. Yet for some reason, her mind was telling her against it. It was as if it was warning her not to slay these Shadow Weavers, like it would lead to some form of trap.

With that in mind, she came to the conclusion that her mind was warning her about some devastating aftermath that would follow, like if she destroyed any of these Shadow Weavers she would be caught in a major explosion soon after! While it stayed her hand from the dozens of Shadow Weavers she came across, it would do nothing once she came across the real one.

Shadow Weaver was in here, somewhere in this maze of hallways. Perhaps at the Lunarium itself? Time would be her only ally as it proved itself down the line. All she knew at that moment was that she had to get to the Lunarium and stop whatever evil would befall Mystacor, unaware of the dark spectre that had filled her mind...

...

...

Magic gathering in the palms of her hands, Castaspella smiled as she prepared for the ritual that came once every month, one that ensured the safety of Mystacor forevermore. The Eclipse Ceremony was a vital livelihood for the sorcerers and sorceresses of Mystacor. It kept the barrier that shielded it replenished after every event, and, more importantly, kept them outside from the clutches of the Horde's evil grasp.

If ever a time came they found their defenses down, found themselves without the lense to protect themselves, the Horde would hound in on them in an instant. After the Rebellion, Mystacor was the last fighting chance the world had against the Horde's evil reign, the last bastion of peace anyone had in the hopes of defeating them. Even if the Rebellion continued to stand, should Mystacor, and all it's mystical secrets, fall, the rest of the world wouldn't be too far behind.

It spelt doom for all across Etheria, annihilation for all around the globe. It was a beacon and sanctuary for all who practiced in the arts of magic, and last line of defense from oblivion.

It was during that time, watching from the sides as the rest of the mages were circled at the center, preparing for the ceremony, that Glimmer started to frown.

"You okay?" Bow whispered, leaning over from her right.

"No, I'm not." She muttered staring at the floor. "I just feel guilty leaving Catra like that locked up in her room."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Bow shrugged with uncertainty, finding it as hard as her to get any enjoyment from the lightshow. "Who knows if she's still hallucinating in there or having a nightmare by this point."

"Hmm... Do you wanna go back?" She offered with a curious smile. "After all, we've seen the ceremony plenty of times. Missing it once shouldn't hurt?"

"Heh, yeah, sure. Besides, it wouldn't be fair if Catra was forced to miss out on the show too." Smiling to each other, they grabbed each other's hand before teleporting away.

While she kept her focus on the ceremony at hand, Aunt Casta felt a slight shift in the air, realizing her niece and her friend had left. While it depress her to know they left when the ceremony was finally ready to begin, she couldn't blame them for their reasons. After all, she did basically make Catra an official prisoner in her room all night, so it didn't bother her if they left to keep her company. In fact, if anything, she felt a little more pleased with the fruition. It warmed her heart knowing she had such deepening care for her friends, no matter how strange they might've been or if they were imaginary.

She just hoped she would be okay given Catra's strange behavior since she met her.

Looking up to the sky, she smiled as the moons began to pass by in front of each other, the eclipse finally beginning as the moons merged into one. Flashing with a bright violet light, the eclipse began to rain its beautiful energies down upon Mystacor, its beautiful lights bouncing across the room as it reflected from the numerous crystals that still remained in the Lunarium, culminating to a single flash that filled the entire room with it's beauty.

With its energies pouring in, Casta began levitating the Lunar Lenses into their respective formations, reflecting the direct energy into a rainbow of light across one another, forming a pattern as Casta moved herself to the center of the sacred room, gazing into the fountain of water that lied beneath the skylight. It was here all their magical energy would gather into one, and the shield protecting Mystacor would renewed.

That opportunity never came to pass.

Almost immediately after gazing into the water, she gasped. From the edges of the fountain a horrific darkness began to encircle the fountain, spreading across the waters like a poison until it filled the water in its entirety. From there, the darkness burst from the center, catching everyone off guard and in shock, as a mass of shadows burst out of the waters in a twisted explosion of blackness, shrouding the room with it's malefic evil.

One by one, the many lenses that were used in the ceremony began to alter, darken. One after the other they began to blacken into a sinister color, reflecting a darker energy from the light they once gave into a vile display of wickedness and cruelty.

Still in shock over the endeavor, Casta channeled as much energy as she had into her magic as she attempted to stop the ensuing darkness that filled the room. It took everything she had to keep the darkness at bay from the center of the skylight, where the Lunar Lenses were being held in place. But all of it was for naught, as even with all her strength and all her efforts to keep the evil at bay, the darkness pushed through her magics, filling the walls and ceiling of the sacred room with shadow.

At this, a culmination of the shadows began to merge together in the center of this great ceremony, the sorcerers and mages powerless to stop it as it gave shape. It morphed into a great mass, a form that all of them were familiar with, and at the same time horrified, to see it return.

"Light Spinner!" Casta gasped, unable to believe what she was seeing. The darkened body that was her hissed at the name, the one source of light from her entire body being her white eyes and the red jewel adorned in the middle of her forehead.

"I've given up that name for quite some time now, my dear Castaspella. I go by a new title now." She commented, gazing into her own hands before directing it at the head sorceress herself.

"Shadow Weaver."

...

...

* _swoosh!_ *

"Catra, we're here!" Glimmer announced happily as she teleported back to the bedroom with Bow, the latter carrying a plate of sandwiches on a serving tray.

"Hey, I brought you some food!" Bow called out, gesturing the several sandwiches he had to offer. "I didn't really know what your preference was, so I grabbed a whole bunch of..." Bow's silence was followed by Glimmer's own as they gazed around the room, seeing the one thing neither of them were prepared for.

Emptiness. There wasn't a Catra, there wasn't a lump sleeping on the bed, and there wasn't a sword at it's side like they left it. Everything that is and ever was Catra was missing from this room.

"Catra?" Glimmer called out again, checking by knocking on the adjoining bathroom just in case. "We left the ceremony early, in case you-"

* _crash_ *

"Uhhh Glimmer?" Bow called out nervously as he backed away from the entrance. Popping her head back into the room, ignoring the mess he dropped to the floor, Glimmer's mind filled with fear at what he was staring at.

The entrance, the one they had personally locked and secured in case she started hallucinating again, was destroyed. The fringes of it were cracked apart, the sides of the frame were practically split open, and the door itself was smashed into two large wooden chunks, as if a battering ram had crashed through it. All of this was what was left to greet them after their return, with the knowledge that Catra was now missing and, worse yet, she had her sword with her.

"Oh no... Catra!" Glimmer screamed as she and Bow ran out into the halls. There was no telling which direction their friend could've gone. All they could do was pick a direction, North in this case, and run down as fast as possible as they could. "I can't believe she broke out of her room!"

"In hindsight, we shouldn't have left her sword with her either." Bow commented, continuing to pick up the pace with his friend.

"Gee,  _thanks_  for that reminder!" Glimmer rolled her eyes in annoyance as they continued. There was no telling where Catra had gone or where she had ran off to. The only thing that mattered to them right now was finding her before she ended up hurting someone, or worse, someone ended up hurting her in retaliation.

What made it more troubling was the fact she had her sword with her, not that it was better off than a cat with her deadly claws. While her inability to transform into She-Ra gave little comfort, it did nothing to quell the fear building up inside them at the fact she still had a sword.

A sword is a sword, and it was good for one thing.

Cutting.

"Catraaaa!" Glimmer called out, alternating between herself and Bow.

"Catraaa! Where are you?"

There was no telling when the magicat ran off or how much damage she could do! Her hallucinations definitely had to play a part in all of this, though what confused them was how it caused her to hallucinate to the point of breaking out of her room. It was a door and a bedroom. With Glimmer having one of the few spare keys to it, there was no way anyone else could've gone into the room and done something to frighten their dear friend.

Did the hallucinations get worse while they were gone? Did it give her some horrific vision of the door trying to come alive and eating her? For all they knew she now saw inanimate objects as living things. Everyday items one would find in their home might've seem like terrifying monsters that were plotting against her.

It was crazy, sure, but then again, their friend was currently crazy!

"Where could she be?" Glimmer asked after running for another minute, taking a small break at a split between four separate hallways.

"How should I know?" Bow moaned to himself as he squeezed his head. "For all I know anything I did say to her came out as something else to her."

"Ahhhh!" The two nearly jumped at the sound of a young acolyte running down the halls, clearly in terror.

"Hey wait!" Bow stopped as he grabbed the young teen by his shoulder. If it wasn't for the presumably recent bruise he had under his eye, they would've let him go without question. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"The Horde's attacking, that's what!" The announcement sent fear and dread in the inner regions of Glimmer's and Bow's mind. No matter how prepared they were for it they still weren't ready to hear it. "Some crazy cat girl with a sword! She started attacking people out of nowhere!"

"Oh no..." Glimmer prayed that it didn't get any worse than that. "Did... Are there any casualties?"

"Not to my knowledge, no," the one sentence of relief was short lived as he continued, "not like it matters anymore though."

"Why's that?"

"Because the barrier protecting Mystacor is failing!" He fretted. "Something went wrong in the Lunar Ceremony and now the whole barrier is beginning to wane!" Without another word, the boy jerked out of Bow's grip as he continued running down the halls for his life. It didn't matter if they couldn't understand how she got all the way down there already. Who cared if it made sense as to why she could go down there to begin with? All that mattered was that the Eclipse was failing and who the most likely cause of the mayhem appeared to be.

"Catra!"

...

...

"Huff... Finally..." Catra panted as she reached the Lunarium, out of breath from the numerous Shadow Weaver clones she had to fight on the way here and all the running that came with it.

Many of the Shadow Weavers varied in strength. Some of them saw to deal with Catra physically, charging the young girl and trying to restrain her, no doubt to torture her like she had years ago. While most of them were easy pickings, managing to swipe half of them and drop the other half with the butt of her sword's hilt, others proved more vicious, throwing strange tendrils at the girl as they tried to tie her down. Thankfully her claws came into play at this as she managed to escape every time, soon ensnaring, not entirely sure how, the Shadow Weavers with her own magic.

Then came the ones who casted more of their magics at her. They ranged from large balls of darkness to red streaks of lightning straight from her hand. Many of these proved easy to dodge whereas a few of them nearly proved disastrous for the young girl. She found at least two instances where shadows were stuck against her feet, almost as cold as ice, forcing her to bash away at the freezing temperature with sword, and another instance of them blasting her endlessly with their lightning.

If it wasn't for the fact they foolishly got closer as they kept her pinned to the ground in agony, she never would've found the opportunity to swipe them off their feet, knocking them out cold by planting her elbow directly into their cut. She still refrained from finishing them off afterwards, knowing these clones were nothing more than mere copies of the real one, the one who had to be somewhere around these halls of horror.

After another several minutes of running, she finally came to the Lunarium itself, the place her mind was shouting at her to return to. To her surprise, and reluctance, she found the room filled with five other Shadow Weavers passed out at the center of the room. No doubt they were fought off by whatever forces remained of Mystacor, the very forces she had yet to come across during her trip here.

That was the one thing that bothered her behind all of this. Why didn't she come across a single guard or sorcerer around here? Even if they were no longer breathing, she should've seen at least one or two people around here. There wasn't even the smell of blood in the air, however stale. Did they evacuate before things came worse, or were they possibly all captured and taken prisoner after the Horde invaded Mystacor?

If they did leave, then why didn't they come back for Catra? They kept going on and on about how they were  _friends_ , and at the very least she did acknowledge them as allies. Was the attack her truly so bad that they couldn't reach her in time, or did they simply not care for her like they let on?

Whatever the case, she knew this was the center of all the problems, indicated by the strange black light she saw illuminating from the middle of the Lunarium. From there, she saw the lenses that Glimmer's aunt once told her about, the ones that were necessary to protect Mystacor's defenses and its people. Following the black light itself proved differently from her perspective.

Here, she saw the light shooting into the sky as it touched the barrier itself. From above, she saw bits and pieces of the barrier beginning to crumble, melting away little by little as the barrier became undone. Gritting her teeth, gripping her sword tightly, she walked her way over to the lenses that now laid at the center.

No doubt Shadow Weaver did something to it, somehow corrupting it's pure magic into something terrifying. Her mind kept screaming at her to destroy the lenses, believing that once the corrupt lenses were destroyed, the rest of Mystacor would be saved and the barrier would be made whole again. Even if it didn't, it was better than allowing it to drain the barrier's power away.

On top of all of that, this was the proof she needed. She needed to prove to herself that no matter how afraid she was of Shadow Weaver or how angry she made her constantly, that she was stronger than the witch of darkness, that she was not her toy to manipulate or bend to her will. The entire experience up to this point was truly terrifying for her, and now it was finally going to pay off.

"I told you I'm not afraid!" She yelled to everything around her, lifting the sword high into the air as she prepared to destroy the evil objects once and for all!

* _Swoosh!_ *

All instincts of destroying the dreaded relic were erased as her attention turned towards the sound of a mysterious gust of wind emanating from behind her.

...

"Catra, stop!" Glimmer pleaded with a shout, taking in the sight of the room thereafter.

What happened here during the few brief minutes they were gone?! Everyone around them was tossed aside and weakened after some strange battle took place. There was no way Catra could've managed this, right? No matter how strong she is, especially without She-Ra, there was no way she could've taken on five distinct sorcerers and sorceresses, including her aunt who was the Head Sorceress of Mystacor!

On the off chance she somehow was responsible for all of this, that wouldn't explain how Catra caused the room to darken intensely like this, or explain why the Lunar Lenses were covered in sickening Shadows. No amount of She-Ra Catra could channel had this kind of magical power.

"What happened here?" This room looked like it had a full blown war to Bow, the walls covered in blast marks and the half dozen sorcerers passed out across different sections of the room. "Catra, did you do this?"

...

This was different.

Compared to the other Shadow Weavers that appeared before her, these two teleported into the room directly. How did they do that? Most of the Shadow Weaver clones she came across used direct forms of magic against her, all of it shadow based with various effects. These two, however, were the first ones if not the only ones she came across so far that used their magic differently, like they had no idea what was going on earlier. If she didn't know any better she could've sworn it reminded her of-

"Ngggh!" Catra groaned in pain as she squeezed her forehead. As if telling her to forget this line of thinking, her mind was shot with a severe spike of pain. The instant she was about to say someone else's name her mind took over again, redirecting all the information she was thinking and turning it into a new line of thinking. It was a short and painful experience that gave her a new realization.

"Shadow Weaver!"

Yes, that must be it! One of these two must be the real Shadow Weaver! There could be no doubt, no confusion among them! Looking at the two of them as she tightened the grip on her blade, she knew it. The way their hair spiraled into an eternal nothingness of darkness, those sinister eyes that could plan ten steps ahead for every scenario. Yeah. Yeah! She was definitely staring at the real Shadow Weaver between these two!

...

"Shadow Weaver?" Glimmer wanted to know why she spoke that name again for the second time today. Better yet, who was she referring to? "Catra, who's this Shadow Weaver you keep mention-"

"Ahhhh!" With a mighty roar, the magicat leaped to the air, raising the sword high above her as she prepared to strike down on the two. Reacting quickly, Glimmer teleported herself and Bow to the right side of the chamber, looking back to Catra in shock.

"Catra, what are you doing?!" Glimmer contemplated going over to her side before she saw that hate-filled stare in her eyes. "Catra?"

"Glimmer, I don't think Catra's controlling herself right now." Bow announced as Glimmer looked back and forth between her two friends. "Look at her eyes, they're both yellow! The right one's not blue!" It was hard to tell from where they were standing right now, but Bow was right.

Those eyes were burning with nothing but hatred and contempt. It reminded her a lot of Dryl back when Catra had gone feral, except this time there was emotion behind the madness instead of pure rage. She saw anger, confusion, disbelief... and sadness. "What happened to her...?"

...

There was familiarity about these two Shadow Weavers that didn't sit right for her. Despite all the anger and fear filling her mind, her chest was aching for some reason. Why? She didn't have a soft side for Shadow Weaver. She would love nothing more than to put her on the opposite end of her blade at this very moment. Shadow Weaver manipulated, lied, coerced others into her upbringing, everything for her personal gain.

Wait, of course! Why didn't she see it before? These weren't her feelings she was going through! Obviously Shadow Weaver was manipulating her thoughts at that very moment, trying to manipulate the girl into not attacking these two! She hated herself for not realizing it sooner, unable to believe it almost worked!

"You can't fool me, Shadow Weaver!" She shouted, raising her blade to the two as she rushed them.

...

"Catra, stop!" Glimmer cried out as she gathered her violet magic into her palms. She didn't want to fight her friend when she was outside of her own control. She didn't want to fight her friend period as Bow prepared his own weapons!

And at first, it didn't look like they had to. Ten yards from where they stood, as she neared them halfway, she planted her sword firmly into the ground a couple inches, the hilt of the sword shooting straight up. For a moment, the two relished at the sight of it, thinking that Catra had somehow snapped out of the delusion and was back to her former self.

That line of critical thinking proved fatal though as immediately following this, Catra hopped atop her blade, using the hilt of it as a footstool. With one mighty leap, she shot straight towards the two, tackling Bow out of the way as she grabbed on to Glimmer, the one she was sure was Shadow Weaver!

Pushing passed the two for a good few seconds, the two of them rolling around from the brute force, Glimmer groaned as she opened her eyes again, finding an anger-filled, fear-stricken, Catra on top of her, her knees planted firmly into her stomach as she pinned her down. The girl had the advantage here as she grabbed her throat, hissing angrily as she brought her face towards her for a brief second.

...

She wanted Shadow Weaver to see it. She wanted the woman to see all the pain she caused her throughout her life, all the misery she had been living through since the day she was born. She wanted to take one last good look into Shadow Weaver's cold uncaring eyes for the last time before she finally snuffed out all of that light.

...

"I've been waiting for this moment for so long..." She growled, lifting back her right hand as she extended the claws out as far as she could.

Glimmer was at a loss for words. Here she was, about to be killed by her friend who had no idea who she really was or what was happening. In a way, she felt more sorry for Catra than she did herself. What did this Shadow Weaver do to make Catra despise her so much? Why couldn't she see it was her and not whoever Catra thought it was?

* _swiff_ *

By the time she registered any of these thoughts, Catra had already brought down her hand in one mighty stroke, ready to tear at her jugular in one great swing. "Ngh!" Glimmer closed her eyes in panic, readying for her end to come. Catra was faster than she could teleport, pinning her stomach down directly to get a delayed reaction if she tried to swipe at Catra herself. There wasn't any way out of this for her.

* _sniff_ *

And in a moment of De Sha Vue, she opened her eyes again. Like she was the first time Catra lunged for her throat after Entrapta's robots infected her with a virus, a mere inch from her nose, Catra sniffed. Why was she sniffing her so much all of a sudden this time? Was she stifling a sniffle out of potential remorse for what she was about to do? Was she actually feeling bad on the inside about killing her former mentor?

None of the answers came to her as she found herself lifted off her feet, still being joked by the crush grip Catra had on her throat, her tail wagging violently from side to side.

"What did you do to Glimmer?!" She shouted, adding on to the confusion of the other princess.

"W-What are you talking about?!" She stammered, kicking her feet as she tried to break free of her grip.

...

"You should've heard her scream in agony when I was toying with her." Shadow Weaver cackled, sickeningly finding amusement in all of this chaos.

The rage burning further in Catra's heart nearly doubled from that one sentence alone. She couldn't believe what she was smelling off of this dangerous woman. The scent of her ally was going off like crazy all around her, her instincts being kicked in on high alert. She had something to do with Glimmer, one of the people she thought made it out of this warzone by this point. Upon closer inspection, she could catch the faint scent of Bow's person coming off of her too, just enough for it to be noticeable.

No doubt they truly had been captured by this monster, possibly all of the citizens of Mystacor for that matter!

...

"What have you done to her?!"

"Catra, it's me!" She tried to remove Catra's grip from her neck, shaking her wrist with all her might to no avail. As she said this, she saw a glint in Catra's eye. It was only for a brief period, as following whatever she said, whatever Catra thought Glimmer was saying, she saw a tear. A single tear in the corner of her left eye.

The fire inside her eye was slowly shared with an expression of sorrow, Catra almost seeming upset about whatever she thought Glimmer had said. She had no idea what would make Catra loosen a single tear like it, but the weight of the situation became apparent as she pulled back her hand.

"Grrrrrrrr!"

* _pew!_ *

Right as the killing blow was about to be struck, a large blue wave of energy blasted at the girl, knocking her away from the nearly deceased Glimmer, the girl herself falling to her knees as she coughed rubbing her sore throat. Looking from the sight of her blasted friend to the direction of the blast itself, she let out a small gasp as she saw her Aunt Castaspella, the woman barely conscious as she lied on the floor from the stomach with her hand held up.

"Auntie!" Glimmer cried out as she teleported to her side.

As she did, Catra growled angrily at the blast. Apparently one of the Shadow Weaver clones in this room wasn't as passed out as she thought it was, not that it mattered at this point. As the former Shadow Weaver was checking on the other, Catra rushed towards the too in a mad sprint, extending both her claws as she prepared to take them both out in one go.

She was so obsessed with her targets that she didn't register Bow being near her until after he tackled her aside, bashing her away as she neared them. With reflexes suitable for any cat, Catra flipped through the air at this as she landed perfectly on her two feet, squatting as she Bow loading an arrow in his weapon, preparing to fight off his friend for as long as needed.

To her, all she saw was another Shadow Weaver gathering up dark magic into her hands again, not even seeing the weapon in Bow's arms from her viewpoint.

"Take Castaspella and get out of here!" He ordered, refusing to take his eyes off the magicat. "I'll hold her off!"

With a nod, she collected Aunt Casta into her arms as she teleported the two of them away, leaving Bow to stall for as much time as he possibly could. Knowing time was of the essence, Glimmer didn't bother teleporting themselves very far. She reappeared halfway into the adjoining hallway as she rested her aunt against the wall, the woman barely maintaining consciousness as she groaned.

"Aunt Casta, are you okay?" She took her Aunt's right hand as she tried to sooth with comfort, shaking her shoulder gently to help her maintain the ounce of consciousness she had left. "I'm so sorry about Catra! I don't know what she did but-"

"It's alright." Her aunt gave her a small smile as she patted Glimmer's chin. "I know she's not in control of herself. She didn't do this to me." The only thing keeping this from being a teary conversation between the two was the fact Glimmer knew her aunt's scrapes and injuries weren't fatal.

"I don't know what's wrong with her," she glanced back towards the direction of the Lunarium as she heard a small explosion, no doubt Bow giving it his all fighting against Catra, "and I don't know how to fix her."

"She's being possessed." Her aunt revealed. "I've seen this magic once before. It's a horrid state where a dark force drives the victim mad until they do their bidding. Anything she sees, hears, or feels is not her own." She gave a small groan as the bit of consciousness began to deplenish.

"Then how do I stop her? There has to be something I can do!" She didn't want this fighting to continue! She couldn't risk the entirety of Mystacor and all of it's citizens, but at the same time she didn't want to lose her friend, especially if it meant losing her by her own or Bow's hands.

With a cough, her aunt replied, "She won't stop until she finishes her task... unless..." Glimmer panicked. Her aunt was losing consciousness by the second and was starting to close her eyes.

"Unless what? Aunt Casta, please!"

"Mmh... You need to convince her she's hallucinating," she groaned, "find a way to convince her this is all fake, at least enough of it to make her break free..."

"Break free?" She repeated. "How?"

"I... I don't..." With a final utterance, her aunt finally lost the last of her consciousness and felt into a peaceful sleep.

"Aunt Casta? Auntie!" Glimmer cried out as she tried to shake her awake.

Sadly she knew it didn't matter at this point as she gazed down the hallway. She could already fill in the blanks of her Aunt's final words on her own. She didn't know how to stop the possession without magic, and there was no way Glimmer could pull it off on her own with magic without knowing how to remove the possession in the first place. One wrong slip up with her magic and she could wind up turning Catra into a vegetable for the rest of her life!

"There's gotta be a way to fix her..." She mumbled to herself, thinking as fast as she could with the limited time she had left. "She doesn't see, hear, or feel anything we do, so how... wait a minute..."

_By the time she registered any of these thoughts, Catra had already brought down her hand in one mighty stroke, ready to tear at her jugular in one great swing. "Ngh!" Glimmer closed her eyes in panic, readying for her end to come. Catra was faster than she could teleport, pinning her stomach down directly to get a delayed reaction if she tried to swipe at Catra herself. There wasn't any way out of this for her._

_*sniff*_

_And in a moment of De Sha Vue, she opened her eyes again. Like she was the first time Catra lunged for her throat after Entrapta's robots infected her with a virus, a mere inch from her nose, Catra sniffed. Why was she sniffing her so much all of a sudden this time? Was she stifling a sniffle out of potential remorse for what she was about to do? Was she actually feeling bad on the inside about killing her former mentor?_

_None of the answers came to her as she found herself lifted off her feet, still being joked by the crush grip Catra had on her throat, her tail wagging violently from side to side._

_"What did you do to Glimmer?!" She shouted, adding on to the confusion of the other princess._

"That's it!" With a pound of the flat side of her fist against her palm, she teleported out of the hallway, heading straight towards the one place she knew had the answers.

...

"Ahhh!" Bow roared as he continued firing at Catra. He was running out of time, and more importantly arrows.

The few arrows he had used up to this point were less of a means to harm his friend and more intended to slow her down or incapacitate her. From net arrows to sticky arrows, he tried to slow down Catra as much as possible, biding all the time he could offer as he kept Catra at bay, distracted from completing her mission.

And he couldn't lay a hand on her! Catra's reflexes and agility gave her a great boost of speed and reflex compared to a normal person. In part thanks to the claws she had, whenever he tried to land a hit on her from the ground, coating it in a sticky or sap-like substance, she used the walls to her advantage, leaping up to them as she dodged from place to place. She had a greater advantage of the environment than he did, more than he did as he had to contend with Catra while also avoiding his own traps.

In the brief moment he took her eyes off, looking back to find one of his arrows, she vanished. Fear settling in as he looked around the room with his bow drawn, he slowly stepped aside as he made as little noise as possible. If she was on the walls then he should've heard the faintest of scratches coming from somewhere. That was the one thing to to indicate where she was and where she could possibly strike form next.

It did nothing though given her incredible speed. By the time he heard a noise, she already was launching the attack. Kicking off the wall behind him, hidden in the shadows of the upper exterior of the walls, she gave off the strongest kickoff she could as she launched herself from the wall, Bow powerless to stop her in time as it was already too late. By the time he turned around preparing to fire, Catra kicked him roughly against the face, delivering a massive blow powerful enough to knock him off his feet, knocking him out cold as he slid against the ground.

Walking over to the fallen Shadow Weaver clone, she spat. Her instincts were telling her this wasn't the same Shadow Weaver from earlier, and he was of no import compared to the other Shadow Weaver who disappeared with another clone. Because of it, she didn't bother finishing him off as she went back to collect her blade, pulling it out of the ground with ease.

"Time to end this..." Seeing the reflection in the sword, seeing the same yellow and blue eyes as she always did, she walked over to the center of the Lunarium where she saw the dark energies bursting from the core of the room.

This was it. With one final plunge she would end all the corruption and dark magics Shadow Weaver was planting around here. She would get her revenge for all the times she used her, all the times she manipulated her in the past, and most of all, she would get revenge on her for using Adora the way she did.

All the while, Shadow Weaver herself smiled with fascination and amusement as she watched the cat through her waters. The cat had done everything as she predicted and everything she was about to do! She thought she would leave here a hero when in reality she was going to cripple Mystacor's defenses in a single blow, and it would be all her fault!

This was going to be the most enjoyable display she had ever witnessed!

* _swoosh!_ *

"Agh!" Catra choked as she felt a presence falling onto her back, dropping her sword. Unable to turn her head, she shifted her eyes back, catching as much gaze of the real Shadow Weaver as she could as she pulled the arm holding her throat.

"Noooo!" Shadow Weaver screamed, lowering her head towards the fountain of water in frustration.

On her back Glimmer reappeared, wrapping her knees around Catra as she held onto her back, using her left arm to stay in place as she struggled to maintain her grip. This was the one chance she had left to save Catra and to stop her from destroying the lenses, seeing Bow knocked out several feet away from in the back of the room.

"I sure hope this works..." Glimmer gulped to herself as she pulled her other hand against Catra's nose.

To Catra's point of view, she was attempting to use some dark vile magic against her, seeing the twisted magic gathering in the palm of her hand.

"No!" She was so close! Her mind was exploding with thoughts as she stepped back a few feet, unable to get the heavy woman off of her. She came so close to stopping one of Shadow Weaver's plans, and her mind was already telling her how she failed! Why could she never beat this woman?!

She couldn't allow this to continue! Shadow Weaver was one of the most vile people she had ever known, maybe even worse than Lord Hordak himself, having met the Lord of the Horde a few times in person growing up. She was ruthless, cunning, and evil beyond comprehension, disposing of all her possible assets as soon as she finished using them. And knowing her the way she did, she would do the exact same thing to Adora when Adora finally outlived her usefulness!

"I'm... not... letting... you... win!" Catra grunted between chokes of breath.

She wasn't going to destroy the lenses at this rate, that's what her mind kept telling her. So perhaps she would have to settle for the ultimate sacrifice instead? She didn't care about her allies here, wherever they were, presuming they were okay. Here, she realized the best way to deal with Shadow Weaver was to deal with her herself, and she would happily take her down with her!

Pulling the sword to the front, she prepare as she slowly turned it around. She didn't like the idea of taking her own life, but if it was to stop Shadow Weaver, she would do it with a smile on her face. She would stab Shadow Weaver through herself, taking the girl with her if it meant winning. In the long run, it would deal a crippling blow to the Horde. Without Hordak's second in command, there would be a power vacuum, buying time for the Rebellion to continue gathering its forces and drawing strength, everything necessary to finally win!

With a deep breath through her nose, her grip tightened. With a final pull, she clenched herself as she plunged the sword straight into her heart-!

* _sniff_ *

She froze. That scent... that weird, bizarre, soothing, scent. It was... familiar to her. With the blade's tip barely an inch from her chest, she smelled it.

 _Where... Where have I smelled this before?_  The same Shadow Weaver who gave off the scent of Glimmer was now giving off her scent and a familiar fragrance she smelled earlier today. It was a soothing scent she remembered from awhile ago, back when she was getting a massage from Dr. Kiroh. It was calming, it gave her a sense of clarity when she smelled it, it was...

Incense!

Wait, why did it smell of incense? Just because she recognized the smell didn't mean she should be smelling it herself, right? She was here, staring at Shadow Weaver's magic-covered hand, the same one who pulled her away from the Lenses, and the very one her mind was screaming repeatedly for her to kill! Yet it didn't explain why her magic was filling with the scent of incense.

Come to think of it, why did it have a smell to begin with? It was dark magic, it didn't have a scent like the smoke from a fire or the tranquil scent of fresh water. And why was there a small bit of smoke rising in front of her too? It was the same size of smoke you'd get from a candlestick, barely the size of one's pinkie.

She chuckled a little as she thought of that. Pinkie. Like Pinky. The one who brought her to the massager in the first place... wait... how would Shadow Weaver's magic have the same smell? It didn't matter if she could use her magics to spy on her enemies, she couldn't get any sense of smell through her methods, whatever they were. And this one stupid smell was really bothering her as her mind kept screaming angrier for her to ignore it!

Why was she growing a headache from all this? This was nothing! She should just ignore it! She should impale herself with the sword to-  _HANG ON A MINUTE!_  She shouted in her head, grumbling as she started to shake. Why would she ever think of impaling herself with a sword?! That was beyond stupid! She wasn't about to risk her life for these, no matter how little they mattered to her! They were nothing, they were-

"Ghhhhh!" Catra growled audibly, shaking her head back as she convulsed, squeezing her eyes against her palms. "What's happening?!" Her voice echoed in distortion as Glimmer continued to force her to smell the incense candles.

"It's the smell, that's what's happening!" She knew whoever was speaking through Catra's mouth wasn't Catra's voice alone. At this, Catra started having flashes between the reality she saw and the true reality, the illusion struggling to maintain its hold over her mind. "You can duplicate her other senses however you want, but you can't get rid of her sense of smell!"

That was the grand realization behind this entire plan. She remembered everything that lead up to this point, all the people she passed on the way here that Catra knocked out or beat senselessly till they retreated. She didn't spare her because she wanted to, it wasn't due to some self pity she had for them. She knew the anger her friend could go through, and she was never one to allow such things go for the people she held a grudge against.

She spared those people because that's how this Shadow Weaver person wanted it to be, she needed it to be! If Catra killed anyone on the way here, she would've picked up the scent of blood in the air. If it was one person, it'd be one thing. If she killed more than two however then she would've picked up on the unusual scents the people were giving off! Because she barely knew these people she wasn't bothered by the individual scents they were giving off. That's why she was so confused when she picked up Glimmer's scent from earlier.

Because the magic would've disrupted if Catra's other senses started to kick in!

"Gehhhh!" Catra yelled as Glimmer held tightly. "Get ouT of mY heAd!" Her distorted voice was matched with the eerie substance that began draining from her ears.

Glimmer saw it. From her ears a thick cloud of darkness slowly started to seep, all gathering and amassing in front of the girl as Catra fought off the illusion. She heard a low growl coming from the black misty substance, fear slowly coming to her as she saw it give shape to a large humanoid-like creature, one without a face and a victim to corrupt its magic through. If Glimmer saw through the spell from the outside, there was no way it could work against her either from the inside.

As the last bits of the darkness left Catra's shrouded mind, the girl collapsed to the floor, Glimmer hopping off of her as she turned to the evil creature of darkness that towered over the both of them. Lifting her own head up, Catra held back the urge to groan, a small pain in her head from an unknown source, before she eyes widened at the sight of the monstrous creature.

"What the heck is that thing?!" She yelped, jumping to her feet as she backed up to Glimmer. As she did, she gazed around the entire room. Compared to the devastated war torn state it was in earlier, now it looked like there was barely a fight in here, the few scratches she did see she knew came from her own claws. "W-What happened in here...?" She shook as she looked at her own claws. "Did... I do this?"

"No, Catra." Glimmer smiled to her friend as she patted her back, glaring at the creature afterwards. " **That**  did!"

" _Gaaaaaaoooooooooo!_ " The monster was furious. It had a mission to do and it was going to see it through no matter how many times it had to retry on it's former host, or if it had to dispose of these people itself. Growing more in size, the two stepped back as it nearly doubled in size, gathering as much power as it could to deal with threats personally, resulting in it making it's final mistake. " _Gaaaauuuuuuuu!_ " The creature cried out in pain as a bit of light enveloped it.

Looking behind the monster, the two saw as the violet lights of the Lunar energy were purging the creature in its entirety. The creature roared in pain as it struggled to maintain form, swiping at everything around it in pain as it tried to save itself. As the eclipse drew closer to it's fullness the beams in turn grew larger, engulfing more and more of the creature as it tried to escape. After a few more seconds, the creature gave one last final roar as it dissolved into nothingness, destroyed by the Lunar's pure energy.

"You... You did it..." Catra wasn't able to comprehend what had happened. Glimmer, the shorter pudgy girl she knew her to be, disrupted Shadow Weaver's plan, stopped Shadow Weaver's abomination. She stopped Catra herself from losing her own life and bringing down Mystacor with it.

Feeling a hand on her shoulder, she turned to see a perky Glimmer smiling back to her, ignoring the few scrapes she had on herself as she did. "No. We did it." She stated. "You're not giving yourself enough credit, Catra. All I did was help you come to your senses, but you were the one who fought the monster off."

...Why did she have to be like this? Why did she have to have the same stupid smile like Adora did? The one who tried to brighten her mood whenever she was feeling down, the one who tried to show Catra her own strengths compared to everyone else who mocked her for her weaknesses? Why did she have to be like this when Catra was so rotten to her, when she expected nothing in return?

What did Catra even have to give her in return for this? She was already fighting for the Rebellion and she barely knew anything about Glimmer herself out of her own lack of interest. And there wasn't anything in particular Glimmer seemed to like other than calling Catra and her allies her friends.

There was only one thing that came to mind as she shifted her eyes away with a bit of a frown.

"Thank... Glim-"

"Ahhhhh!" The appreciation was cut short as Glimmer suddenly let out a scream of panic. Falling to the floor as a dark tendril pulled at her legs, Catra's eyes widened as she saw Glimmer getting pulled into the encompassing darkness that filled the room again, watching her disappear into the shadows.

"Pinky!" Catra yelled trying to run after her.

Before she could reach the girl she was already gone, disappearing completely into the abyss. From there, Catra froze and began to creep backwards as the shadows started to take shape, gathering together as it solidified into a shadowy form from where darkness crept forth. She felt a lump in her throat as she collapsed backwards, pushing herself away as she crawled from the towering figure who had a vendetta against her, those white seething eyes glaring intently as the one other bit of color that remained on her came from the jewel on her forehead.

Towards the wall, Glimmer was out cold. To the side, Bow was knocked unconscious by her own work. There was nobody else that could help her in this moment as she panicked, feeling the dread and despair washing over her as she found herself all alone with her greatest fear.

"Shadow Weaver..."

 

**_..._ **

 

**_..._ **

 

**_..._ **

 

**_A/N: I really hope i don't make a habit of 5-part episodes XP I don't mind it or anything but it's something I hope to not make a habit of, i prefer keeping it back to 4 (personally i liked it back when I just kept it to 2 XP)._ **

 

**_Anyway, hope you all enjoyed! Leave a Like, Follow, Fave, and Review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!_ **


	27. Episode 7: The Horrors of Mystacor Finale

**_A/N: Heyo folks! We've reached the finale of our beloved mystacor arc! I know it might seem short and rushed towards the end (as always P_P), and do hope that's not too distracting, but do keep in mind i'm following the episodes time length to it too, though I do add my own spins here and there as a result._ **

**_With that said, hope you enjoy!_ **

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

"You wretched cretin!" Shadow Weaver hissed as Catra backed up from the floor. With every push away from her the tendrilly shadows below Shadow Weaver's ghostly black image spread nearer.

This was beyond the region of bad. Worse than bad. Catra would gladly trade her consciousness with the currently passed out Glimmer and Bow who were residing on the other sides of the room. What Catra was currently facing was nothing compared to whatever possible nightmares either of the two could have at this point.

This was Shadow Weaver. Whether a vision of her or an amalgamation of all her shadows as her powers intensified, this was Shadow Weaver. The black witch of darkness, the one who always tormented nearly all the children in the Horde as they grew up, especially Catra. She loathed the feline, she despised her. Catra was beyond the point of ever asking why in her life, never being answered by her in the past. All she knew was that she hated her almost as much as she cared for Adora.

Or at least showed for it.

"You were supposed to destroy the Lenses you stupid child!" Gathering the shadows around her, she stretched her tendrils as far as possible towards the magicat. Brushing her fingertips against the sword, she grabbed it hastily, swiping it to bat away the tendrils she ran passed her.

Everything! Everything she had this stupid fleabag do was messed up now because of one pathetic brat! Her plan was so perfect, all of her plans were! Manipulating Catra's mind, while resisting, she managed to bring the girl to the edge of insanity, tricking her into seeing and hearing everything Shadow Weaver  _wanted_  her to see! Using her magic more directly to clear out the room from the sorcerers who posed a possible threat, she was supposed to use her stupid sword to destroy the lenses and leave Mystacor defenseless for the Horde to invade!

What happens instead?

Insects happen! Specifically, two particularly annoying insects she discovered by the names of Glimmer and Bow, two people who supposedly considered Catra her friends for whatever possible reasons they had. They were insects so it didn't really matter to her.

Naturally, the very first instinct was to dispose of the two directly, but where was the fun in that? Watching a possessed Catra going around and slaughtering her friends first would've been much more entertaining. After all, in the improbable chance that her magic failed to corrupt Mystacor's defenses, what then? She would be left with nothing. On the other hand if she got Catra to deal with them herself, it would've brought her the ultimate pleasure as she pictured Catra's reaction thereafter, imagining her reaction when she released her hallucination from the girl. It would've been perfect!

Then, these two had to show up and ruined everything! Not only did they ruin the part where they're supposed to die, they somehow managed to fight Catra off long enough until Glimmer came up with an idea. Using the incense sticks she managed to break Catra out of her delusion, the smell being the one thing the hallucinations couldn't forge! As if that wasn't enough, after breaking out of the hysterical state, the creature she used to induce said madness was destroyed effortlessly by the Lunar energies own magic, cycling through the room as the eclipse continued.

Everything she planned, all the time and energy she spent, wasted!

Who was to blame? Oh sure, these two got involved, she would definitely deal with them later. But  _her_ , Catra, the one she despised with a righteous fury. All of it centered around what the girl was capable and incapable of doing, and like everything else, she proved herself again to Shadow Weaver by being the one thing she was best at.

Useless!

"Time after time, you continue to prove how useless you are!" She screamed. Seeing the door, the frightened cat ran towards it as fast as she could, only to be cut off by the enveloping shadows that formed a wall. "Why these pathetic creatures could bother to care for you, I would never know."

"S-Shut up!" Catra yelled. Seeing her exits blocked off, she made a mad dash for the shadowy figure herself, trying to slice her right down the middle.

"Pathetic." Without any effort the shadows making up her form split away, throwing the cat into a state of brief confusion before slamming her away with one of the shadowy tendrils.

* **Wham!** *

"Ugh!" Catra yelped falling to the ground. Refusing to accept defeat, eyes still shriveling with fear, she grabbed her sword again as she prepared her stance. "I-I'm not afraid of you!"

"Then clearly I've been too lenient on you." WIth the wave of her hands, Catra found her feet wrapped around by the shadows. In a solid swing she was lifted a dozen feet off the ground, slamming her directly on the opposite side of the room with full force.

"Ngh!" How was she supposed to beat her? How could she ever beat her?! Shadow Weaver never loses, not when it came to her methods. Whether caring or manipulative, she could get anyone to do what she wanted, whenever she wanted! Imagining how much she tricked Adora, the anger she felt at the thought, didn't compare to the fear she had welling up inside of her.

"Ever since you were discarded, we brought you in." She let out a cough as she felt the tendril wrapped around her neck in an attempt of suffocation. Thankful that she still grasped her sword, she struck it away, jumping to her feet again as she focused directly on Shadow Weaver herself, unaware of the tendrils that trailed around her.

With another leap, the magicat attempted to strike the witch head on, refusing to back down. Not caring enough to dodge out of the way, with the lift of her hand, several of the tendrils grabbed on to Catra's right leg and chest, squeezing them tightly as it flung her to the ceiling where she was slammed. Almost letting out a small chuckle, waving her hand down this time, she watched with petty amusement as she released her hold, sending Catra plummeting to the ground with a hard crash.

"We taught you to be a warrior," she continued as Catra struggled to get up again, "we showed you how to use your strengths," she didn't give her a chance to get a foot off the ground before slamming her from the right with a massive tendril, "and how to undermine your enemies. And all you had to do was know your place!"

Spreading her darkness around the room, she grabbed a handful of the small crystals in each tendril, firing them directly at the cat who ran for dear life. For what little she managed to do to avoid any of the projectiles, she found herself with at least two cuts on her left arm and right knee, wincing a bit at the pain it caused as she ran.

"LIke I would want to spend the rest of my life taking orders from you!" Catra yelled, slicing away at one of the incoming tendrils she ran through. "You've tortured me, humiliated me, treated me like garbage since the day I could barely walk! All my life all I wanted was a little respect out of you, and could you give me that? No!"

Backing up against a pillar, she looked up as she saw where it lead to. To her reluctance, it connected towards a large walkway towards the ceiling. Shadows gathering around her feet, fear still racing through her heart, she climbed her way up the large pillar, leaping as far as she could up it as fast as she could!

This would be so much easier if she wasn't still exhausted from the lack of sleep that started this stupid mess!

"You think you're worth my  ** _respect_**?!" The very notion of the idea was almost a mockery itself. With a single pull, she shot a tendril straight at the girl by the time she reached halfway up the pillar, throwing her back to the ground where it planned to impale her. Landing swiftly on her feet, she dodged out of the way in time to avoid the heavy tendril that crashed into the hardened ground next to her. "You were disobedient, giving false ideals to the simpleminded you came across!"

"I was a kid!" She grabbed one of the many crystals Shadow Weaver tossed earlier, throwing it back at the witch in an to give her a taste of her own power. It proved futile though as the crystals passed through Shadow Weaver flawlessly, not leaving an opening from where they struck. "Most people don't make it their mission to beat children to keep them in line! Most of the other trainers we had never beat us like you did!"

"You assume far too much, little worm." Sinking into the shadows, Catra froze with fear as her entire surrounding became shrouded in darkness. She couldn't see the ground or walls, she couldn't see the ceiling, and she couldn't see the light that was still channeling into Mystacor by the eclipse. All she felt was a hand over her shoulders and a whisper in her ears that sent shivers down her back.

Swinging her blade back, Catra's nervousness intensified as it was met with empty air. Even without the phantasm possessing her mind, it did nothing to alleviate the fear she had of the tormentor. "I treated you especially with cruelty. None of the other cretins needed a push." She shook as she directed the sword in another direction, trying to find where the echoing voice was coming from. "Nobody else was disobedient, everyone knew when to take orders."

"As to why Lord Hordak took interest in you, I'll never know. You were always sly with a sharp tongue, you never learned to train with others save for Adora, and you never did what you were told. What's worse is when you tried to bring Adora down to your level, distracting her and engaging with her in all manner of mischief. She could've been made Force Captain years ago by now if not for you!"

"Tch, is that my failure then or yours for being a crummy teacher?" Out of the many things she could've said, that was the worst retort she could've given back to her. Almost immediately after hearing this, she found her entire body covered head from toe in shadow in an attempt to crush her, the shadows around her shrinking in from the inside and out.

"Such insolence!" It didn't bother Shadow Weaver at all as she saw Catra cut through the shadows with her blade, running back to the pillar in an attempt to reach the top. "Your only usefulness was being what I made you. A weapon. A tool. Out of everyone, I gave you the only purpose you had in life, and you denied it!"

"Of course I denied it! You treated everyone else better than me and you thought I wouldn't take it personally?!" Not ten feet off the ground after jumping to the pillar, Catra felt it. Behind the pillar she saw a massive buildup of shadows gather, shaking the massive pillar steadily as it began to form cracks against the wall. Realizing what was going on, Catra jumped back from the pillar as she duck out of the way, just seconds before the entire pillar came crashing down with a thunderous roar.

* **CRASH!** *

Anyone within a good quarter mile could've felt the vibration of that tumble from outside or underneath the floor they were on. The multitude of dust that followed spewed into the air, the mighty pillar snapped in half from the rest of the way, and leaving no plausible opening for Catra to jump to before any of the tendrils could grab her. If it wasn't for the fact there were three more pillars to climb from, she wouldn't have known what to do or how to get up there.

Speaking of which, that was the other priority that slowly dawned on her. The Eclipse was half over, and there was little time left to stop whatever magic Shadow Weaver was using to corrupt the barrier over Mystacor faded. She needed to find a way to stop Shadow Weaver and the dark magic at the same time!

Squeezing her hands against the sword, she ran down in the opposite direction towards the closest pillar to the North, Shadow Weaver already predicting what the girl was going to do.

"I don't think soooo~" She cooed with a grin. Almost up to the pillar, Catra found herself repeating the same process again as the shadows gathered being the massive beam, ducking herself out of the way as it came down as harsh as the last one. Refusing to let it stop her, she climbed over the massive pillar as she ran towards the next one. With wicked glee, by the time Catra was already over it, the third pillar to the room was already collapsed, catching herself from falling as the ground shook for the third time.

Her eyes darted frantically to the last pillar, the last hope she had at getting to the lenses that were above them. At the same time, she knew it was a waste of time if Shadow Weaver destroyed those too, the woman having a sickening sense of joy throughout the entire chase. As if sensing the girl's cautious nature, unable to show it through the darkness that made her, she grinned.

"Come on Catra, there's only one more." She taunted. "I'll even give you a headstart." As if continuing to mock her, she playfully covered her eyes as she began counting. "One... Two..."

Was this supposed to scare her or drive her insane again? Because either way, it was working! The woman enjoyed watching Catra struggle fruitlessly as she tried to complete her task, she laughed at every failed attempt Catra tried. She wanted to see Catra try her hardest and fail, just like she always did.

And sadly, she knew. She had to take that chance.

Shadow Weaver took grand amusement as she saw the girl make a dash for the pillar, continuing to count off as Catra struggled against her exhaustion and injuries.

Making it to the base of the tower, she leaped up as high as she could, reaching a good ten feet up the pillar, climbing the rest of the way up as she sunk her claws as deep as they could go. With every pull towards the top she saw the shadows gathering at the base of the pillar, slowly rising towards her as she tried to escape. She could tell Shadow Weaver was toying with her, purposely rising the shadows slowly so they were always a single foot away from the girl.

Regardless, she continued to push her way towards the top, never losing an ounce of the fear she had blooming inside of her. She needed to think of a way to defeat the evil witch, but the emotions swirling around in her mind were becoming too distracting. She hasn't landed a hit yet, not that it would matter since this being is comprised entirely of shadow, and she's made everything worse after she was manipulated into her predicament!

What else could she do?

A small sparkle of hope came to her as she finally managed to reach the top, grasping it firmly in both her hands after jumping from the pillar itself. No sooner had she did she turn back to the sound of the pillar beginning to crumble, watching as the shadows brought it down in a massive crash like all the others. It was here she realized how close to the time limit of Shadow Weaver's countdown she came to, rubbing the nervous sweat from her forehead as she pulled herself up to the elongated crystals coming out of the walls.

 _So far so good. I just need to think of a-_  Her thoughts were cut short as the shadowy master materialized before her, towering over her nearly twice in length as she looked down upon the frightened kitten.

"Going somewhere?"

"Ngh..." There was no stopping this lady! Like all the other times she charged ahead, swinging furiously at her tormentor, and like all those other times, her blade easily passed through it. "You never learn, you never paid attention, and you never finished your task." Without any hesitation, Catra suddenly yelped as she was lifted off her throat mid swing, dropping the sword to her side as she was raised to Shadow Weaver's irritated scowl.

"Now let me tell you what you are going to  **do!** " She huffed. "You will destroy the lenses here, you will return to the Horde, and you WILL let me  _fix_  you in a way that I see fit!" Raising a hand to her cheek, Catra was caught off guard as she stroked it gently rather than slapping it like she was used to. "Besides, your precious Adora is waiting for you. Do you truly wish to make her suffer any longer than she has to? Or would you rather prove how useless you are by failing to save Mystacor? To show the world how terrified you are of your betters!"

"I... Ghh..." How was she supposed to say no to this? She cared deeply for her only friend and it's not like there was much left for her to do here. Every time she tried to do something she always messed it up. In fact, looking back on it, she was the only one messing it up. "I'm... afraid..." Her eyes went hollow as the fear brought itself further into Catra's heart.

Shadow Weaver... was right... She always was right. She couldn't stand up to Shadow Weaver ever in her life, barely giving a smart lip to her whenever Adora was around. She never passed her exams with flying colors, at least to the same degree Adora did that made Shadow Weaver proud of her. And as a child, she could never stand up to the people who picked on her, no matter how many times she got payback for it later. That wasn't standing up to the bullies, that was just being sneaky and hitting them when they weren't looking. That was something cowards did

Cowards like her.

She... She really was afraid... There wasn't a good quality within her. There wasn't anything she could be proud of within herself. The fear was there because she was weak, because she couldn't stand up to Shadow Weaver. What was the point in resisting it when it her fear was all she had left?

"Come home, Catra... while I still show leniency!" She hissed, tightening the grip around Catra's neck which caused her to squeal. "You have no choice. You  **will**  return!"

"I... I'll-"

* _Whish!_ *

"Ugh!" Shadow Weaver let out another hiss as she was blasted with a puff of glittery magic from behind. It was enough to make the shadows dissipate entirely for a few seconds, dropping Catra to the ground who coughed as the air returned to her. Rubbing her sore throat as she pushed herself to her knees, she saw Glimmer and Bow standing from behind where Shadow Weaver was, Glimmer still having an ample supply of magic in her hands.

"Catra!" They both yelled worriedly. No sooner had they said that did Shadow Weaver materialize behind them again, her dark hair spiraling with anger as the shadowy tendrils around her sprouted up to her hands.

"I'll handle her, you get Catra!" Glimmer announced, charging forward towards the black witch, roaring as she prepared to fight dark magic with her magic. It might not have been as effective as the magic her aunt had, but it was enough to disrupt the witch's form for a couple seconds, buying them whatever time they needed to fix things.

"Catra," Bow called out again as he approached her, kneeling on his right knee, "are you okay?"

"Gh..." The voice in Catra's throat wouldn't come out.

"Catra, we need to do something about the lenses! There's not much time left, we have to stop her!"

"Tch... I... I can't..." Shaking, she hugged herself as her eyes wavered, the fear evident in her eyes and her trembling.

"What do you mean you can't-"

"I mean I can't!" She shouted, refusing to take her eyes off the crystal where she saw the vacant expression in her own eyes. "I... I can't beat her... I can never beat her..."

"Why can't you beat her?" It was so bizarre to see her acting like this. She wasn't hallucinating anymore and she wasn't being affected by the paranoia in her mind, Glimmer filling him in after the two woke up from the vibrations of the pillars crashing.

"Because, I... I can't..." She slowly raised her hands to her head head as her tail dropped lifelessly. "I'm too afraid..."

"...Afraid? That's your only excuse? That's the dumbest thing I ever heard!"

The sound in his voice was somewhere between surprise and annoyance, never seeming like the person to get irritated so easily since she met her. Raising her head slowly she saw a determined look in his eyes as he smiled to her. "Huh?"

"Catra, do you think I'm not afraid right now? Do you think Glimmer's not afraid? I mean look at her!"

Turning their heads to the side, they were met with the sight of Glimmer continuing her battle against Shadow Weaver, the princess giving it everything she had. Using her own magic, she fired several shots at the approaching tendrils, dispelling each and every one of them as they neared her, until she found enough time to use her teleporting again. When she reappeared, she was above a surprised Shadow Weaver, the shadowy figure caught off guard as she fired a massive blast at the figure, disintegrating the shadows from where they once came.

It still proved useless in the run as the shadows gathered near seconds after as they attempted to swarm Glimmer in all directions, Shadow Weaver appearing behind her as she directed the shadows with her hands. Having the advantage of mobility, however, Glimmer teleported again before the shadows touched her, reappearing on top of another crystal at least forty feet above Shadow Weaver, the witch anticipating this as she slid against the walls in her shadows, approaching the girl who continued to fire back.

"You don't think she's terrified of what she's doing right now? She's risking her life because she's afraid what'll happen to her if she loses, Catra. She's fearing what will happen if she can't save us and Mystacor, and yet she's not letting it consume her or making hasty decisions because of it. She's channeling her fear into hope that she can save everyone no matter how risky things become."

"B... But..." It's not like she didn't understand what he was saying, she just couldn't see how it helped her! This was Shadow Weaver they were talking about, the person who made it their life's goal to torment the young girl from an early age! Of course they weren't frightened of her, they have no idea what levels of cruelty existed within her mind.

"And let me tell you a little something, Catra. I'm always scared." He enjoyed the sight of her eyes refusing to tremble at the statement, seeing her shaking subside into a calmness. "I don't have any fancy powers like you have when the sword works or Glimmer has with her magic. We live in a world where war is tearing the planet apart, a war we have to fight in. Every day I'm terrified something's going to happen to one of us and I'm not going to have the power needed to save us when the situation calls for it. And I still don't let it get to me to the point where I can't do anything."

"B-But... How...?" Was he insane or something, or was he actually braver than her in some regard? Fear wasn't as simple as he thought it was. People fear dying every day, she feared dying everyday, and she doesn't let that stop her from doing what she needs to. This was a fear on a whole nother level to her and he was talking about his fear as if it was just as great as hers, if not more. "How can you be brave against a serious fear like that? When you know there's nothing you can do about it? You have no idea what she's like, you can't possibly understand my fear of her!"

"And you know what? You're right." He admitted with an annoying grin. "I don't know how scary she is for you, for all I know she could be the scariest person in the history of Etheria. But you want to know how I get through the same level of fear I have?"

"How?"

"By having an even bigger fear." Her eyes flashed at the confusing reveal. "I'm afraid what will happen to us if someone needs me and I fail, but I'm even more afraid of what will happen if I don't do anything. That's how I get through my fear."

"Beating fear by... having a greater fear..." She mumbled back to herself.

It was strange, to put it lightly. Replacing fear with fear sounded like fighting fire with fire to her. It was a simple phrase that held it's merit yet she never thought about having an even greater fear to replace her old one. Did she even have something more to fear than Shadow Weaver? Was it possible that anything in this world terrified her more than the being she considered evil beyond recognition?

...Come to think of it... yes... she did...

As she thought that, the two turned around to see an exhausted Glimmer panting madly as held herself against her knees. She was out of breath, getting low on magic, and sweating a bit as she stood in front of the two. "Okay...huff... huff... if anyone wants to tag in... huff... be my guest!"

* ** _WHAM!_** *

"Waahhhhhh!" Glimmer screamed as she was suddenly struck squarely in the stomach by a massive tendril, knocking her off the large crystal and plummeting towards the ground a near three stories below them.

"Glimmer!" Not missing a beat, Bow sprang from his feet as he dived down after her, intending to save her with one of the trick arrows he always came handy with.

Noticing the pathetic display before here, Shadow Weaver shook her darkened face with disgust. "What a waste of time. Now, where were we-"

She was gone. Catra was gone and running ahead of her. The girl that had sunk to her feet a minute ago, the one she knew was conflicted with turmoil and despair when she left her, was now racing for her life across the crystals, taking breath after breath as she bolted immediately for the Lunar Lenses.

"What?" She sped herself ahead as Shadow Weaver gave chase, unable to catch the girl with her shadows despite managing to keep up with her from the sides. "What are you doing?"

"What do you think? I'm ruining your stupid plan!" She snarled.

"How dare you use that tone with me!" Was that a snap back at her? Was that anger and determination instead of timidness and fear? Coming up to a large decorated violet curtain, Catra sank her claws deeply into the material as she climbed, taking numerous leaps up the large piece of cloth compared to scampering to get up it terrified like the pillars she had earlier. Trying to stop the girl from whatever her idea was she tossed one of her large tendrils at the girl, intending to impale her through the wall where she could.

As opposed to the previous times when she quickly dashed out of the way in a mad fit of terror, Catra casually leapt across the curtain to the right side, continuing her ascent to the top of the curtain where a platform lead directly to the eclipse's magical energy. She didn't show any emotion or care about the being chasing her at this point, kicking herself off the curtain as she came to the platform.

This wasn't right! This girl was supposed to fear her, tremble before her! Shadow Weaver ensured that Catra would never talk down to her again, never plan on betraying her on a moment's notice! What possible filth could've transpired during that brief time she had that pep talk with one of the insects?!

"Need I remind you who you are talking to you pathetic worm?!" She growled. Her attempts at continuing to provoke or intimidate the girl were for naught as she continued to run ahead.

As soon as she got to the eclipse's energy, what then? Would she figure out some way to defeat Shadow Weaver? Did she have a plan? Of course not! But strangely she felt alright with it. With Bow's words echoing in her head, the new fear she developed quickly overlapped the previous one, a fear so intense that it haunted her longer than Shadow Weaver had.

Right as she got to the eclipse's beam of energy, Shadow Weaver found herself enraged and at her wits end. "ENOUGH!" She shouted, standing on the opposite side of the beam of light that Catra stood near. She circled the magicat with her darkness once more, refusing to be ignored for so long by a sniveling pest. "You WILL return to the Horde at once, Catra! You know as well as I do you have no plan to succeed. Not even your foolishness can deny your fear of me!"

"...You know you're right." Catra replied in a scoffish tone, lowering her head. "I am scared of you. I'm terrified of you. I would have nightmares growing up in the Horde where you're trying to do away with me almost every single day in my sleep." Raising her head again, Shadow Weave saw something in her eyes that she never displayed in front of her; Courage. Baring her teeth in front of her she clenched her sword tightly between her two hands, ready to deal with the witch whatever way she saw possible.

"But looking back on it now, my fear of you is almost miniscule compared to my other fear. You're nothing but a speck of dust in comparison to it."

"You have some nerve." She shifted her attention down to the other two which Catra took notice of. There she saw Bow, having successfully saved Glimmer as the two of them hung ten feet above the ground with a rope web having caught them. "What? Is it because of these creatures? Do you feel some form of attachment to them now after all you've been through?"

"What? Them? Pffft!" The thought of it made her chuckle. "You wish! I could care less about those two."

"Then why are you standing up to me now? Why do you even care if you succeed or fail here? You have no place here, and you never will."

"And again, you're right. I'm not going to be accepted, I wouldn't want to be accepted by them anyway... but..." She contemplated as she looked back to the two as they began to climb up a rope Bow shot out to the crystal platform under them, seeing how Glimmer used too much of her magic to teleport to where she was. "...They at least had the decency to look like they care about me. Even if it's fake, they at least put more effort into it than you ever did! And even if I don't like them," she grinded her teeth as she prepared for anything, "I'd still rather protect them a hundred times over before I went back to the Horde!"

* _ching_ *

It was at that moment, whether through her sheer emotions or simply a matter of timing with the events that had proceeded, that a miracle happened. The Sword of Power, the very one she could never get to work when she needed it most, transformed itself. From it's deadly, powerful, blade that Catra and her allies had known it to be, it reformed into a great and powerful shield, one almost the same size as the sword itself and a width almost as long as it's length.

All of this, while still maintaining that big beautiful blue jewel adorned in the center.

Looking over the shield itself, Catra blinked in surprise as she saw her reflection. "Huh... that's convenient..." It was also during that time when she realized how it reflected, turning her gaze to the energy in front of her as Shadow Weaver slowly realized. It was then she remembered, as her brain was wracked with pain, exactly what happened to the other creature of pure darkness when it collided with the beams of light at the base of the Lunarium.

She grinned.

"You wouldn't dare..." Shadow Weaver couldn't narrow her eyes any further without making her eyes vanish. She knew exactly what the girl was thinking of.

"You know what's funny? Seeing that pathetic look on your face, I don't even fear you anymore. I understand now that you were jealous of me. Jealous because Adora wanted more to do with me than with you." With a grunt, Catra took the shield directly into the beam of light itself. The two watched in amazement as the shield began to give off a powerful rainbow of light, shining beautifully as the shield itself absorbed the eclipses's energy.

"Now, I just pity you."

" _ **NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-!**_ " There wasn't enough time to stop the girl with her shadows before it was too late.

Redirecting the flow of energy through whatever means possible, Catra let out a small roar as she blasted the energies straight into the center of the Lunarium. There, a grand aura of might burst through the room, one that cleansed the entire room from it's dark energies and evil magic. The form of Shadow Weaver herself was helpless as she was caught in the blast, disintegrating her along with the shadows that she had engulfed the room in.

...

It was then on the other side, through the mystical water the real Shadow Weaver was watching this all through, that she cried. Through it's arcane energy and power, the blast was so powerful it managed to strike at Shadow Weaver herself through her channeling, striking the witch's center of power, the crystal lined on her mask's forehead, nearly draining it of it's power entirely. The witch let out another cry of pain as she was blasted back to the wall, collapsing into a sorry state as she passed out slumped over on the ground. Her crystal let out a small blink of light before being dimmed.

Shadow Weaver, had lost.

...

All around the Lunarium, just as Bow and Glimmer reached the top of the rope, the room returned with life as the unconscious mages and sorcerers began to awaken one by one. It was also at that moment that Aunt Castaspella had returned to the room, clutching her stomach, slightly in pain, but looking no worse for wear. She smiled brightly as she saw the state of the room, seeing the faces of her comrades returning with life.

Along with them, the ground itself also hummed with life as a blue magical energy began to flow throughout the symbols etched into the floor. There, they grew along everywhere, to the corners, to the walls, and up to the ceiling itself as it returned the Lunar Lenses to life from their dark imprisonment, returning to the beautiful shade of purple after long last.

The barrier over Mystacor brightened immensely over the land, regenerating its shield after long last, and keeping the residence safe for another time.

"She did it!" Bow cheered, pumping his fist.

That's when Glimmer noticed a small silence. Looking around the room, she was confused as she noticed the severe lack of Catra and the sound of someone gloating about how they single-handedly saved the day,  _again_ , as Catra always put it. Checking around, she turned her attention to the top of the Lunarium where she had performed her miracle, seeing the lump up there that could only belong to one person.

"Catra!" She called out. Being closer as she was, she grabbed Bow's hand as the two teleported to the top, running over to the fallen friend who wasn't moving.

"Is she alright?"

Checking her over in her arms, Glimmer let out a sigh of relief as she nodded back. "Yeah, she's perfectly fine. She's just sleeping." Maybe perfect wasn't the right word, though it was the closest thing to it.

Why was she unsure of herself? Because for one of the first times ever, she saw a genuine smile plastered over the girl's face as she hugged her sword. She doesn't know what fully transpired up here, and after everything this day had to offer, she didn't care. This was a sleep Catra desperately needed, and one she fully deserved.

Before she fell unconscious, Catra smiled as she collapsed. Today wasn't a simple victory that she had won for Mystacor, this was a day she never wanted to forget.

The day where she truly beat Shadow Weaver for the first time.

...

...

_"Tch... stupid guards..." The six-year-old Catra mumbled as she continued to mop the near mile-long floor as a guard supervised her._

_It wasn't enough for someone to throw food at her. Oh nooo, they had to be one of those doofuses who didn't know their place, who decided getting a shot back at themselves was too unfair or to aggravating to live with. No, after Catra was fed up for the last time and got food thrown at her head in the lunchroom, she lost it._

_She was tired of living this way, tired of being treated like an animal half the time and a freak the other half of the time. WIth Adora gone, all she was left with was herself as her only friend was sent to another sector of the Fright Zone because she "earned" it for how well she was doing, because a big stupid lady person named Shadow Weaver favored her. And if that wasn't adding too much salt to the wound, bringing Lonnie and her lackies, the people who picked on her everyday because Lonnie wanted to, were brought in as well!_

_So now, not only was she without a friend in this sector, she was all alone to fend for herself from the bullies that picked on her everyday. She was going to be pushed on, harassed, and mocked day in and day out and no one would be there to comfort her anymore._

_That's when she realized, a grand question. Why did she care about being the nice one? Being the nice one around here got her nothing. It didn't give her anymore friends, it didn't show her any appreciation, and it didn't stop the people from bullying her. Thus, with a tray in hand, she did something to the person who threw food at her that she never did before._

_Bashed her gruel-covered tray against their faces._

_Needless to say, their reaction was... about as much as she could expect from it. Instead of whimpering or crying like a brat, they were outraged that the freak of the sector humiliated him like that in front of the other kids, hearing a few people chuckling and laughing as the gruel ran down his face._

_Trying to take revenge on the stupid freak, he at first tried to grab the brat by the collar to beat her senseless. To his surprise, not only did she not stand there and take it, she dodged out of the way and scratched his arm a good in, leaving several deep marks in his arm that he winced from._

_When that didn't work, he attempted to throw his food again at the brat, unaware that her quick reflexes helped her out of the incoming shot, resulting in him striking the kid at the other table who growled back to him._

_This line of vendetta eventually lead to an all out food fight across the lunchroom, one the guards haven't seen in decades. Food was being flung all over the room, kids were starting to fight each other left and right, and the room became so chaotic and they had to get the sprinklers on to wipe down the place after the last seven minutes of this fight, the kids scrambling one by one to get out of the room as they were covered in slimy food and cold clothing._

_During this time, Catra herself found herself repeatedly hunted and targeted by the individual kids. A lot of them found it their opportunity to attack the kid directly and beat some sense into her, knowing that with no Adora around that would mean there was no Shadow Weaver to deal with either. Sadly for them, they weren't prepared for a kitten that could scratch back. Catra became a whole new level of aggressive, one nobody had seen before as she used her claws to scratch at the kids faces, using the trays as weapons to bash a kid in the face after she nimbly dodged._

_There were quite a few times where she took a good hit here and there, ending up with a few bruises on her face and a cut or two on her arm from the plastic silverware some of the kids attempted to stab her with. Yet, by the time this food fight was over, she felt like a winner. She beat who knew how many kids back and only shed a few tears down her face from the pain she was in, which was a lot less compared to the normal she had to shed._

_So of course, what better reward awaited her afterwards than getting scolded at by the guards, after the kids lied about her starting the fight mind you, and being forced to not only apologize to the kid who pushed her to the ground immediately after with no consequences, but also mop up the remaining slop in the lunchroom that was thrown around everywhere!_

_At least she finished the first tenth of the lunchroom after the first hour. At this rate she should be done by three in the morning._

_Oh joy..._

_"You there." A voice called out to her. Looking at the strange person, she found herself seeing someone she never did before, someone most of the kids had never seen before. He was a strange man with pale white skin with pointy ears, sinister red eyes that practically housed an evilness on his own. With his intimidating silver armor, red cape, and Horde simple displayed over his chest, he looked like a dark hero from a story, or the worst villain you could imagine. He was also escorted by two royal guards, both soldiers carrying blasters with them._

_Whoever he was must've been important because when she turned around for a moment, she saw the other guard trembling at the sight of him._

_"Did you do this?" He asked._

_Catra stared at the stranger for a few seconds, shrugging him away as she went back to the mopping. "What's it too you?" She hissed._

_"You despicable ingrate!" The guard watching over her roared, taking out his baton and setting the stun function on. Catra's ears lowered at the sight of the sparks coming off of it. "How dare you show him disrespect like that you rotten child!" Catra prepared herself as she covered her head, waiting for a strike that never came. Noticing the lack of brute force that she was accustomed to around here, she opened her eyes again, blinking at the sight of the guard shivering in fear as the stranger held his arm up._

_"You will not strike this child without my say so." He deemed. The guard continued to remain frozen in place, incomprehensible as he babbled incoherently an apology, while the stranger kneeled down to Catra, rubbing a hand over her head. "...Ah yes, the magicat. No wonder I'm not surprised."_

_"The magi-what?" Catra repeated with confusion, dropping the mop as the stranger pulled it from her hands gently._

_"Little girl," it was shocking to hear anyone refer to her by anything other than freak, "do you know what you did in here today?"_

_"I-I don't care." She tried to put on an uncaring display as she crossed her arms. "Those bullies started it, I was just trying to end it."_

_"Those bullies... yes..." He rubbed his chin, pondering in thought. "My child, are you aware that during the entire... fight... you unleashed in the middle of all of this, you broke two kids' noses with a tray, and sent about 13 kids to a medical bay covered in deep scratches?"_

_"N-Not really, and I don't care." She huffed, turning her head away defiantly. "Are you gonna yell at me too? Cause I'm a little busy here... weirdo!" Ha! Not nice being on the receiving end of those mean words, is it! The guards behind the man would've looked like they saw a ghost if she could see passed their helmets._

_At this, the stranger continued to stare at her for a few seconds, slowly growing a wicked smile over his face as he grinned. "Amusing. Child-"_

_"I'm not a child!" She pouted, puffing her cheeks a little. "My name is Catra!"_

_"Forgive me, Catra then." There was something about the way he apologized that filled the room with an eerie coldness. "Are you aware that more than half of those kids you beat up were several years older than you, almost a foot or two taller than you? And you still sent them to the medbay?"_

_"...Um...S-Should I be sorry...?" She mumbled unsure of herself. She didn't really mean to hurt anyone too badly, she just wanted people to stop picking on her. As opposed to a severe talking down to that she would've received, and expected, she was instead met with the sound of the stranger chuckling at her._

_"Hmhmhm, that part is up to you, I'm afraid. What I want to know is how you managed to beat over a dozen children stronger than you without any sort of formal training?"_

_"I... I dunno..." She mumbled again, looking at her claws that still had a small scent of the various kids she punched or scratched. "I just got really angry about how much they picked on me... and next thing I know, I'm hitting them with a tray..." She gulped silently to herself as she looked to the tall menacing man. "Am I in trouble?"_

_"Trouble?... Heh, no, you're not." He stated. "That kind of raw power could prove useful to me..." Catra could hear him mutter to himself, though she didn't know what he meant. "Child- I mean, Catra. I have a single question to ask you."_

_"Y-Yeah?" She was starting to see what frightened the other guard so much. The longer she talked to the stranger, the more menacing and vile he started to appear. She might wet herself if she spent an hour talking to a man this scary!_

_"If you could go anywhere right now that you wanted, anywhere you could train, where would you go?"_

_"Anywhere I... wanted to train?" What kind of question was that?_

_"Let me ask a different question. Catra, tell me one thing you want in life more than anything?"_

_Ok, that made a little more sense to her even though it was hard to tell. What did she want most in life? A lot of yummier food to eat around here? For bullies to stop picking on her constantly? There were so many things she could ask for that she wanted, so many things she felt like she needed around here!_

_She wanted people to stop being so mean to her, she didn't want to deal with the harassment like this for the rest of her life! She wanted... say..._

_"I can... ask for anything?" Catra wondered._

_"If you were going to spend the next phase of your life somewhere... worse than this, then what would you want?" He clarified. She would prefer getting it her way for a change. She found it ironic that the first time she stood up for herself and the fact she injured kids from head to toe that she was about to be rewarded for her efforts._

_Maybe this is how the world truly worked? Maybe to get ahead of life you needed to be meaner? It worked that way for all the other kids so far since they never seemed to get punished, and now it looked like it was going to work for her._

_At that moment, the one, greatest, request she could think of entered her mind._

_"I want to be with Adora."_

...

...

"Awwwwwwhhhhhhhn." Catra rubbed her eyes as she made her way out the room, stretching her other arm to the sky. Naturally, like she expected to be annoyed with, she saw the two smiling faces of Glimmer and Bow, the two greeting her as they waited right outside the room.

"Hey, you're awake!" Glimmer smile as Catra continued you rub her eyes. She went unnoticed as she let out a small snicker at seeing the girl again.

"Well look who's finally up." Bow commented leaning against the wall. "How you feeling?"

"Better than I have been." She replied, scratching behind her ears. "I honestly can't remember the last time I ever slept so good."

"I'll say, pfft," she snickered again, "you slept till noon."

"I did?" No wonder she felt more tired than she should've been. Who knew sleeping in would you make you feel this incredibly relaxed. "Hmm... Is your aunt okay?"

"Yeah, they're all right, thanks, tch, to you." Why was she acting so weird? She couldn't finish a single sentence without letting out a chuckle. Bow himself was doing everything in his power to contain a smirk on his face.

"Okay, I'll bite. What's so funny?"

"N-Nothing!" Glmmer beamed shaking her head, the corners of her face twitching as she suppressed another laugh. "We're just, pffft, really excited to see you up and about after a whole day of sleeping."

"Yeah! We still got a good chunk of vakay ahead of us." Bow added, covering his mouth to hide the obvious grin.

"In that case, you mind if we get a massage thing again?" She asked, cracking a few bones in her knuckles. "You made it sound extremely relaxing. I just hope that Kiroh girl isn't too mad about before."

"Oh, don't worry about that, I'm sure it'll be ffffff-tch, hahahahaha!" She couldn't take it anymore. Holding onto her sides she burst out in laughter with Bow as the two stared at her.

Was this supposed to be some form of joke in the Rebellion she didn't know about or some relaxation technique she wasn't aware of? Because she was finding it a lot more annoying than relaxing! "Ok, seriously, what's so funny?" She asked scratching the long sleeve shirt she was wearing. It was so itchy compared to normal.

 _...Wait a minute..._  That was when it dawned on her, one particular detail that Catra always lived by. She never had a long sleeve shirt! Looking down at herself, her entire face beat with a bright pink flush as she realized what all the hubbub was about.

Here she was, in the middle of the hallway in front of the two of them, wearing what may be the most embarrassing sweater of her life. It was hand woven especially for her, she could tell by the size of it, crafted and sewed together in red all over. It had a typical turtleneck and collar for her, having a slight itch to it that she wasn't used to as it brushed against her fur.

That wasn't the embarrassing part.

What was embarrassing for her was what else was on it. In the front of the sweater, there were dozen or so white stars placed around it, as well as a single image on the front. It could've been a normal cat or anything, but no. For whatever reason, she found an image of a single cat in a chibi-like style, crafted after Catra's own design, sleeping on it with a couple of Z's indicating it snoring. And above the cat read the most ridiculous two words she had ever seen labeled above it: Sleepy Kitty

"... **WHAT THE HECK AM I WEARING?!** " Catra shouted angrily as she blushed, the entire hallway shaking by the sound of her voice.

"Awww, don't pout, I think it looks, pffft, cute!" She squealed. "My aunt made it for you while you slept! She was so thankful for what you did last night that she wanted to reward you."

"BY MAKING ME WEAR THE STUPIDEST OUTFIT EVER?!" It didn't matter to her how soft or comfortable she admittedly found it to be. It was still too embarrassing!

"Well if it makes you feel any better, the design wasn't her idea." As Bow gestured with his thumb, Glimmer took off speeding down the hallway, still laughing it up with every step. "It was Glimmer's idea."

"AHAHAHAHAAAA!" Glimmer could be heard screaming with laughter as she ran.

"PINKYYYYYYYYYY!" Unsurprisingly, at the announcement, Catra gave chase after her, preparing to rip her limb from limb, not caring at all if the Queen punished her for this. Seeing this himself, Bow laughed out loud, giving chase after them. They still had a vacation to deal with and Glimmer's method of getting her ready to go was on the spot.

Now if she managed to survive the ordeal after Catra managed to get her, that would be a surprise.

In all honesty though, a bit of Catra didn't mind. She didn't care how much they humiliated her, to an extent, and annoyed her with their constant ramblings. To her, the only thing she cared about was getting her kingdom and fighting back against the Horde with as much strength as she had to give.

Besides, at least if these two were around here, she wouldn't have to deal with the one fear she suffered from more than the embodiment of fear itself.

And that was a fear she would take to her grave...

...

...

"Shadow Weaver?" Adora called out, popping her head into the chambers after a full day of guard duty.

After the task she was given, she made certain that Shadow Weaver wasn't disturbed at all. She kept watch over the door throughout the majority of the day, whenever she needed a break she assigned a pair of guards over the door, and refused to leave the door after the night's light filled the sky. She wanted to make absolutely sure nothing would disturb Shadow Weaver's attempts at bringing her friend back.

"Hello?" She called again. The room was filled with a strange coldness. Not one from the atmosphere or the dark magic Shadow Weaver used to give off, one from the emptiness she felt in the room. That was when she finally noticed the unconscious form of her mother figure, fallen against the wall for who knows how long by now. "Shadow Weaver!" Adora rushed over as she cried out.

What happened to her? She seemed okay enough. There were barely any injuries she had aside from a small scrape against the wall from earlier. She said she couldn't be interrupted as she preformed whatever ritual she needed to bring Catra back to the Horde. Come to think of it, if she was knocked unconscious at all, that could only mean one thing, one dire thing that Adora feared most of all.

The ritual had failed.

There was no mistaking it. She knew Shadow Weaver, the Shadow Weaver she presented herself to be anyway, as someone who never gave up. She never stopped a single task until it was finished to completion and then some. That was how she raised Adora to be and that's the way Adora saw her through most of her life.

That's when she noticed light emanating from the fountain again, the magic still spying on Catra and her allies since the night before. Glancing between the two, having a smidge of hope that maybe the ritual had been completed, she rushed on over to it, peering deeply into the waters.

To her regret, it was as she feared. Catra still appeared to be in the Princess's evil control. It was a bit of a weird scene, to say the least, as she watched Catra pulling on Glimmer's cheek as the princess laughed at her for whatever reason. Was some part of her resisting the control actually? Was that Catra's attempt at fighting back against the princesses through whatever resistance she had left to offer? She couldn't tell anymore.

All she knew was the hatred she had boiling up inside of her, taking one last look at Shadow Weaver and then to the fountain in front of her. "Every time we try something, they always manage to slip passed us like a snake." Snakes were one of the most annoying things in the world when it came to predators. They were cunning, swift, malicious, and devoured everything in sight. "Nothing we do from afar has managed to work, Shadow Weaver..." Her face contorting with rage, Adora squeezed her fist as the image in the fountain wavered, switching its focus from the two of them to Glimmer's face more directly.

"Not anymore." She declared. "Now, we do things my way." She was tired. Emotional. And stressed. Day in and day out she had to put up with her numerous grievances and stresses that would drive most people to the seat of madness by this point, and yet she persevered. Why? Because of her care for Catra. Catra was practically like a sister to her, one she cared deeply for since the two grew up along with each other, and now she was supposed to sit back and let everyone else try to deal with the work?

Well not anymore.

"It's time to deal with that snake myself." Splashing her fist into the water, she left the fountain as she made her way over to Shadow Weaver, already orchestrating a hundred different plans to deal with the wretched snake who's turned her life upside down, the same way everyone dealt with a snake.

By cutting off it's head...

...

...

...

**_A/N: Like I said, i know it's short, and did have some more intended for it, but work kinda got in the way and made everything exhausting for today T_T. So with that said, hope people understand here and there as my brain isn't 100% into it at the moment, though my energy is._ **

**_Fun fact, cause i love ya guys so much, I took another hour to add a good 2k words to this, specifically the flashback sequence ^^ It took more energy from me but it felt worth it to finally get this thing up from 8k to 10 k ^^_ **

**_With that said, we're another episode down, and we're rolling into one of my FAVORITE episodes ^^! THE PRINCESS PROM!_ **


	28. Episode 8: Princess Prom Part 1

**_*EDIT* Hey guys, re-posting because the stupid site didn't register it as updated since i apparently posted within 24 hours of itself, so in case it didn't send the notification to anyone (idk, i havent met anyone who posts daily like i do XP), this is a bump to get it resent. Apologies to anyone getting this notification twice._ **

_**A/N: Dun dun di duuuuun! Presenting one of my favorite episodes ever! Hoof, I'm gonna have a hayday with this one ^^** _

_**Not much to say I don't think. Thanks for all the feedback and support up to this point guys! We're nearing the finale, as well as the one episode I do not look forward to writing because It'll result in me being forced to rewatch the saddest episode ever X*[...*sigh*** _

_**Enjoy!** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

***Bam***

***Bam***

***Bam***

"Hey! Pinky! Open up!" Catra called as she pounded on Glimmer's bedroom door.

An action like this would've been seen as unheard of when it came to Catra for those who knew her. Normally when she got any sort of junk from someone around the castle she would casually toss it in the closest garbage can, refusing to acknowledge whatever junk a person gave her and not caring of its contents. And usually during those times when she had questions about something, she refused to check up with Glimmer about it on whatever it could be.

That all changed after the events of Mystacor recently. After a perilous tiring adventure up to this point, Glimmer knew she was overdue for her very first, legitimate, vacation. She needed some time to unwind, destress, catch her breath. She was the Princess of Power after all, and the hope of the Rebellion. Anyone would need to cool down after the adventures they've had up to this point and what sort of trouble could one face when taking a trip to a perfect place like Mystacor?

Apparently, a lot.

Throughout the day thanks to Shadow Weaver's involvement, she preformed a powerful ritual that summoned a creature of darkness, a spirit that infected Catra's mind all throughout her first day in Mystacor. During the time she was possessed, the spirit tricked Catra by making her see all matter of things that weren't true. It made her think her allies were plotting against her, played on her fears of Shadow Weaver and inability to do anything for herself alone. It made her almost regret leaving the Horde to begin with, almost giving her a desire to return to the Fright Zone where she belonged.

As time went on the hallucinations only got more severe, with the hallucinations becoming extremely violent and unforgiving as time passed. Eventually it reached its critical point when the spirit took full possession of Catra's mind, up to the point where she thought the Horde had invaded Mystacor and had taken the people in it. it sent her into a state of insanity as everyone she saw took on the guise of Shadow Weaver, never realizing it was the residence of the place, as she fought them off to reach the Lunarium and  _save_  the Lunar Lenses, unaware that the effects to her mind would've resulted her in destroying it instead.

It was thanks to Bow and Glimmer's timely intervention that Shadow Weavered foiled in her plan, not once, but twice. After snapping the girl out of her delusional state, Shadow Weaver projected herself to Mystacor, taunting Catra endlessly with her fear of her mocking the girl for her very existence. She played on Catra's fear on point, never missing a beat or skimming over any details about every reason Catra was no better than a tool.

And it would have worked. The girl was terrified of her without any assistance of the spirit possessing her earlier. She might've returned to the Horde as instructed out of fear, feeling as if she didn't have any choice in the matter. It was only with Bow's helpful advice, advising her to think of a fear greater than Shadow Weaver that she managed to push through it. And after enough time, making it to the lenses themselves, she managed to use the Eclipse Ceremony's magic to expel the darkness, defeating Shadow Weaver for the first time in her life!

She owed it to Bow and Glimmer, no matter what she would say. They were the very few people that showed any sign of caring for the girl, any sense of emotion for her that Catra's only gotten from Adora. It was within the time remaining for the rest of their vacation that she bonded with them, albeit against her will, as they did numerous activities together, from a Sauna, getting massages, and more time in the Steam Grotto.

They still weren't on the level of friends, at least by her standards. She still found them annoying, and she refused to feel any closer to them no matter how kindly they acted, not really helping the fact Glimmer's aunt put her in the most ridiculous sweater in her life, one that she might or might not have brought back with her, not that the two could see.

But she did feel a sense of comfort from them, enough to actually start a conversation from time to time or to ask a question when it was most needed.

Like now for example.

"You wanna explain this stupid junk mail someone sent me?" It was the strangest letter she had ever received... and one of the few only letters she had ever received in her life. "Who the heck invited me to this," she narrowed her eyes as she looked closer to the inscriptions, "All-Princess Ball, Winter Wonderland? Is this some sort of prank or something because I don't get the joke-"

"PRINCESS PROOOOM!" Both at once, she was greeted by the shouting of Glimmer and Bow in unison. Together the two began circling the room, pumping their fists triumphantly and dancing side to side as a confused ear-drooping Catra watched the two. "Princess Prom! Princess Prom! We are going to Princess Proooom!"

"Annnnd that's my queue to leave." There was no telling what sort of apparent evils had taken over the minds of her allies. All she knew was that it was too late for them and she had to inform the Queen. She only got two feet from the door before she was yanked back inside by her tail, being turned around as Bow grabbed her by the shoulders with excitement in his eyes.

"The All-Princess Ball is a meeting of all the princesses of Etheria!" He stated. He let go of Catra, continuing to jump a bit as he relished in his thoughts.

"And a giant PARTY!" Glimmer squealed in delight, teleporting from the end of the room to standing right in front of Catra. She swore if Glimmer or Bow's eyes sparkled anymore than they were now, their eyes would turn pure white. Grabbing Catra by the arm, she swung her around a bit as she danced with her in her arms. "Dancing, food, fancy dresses!"

Staring up into the open space, Catra counted off. "Hmm how about no, no, and my favorite, no!" She rolled her eyes as she started to walk away again.

"What?!" Teleporting again she cut Catra off, blocking the entrance. "But you can't leave, Catra! It's the Princess Prom, and you're invited!"

"Mmmh." She doesn't know if she could be any more obvious with her disinterest in all of this. "Look, Pinky, I get if you're excited about some Ball Gathering thing or whatever, but..." She slowly came to a pause as she processed the invitation more directly as well as Glimmer's last words. "...Hey wait..." Examining the invitation in her hands gave Glimmer a hopeful smile. "...Does this mean I'm a princess?"

"Huh? Oh..." Tapping her chin she stared off into thought. "Wow, yeah, I guess we never really discussed that bit, did we."

"I always thought it was obvious." Bow commented smiling to the princess who was just realizing it. "Catra, didn't you know you were officially deemed a princess once you could turn into She-Ra?"

"Not really," she shrugged, "no one's called me that since I got the stupid sword."

"Well... yeah. You're a princess now, congrats." Glimmer gave a small clap for her with her smile. Not wanting to give her a chance to escape she grabbed onto Catra again as she teleported them over to a cushioned bench near the window of the room. "It only happens once a decade. I've been waiting years for this! And as such, you have to come with us to the Princess Prom. You're officially invited!"

"You sure it still counts if I'm a princess once in awhile though?" Catra asked pulling out her sword. As always, she was greeted with the same annoyed reflection she glade at in the blade. "I haven't been able to get this stupid sword to work since Salineas, and even then I've only been able to transform into She-Ra like five times."

"Four times." Unsurprisingly, Bow's attempt at trying to help correct the lacking number of transformations earned him a small twitchy glare. "Ehhh sorry. But it's still no reason to go! You're going to have a blast!" Grabbing the invitation from her hands he unleashed the scroll in its entirety, Catra watching as the entire sheet rolled across the floor like a toilet paper trail until it hit the wall.

She read off the numerous events and requirements for the prom to the two of them, at least the ones she found in the middle of the incredibly long list as she examined the contents' multiple rows of information. "Rules for greeting hostesses? Appropriate laughter volume? An in-depth detail about how to properly keep your shoelaces tied? How many of these things are jokes and how many of them are we supposed to take seriously?"

"The party's been going on for centuries." He replied. "There's a lot of old etiquette stuff you got to do before you can party."

"You don't say..." Catra rubbed her chin as she examined the list again.

As she did, a thought dawned upon Glimmer, turning her excited beyond words smile into a slightly uneasy look of dread. She couldn't believe she didn't think of this part of it sooner. They were now going to be facing the one problem worse than the party itself, and that dealt with Catra's ability to socialize.

"Ehhh Catra, can you excuse us for a minute?" Glimmer asked as she grabbed Bow's arm, teleporting the two of them right outside the door's hallway. Catra merely waved it off from her hand, not giving them a moment's notice as she continued reading through the list. Looking back to the girl herself, relieved she was so into it to notice the two of them missing, and sighed.

"Bow, I'm starting to have second thoughts." She whispered.

"What? But you love the Princess Prom! We both do!" Did she forget anything else after all this time while they were at it? "Why don't you want to go?"

"No, not that! Of course I want to go, but what about Catra?" The two peeked back into the room as she squatted on the floor, holding two separate sections of the scroll in each hand. "This is our chance to recruit most if not all the princesses in one go, at the very least Princess Frosta. You know as well as I do how much we could benefit from her joining us, and Catra's not exactly... you know... princessy."

"Hey dweebs, get in here, will ya? I wanna talk about something." The two heard Catra call out, still not taking her attention away from the paper. It was like she was entranced by the mystic power that was known as ink she was so drawn to it.

"...I get your point." He admitted in defeat. "But, it can't be all that bad, right?"

Just to unknowingly prove her point, the two watched as Catra dug through her ears with her pinkie nail, pulling out a rather large swab of earwax in the process. Too focused on the reading at hand, she didn't give it any attention as she casually sniffed it for herself before flinging it off to the side, brushing the remains of the gunk against her shirt before repeating the process in her other ear.

"...Ok, so maybe it is that bad."

"You're not helping!" She whispered with a small grumble.

"But I'm sure it'll be fine. For all you know maybe she won't want to go?"

"Maybe who won't what?" The two jumped in panic as they heard Catra speaking right next to them, the magicat in question appearing at nearly the worst time.

"Oh, n-nothing! Nothing!" Glimmer assured waving her hands side to side. "Anyway, Catra, about the ball-"

"Oh, yeah, I actually wanted to tell you about that." To Glimmer's worry there was a small grin on Catra's face as she looked over the invitation again. "I gave it some thought and all, and, while it still looks stupid, I figured, what the heck!"

"So... you  _want_  to go to the prom?" Catra was so invested in the invitation she never picked up on the shaking waver going through Glimmer's voice.

"Well, not really." What little hope Glimmer could spring up was dashed away as she continued. "But I figured if they only host it once a decade then I might as well check it out, right? It sure as heck beats waiting another ten years for it to see if it's worth it or not later." At the pause, she turned her attention straight to Glimmer herself, noticing her welcoming silence to be a little off compared to usual. "Something wrong?"

"W-Wrong? Of course not!" Ok, so she wanted to go. Big deal. That just meant they had a single day to, hopefully, get Catra situated fit and proper, First Ones help us, and ready for the ball. They had a full day's notice fortunately enough so as long as she and Bow were together to help, they shouldn't have any problems. "After all, I'll be there with you, and so will Bow since he's going as my plus one."

"Uhh... actually..." Bow tried to speak up as Glimmer cut him off repeatedly.

"Together, the three of us can handle anything!" Which hopefully included getting Catra ready for the prom.

"About that-"

"It's the best friend squad in action!" To Catra's annoyance, she appeared to be on board with calling the three of them that. "Right, Bow?"

"...I'm going with Perfuma."

"See? Even Perfuma's coming aloooo- WHAT?!" The princess stammered glaring daggers at him. Why would he do this now of all times? How could he?! DId he not pick up on the fact she was going to ask him herself? Or maybe the possibility that she was going to eventually ask him? Better yet, why did he pick now of all times to say it after Glimmer told Catra she would go to the prom too with the intention of him helping her get ready for the PROM IN THE FIRST PLACE?!

...Now, she had a problem.

...

...

**_The intro starts with Shadow Weaver in the Black Garnet chamber spying and glaring at a image of Catra. Than the image dives into the water of her scrying spell._ **

**_~ We're on the edge of greatness ~_ **

**_Where we have Catra at Bright Moon looking both determined and forlorn out into the distance._ **

**_~ turning darkness into light ~_ **

**_A scene of kid Catra and kid Adora training together in the fright zone under Shadow Weaver. Before being replaced with a image of Adora glaring at a heart broken looking Catra who's on her knees across a battlefield._ **

**_~ We're right beside you ~_ **

**_But than Glimmer and Bow teleport to Catra side raising her spirit back up, as shown with her surprise blinking when Gimmer offers her a hand, than she smirks accepting the help as she takes the lead ahead of them._ **

**_~ Ready to Fight! ~_ **

**_Catra raises her sword, transforming into She-Ra in a glorious flash of light_ **

**_~ (fight, fight, fight fight) ~_ **

**_Then She-Ra rushes off into battle with Glimmer and Bow following right behind her._ **

**_~ We're gonna win in the end! ~_ **

**_Mermista rises out of a tide, blasting Horde soldiers with water._ **

**_~ We must be strong, And we must be brave ~_ **

**_Perfuma burst from the ground, capturing and tying up Horde soldiers with vines._ **

**_~(we must be brave) ~_ **

**_Frosta rides an entire wave of frozen water, freezing Horde tanks in their tracks._ **

**_~ We're gonna find every bit of strength that we have ~_ **

**_The scene shifts to Hordaks throne room where the evil shadowy figure sits upon his throne, his red glowing eyes being the only noticeable part of him, surrounded by notable members of the Horde, consisting of Adora and Catra's squadron, Shadow Weaver, Adora, Scropia, and even Entrapta._ **

**_~ and never let go ~_ **

**_The scene shifts to an epic clash between Catra and Adora, the She-Ra gritting her teeth as she presses her sword against Adora's electrical baton, as the Force Captain herself grins with chaotic excitement as the red jewel from her headband shines._ **

**_~ (Oh ah Oh) ~_ **

**_Adora and Catra push each other off as they back up into their friends- Entrapta and Scorpia for Adora, and for Catra Bow and Glimmer._ **

**_~ We must be STRONG! ~_ **

**_ The scene ends with a final shot of both sides looking across the field, a transparent image of Catra and Adora's faces filling the sky as the colors are split between them; _ **

**_A majestic darkness shining into light upon Catra's side, and a horrid light seeping into darkness on Adora's half._ **

...

...

"Ok, so maybe if I... No..." Adora grumbled as she scribbled out something on the poster-sized paper on her desk. "What if I were to...Ghhh... No, not that either... Or how about... Darn it!" Growling to herself as a few strands of hair dangled in front of her face, she angrily crumbled the large board of paper on her desk as she tossed it to the overflowing trash bin across the room, the same one buried under a mountain of other crumbled paper.

"Hey Adora!" Scorpia greeted as she entered the room. "What's up? ...Adora?" The girl didn't give her so much as a passing glance as she continued her writing on another large piece of paper in front of a desk lamp. It's been a few days since Scorpia last saw the girl so she thought it would be a good time to check up on her new friend, the same one Shadow Weaver cherished a lot. She thought she'd be fine, maybe training or something to blow off some steam. She seemed pretty upset since the ordeal at Mystacor.

She was hoping so dearly that Shadow Weaver's ritual would pay off. Unaware that the witch of darkness had a hidden agenda behind the scene, she was giving the impression that she was preforming some powerful ritual in an attempt to bring Catra back to the Horde and to scramble whatever brainwashing or influence the princesses had on her. Big surprise, but later on the following day, having guarded the room till then through Shadow Weaver's instructions, she came back to discover that the ritual had failed.

She didn't know Shadow Weaver's ulterior motive was to destroy Mystacor's defenses, and it hardly mattered to her anymore. She was tired of all of this. Waiting on the sidelines, waiting for people to do the work, waiting for a chance to prove herself to the Horde that she came to see as family, having to deal with defending Catra's name on a constant basis from the people who would give a false impression on her, and most of all, dealing with the reality that every day Catra was being brainwashed by the princesses, she was committing who knew how many despicable acts under their name.

Her rank as Force Captain could only work to protect Catra for so long!

"Helloooooooo?" She called again, tapping her on the shoulder with her right claw.

"Ah-!" Adora jumped in fear at the sudden greeting, growing relieved as she saw the tapper in question. "Oh, hey Scorpia. You need something?" She asked going right back to her paperwork.

"Oh I just wanted to see how you were doing." She replied with a smile, trying to look over Adora's shoulder. "What'cha working on?"

"I'm trying to come up with a plan to stop the princesses, get rid of that annoying one who has a hold over Catra, and bring back Catra herself... Geeeeh!" She growled tossing aside the piece of paper again and starting a new one. "But every time I try to come up with something it doesn't work. We can't launch a direct attack, we can't endanger civilians in a town unless we have to, and we can't risk hurting Catra either! I swear Shadow Weaver makes this look so much easier than it is..."

"Can I help?" Scorpia offered excitedly tapping her claws together.

"Well sure, I guess. Not that it matters at this rate." Adora nibbled on the tip of her pen as she tried to come up with another plan. "There's three distinct issues I need to address at the same time. First is the location, second is the time of day, and third is finding a way to get every princess there at once! Ugh," she groaned leaning her head back in her chair, "but it's impossible!"

"Why don't you try something at the All-Princess Ball?" She suggested taking out a large invitation. "Every princess is gonna be there so Catra probably will too."

"...Excuse me?" Adora blinked as she stood out of her chair to face the girl. That was a surprisingly welcoming detail from the scorpion girl herself. In a few short sentences she managed to come up with the perfect solution that answered the three most important details to Adora's planning. She managed to come up with one in a measly few seconds compared to all the time Adora spent trying to come up with a master plan!

"Ooh, this year's theme is Winter Wonderland!"

"Wait, what?" Adora swiped the paper out of Scorpia's claws. Sure enough, detailed word for word was a formal invitation to a Princess Ball, one that promised to house a number of princesses all gathered in one location. "An invitation to a Princess Prom? How did you get this?"

"They sent it to me. I'm a princess."

"What?" Why did no one tell her this sooner? Better question, why was there a princess in the Horde to begin with? One who held a position as a Force Captain like Adora at that! "You're a princess?!"

"Yeah, you know. The Horde crash-landed in my family's kingdom. We let them stay. My family gave Hordak our Runestone, the Black Garnet."

No, surprisingly, Adora did  **not**  know any of that! She was a princess, her family was possibly the first to encounter the Horde, they befriended Lord Hordak with the Black Garnet, the very one she knew Shadow Weaver uses, and, again, she was a Princess! A princess, one of the most evil conniving malicious people the Horde has ever known, was also one of their most trusted Force Captains that the Horde had to offer!

"You're a princess?!" Adora was still in disbelief.

"Well, yeah, I thought everybody knew." She commented scratching her head. "I mean, it's covered in Force Captain Orientation."

"...I really gotta start attending those..." Adora pinched her head in a pang of frustration. "I still can't believe you're a princess, and one who's going to the Princess Ball."

"Oh, no, I'm not going." Scorpia replied looking a little put off as she turned her head away. "No one liked my family, even before we joined the Horde." Adora listened more intently as she said this. Ah... I never really... fit with the other princesses. I made them uncomfortable and... Yeah, they don't like that. And they don't like me..."

"Scorpia..."

* _tug_ *

Scorpia was caught by surprise as Adora embraced her in a tight hug, burying the side of her face against into her chest. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For showing me that not all princesses are evil!" She said smiling brightly to her. "If there are other princesses like you out there, then there's a chance we can still convince them to join the Horde." Adora paced back and forth as she rubbed her chin in thought. It brought an increasingly warming smile to Scorpia's face, feeling a bit of pride that she managed to cheer her friend up as well as being welcomed by her.

"That could give the Horde the boost it needs in order to fight back against the other princesses. Maybe they would offer resources too, they might even join us in the war!" This was perfect, astounding! If everything Scorpia said was true, then this could be the big break the Horde desperately needed! With every princess that joined the Rebellion, that was another powerful warrior to aid their cause as well as an entire kingdom backing it up. "On top of that, with you we can show the other kingdoms that the Horde isn't evil as the princesses claim us to be!"

"Yeah, but... that's only if I was going to the prom, and-" She was silenced as Adora placed a finger on her lip.

"Oh, we're going to the prom. They think they can treat you like some sort of freak and get away with it? How dare they!" It warmed Scorpia's heart to hear such comforting words from another person, one she could definitely consider a friend. "They need to see you as the kind and sensitive person I know you are, the same way Catra used to be before she changed. And if they don't see that then it sucks to be them! Besides, if you didn't go there would be no way in proving those ingrates wrong about you, and we're not going to give them the satisfaction of that!"

"So we're going to that prom. You as the princess and me as your Plus One! And if they have a problem with you being there, then that's tough luck for them."

"Yeah!"

* ** _crunch_** *

Adora's face twitched as she felt an incredible force crushing half the bones in her body. She had almost forgotten that her new friend was quite the huger. "Super Pal duo is going to the prom!"

"Y-Yeah..." Adora squeaked as her face started to turn blue. Thankfully the hug lasted for a few seconds before she finally let go of Adora. Grinning to herself, she walked back over to the desk again as she began drawing up a new foolproof plan. "And thanks to you, I just came up with the perfect idea..."

...

...

"She asked and I said yes." Bow said as he continued to walk down the Hallway with Glimmer at his left and Catra following behind them. "I didn't think it would be a big deal."

It was the following day, the day of the Princess Prom, as the two found themselves talking again. There were so many things they needed to discuss between what they would do, how they would try and persuade Frosta to the Rebellion, and, most importantly, how they were going to deal with Catra being... Catra.

"It's not. It's fine." How was Glimmer supposed to talk about this without seeming bummed out at the same time? If her friend got an invite to the Princess Prom from another friend, then good for them! It didn't do anything to hide a small bit of pain though. "I'm just surprised. I mean, when did you two even talk about this?"

"Oh, she was super slick..."

...

Bow humphed to himself as he continued firing a barrage of arrows against the oncoming Horde soldiers. He didn't care how many of them there were, not when there was a kingdom to save! With Perfuma at his back and the citizens of Plumeria fighting off the Horde's forces from inside their own base, there was nothing he couldn't handle!

As she felt herself backing up to him, she smiled. "Hey, you wanna go to the Ball with me?"

"Sure!"

...

"That's super slick?" Glimmer waved off, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

"I thought it'd be fun. And Perfuma's cool." He added.

"Yeah, she's fine." There was an easily noticeable crack in her voice at this. "But we always go to events together. We have all our routine, we wear matching outfits, we share inside jokes. And then we eat ice cream afterwards. It's our thing."

"Wow, that's unbelievably sad." Catra muttered rolling her eyes.

"Nobody asked you!"

"Well, there's nothing wrong with a new thing." Bow tried to play off casually. It's not like he didn't understand what was so upsetting about it either, he just didn't think Glimmer would react this way.

"Besides, what are we going to do about..." She shifted her eyes gesturing to the magicat following behind them."You know...  _Ixnay the at-tay_?" She mumbled through her teeth trying to be discreet.

"Ixnay, the I-already-know-who-you're-talking-about-idiot-tay!" Catra retorted leaning in towards them, unamused. All throughout the morning she's noticed a strange shift of glances being shot at her by these two. It wasn't really something that bothered her in the long run, but it was starting to become a major distraction for her. Plus, she's never really had a day like this before where the two continuously talked behind her back or in front of her without her being somewhere involved in the conversation.

It was just plain weird.

"Look, I gotta get ready." He told her as she walked away. "I'm sure she can help you with Catra anyway. We'll meet each other there and we can hang out then!" With a wave the two smiled to each other as Bow took off, Glimmer's smile slowly turning around as she watched him leave. She might've been able to put up with him leaving and everything, to an extent, so there was little worry in that regard.

What did worry her though was the other person in question, the one Bow let slip as he departed from the two.

"So what's Bowey yapping about, and who is supposed to be helping with me?" Catra sneered crossing her arms.

This was going to take a while...

...

_*creeeak*_

"Whoa..." Catra's mouth watered at the sight of the table before her.

There in the center of the dining room she was greeted with a small display of various dishes, drinks, even a bowl of punch for some reason, not that she cared. After Glimmer convinced her to come with her, with the promise of a surprise "just for her", she didn't really think there was going to be anything all that special to it. If anything she thought more about running away on the spot until the prom started considering how boring some of Glimmer's past gifts were. She didn't even have the capacity to care enough to remember what they were.

This was possibly the first genuine gift she found herself with that actually interested her a little. Was this supposed to be some celebration or something for all the hard work she's done? Maybe to celebrate her very first victory over Shadow Weaver she's had in her life?

Who cares!

All that mattered was that there was a gigantic display in front of her of the most delicious treats and snacks she's seen since joining the Rebellion, and there was no way she was going to let it go to waste!

"Now we're talking!" She cheered, rushing over to the table ahead of Glimmer as she closed the door behind her. Looking over the various treats, she started to drool as she rubbed her hands eagerly. "Okay, where to start?" Should she try some of the pastry fillings she's had? Or maybe some of those sardine things she craved ever since trying one for the first time? Wait, no. What better thing to try first than a nice delicious bowl of fruit punch!

Grabbing a nearby plastic cup she casually dipped her hand into the bowl instead of using the ladle on it's side, submerging part of her hand into the fruity bowl and preparing to bring it to her lips.

* _spzzzt_ *

"Ack-!" Catra yelped as she felt her entire face suddenly blasted by a misty spray of water. "Hey, what's the big i-? Misty?"

"Hey, what's up?" She replied nonchalantly with the same monotone voice she always had, still holding a blue spray bottle in her right hand.

Ah, yes, Princess Mermista. How could she ever forget about her? Out of all the princesses, including Glimmer, she was probably the one she liked the most, even though she disliked her more than Glimmer at the same time. She had the rugged attitude any princess should, the I don't care look in her eyes that every young adult should have, and she was the only princess Catra knew to make witty and snarky remarks like she did.

She also had the most emotional adventure that almost worsened Catra's non-friendship with Glimmer and Bow. With the intention of helping, Glimmer gave her a bit of help in trying to figure out how to bring She-Ra out whenever she needed her, some way to get the sword to work properly.

Like all the other bad luck she's had up to this point, when she needed it most, when she wanted to prove everything she needed to Adora, it didn't work. It didn't work and Adora had no sense of trust for her former friend, at least not until she could bring her back to Shadow Weaver so she could fix her in whatever horrifying way she had in store.

It didn't matter to her if she didn't mean to at the time. She couldn't get the sword to work and she found herself blaming Glimmer for it, feeling betrayed after trusting someone, other than Adora, again for the first time in ages.

"What are you doing here?" Catra asked, trying to rub the freezing cold water off the side of her face.

"I don't know, Glimmer just asked me to come over yesterday to help her with this." Mermista replied shrugging.

"What for?"

"For the Prom." Glimmer answered as she made her way over to them. "Listen, Catra? We would love for you to go to the prom too, but before that we..."

There was an unnerving silence in the air as the magicat lowered her ears. The weird look in her eyes, that silent atmosphere surrounding them, and the way she poked her chin as she tried to think of what to say? It was all too familiar for Catra, having seen it numerous times in her life. Add that with the wonderful display of food she saw in front of her, and the picture became clear. "Look, I get it, alright. You don't want me to go, fine." She hissed a little as she walked

"What- No!" Glimmer yelped, quickly grabbing Catra's tail, a little painfully, as she pulled her back. "Catra, I would love nothing more than for you to go to the prom with us! We both would, right Mermista?"

"Meh."

"See? I didn't bring all the stuff out here to convince you not to go."

"Then why are you acting so weird? You've been like that since we talked about the prom yesterday." Catra replied.

In some way it was actually a little comforting to see Catra put off by the recent display towards her. It showed that she was starting to warm up a little more with each passing day, however little, as she came to know Bow and Glimmer more and they her. It was a little odd to say the least, but it did show some strange sense of care in her, no matter how much she denied it.

"Well, I'm sorry about that, it's just..." She needed to think of the right way to word this. "We... kind of need to get you ready for the prom."

"...And?" She raised an eyebrow questionably at this. "I don't get what the table's for then, let's just get some outfits or whatever."

"No, I mean... we need to get you more... you know...  _Princess-like_ , for the prom."

"...Excuse me?"

"She means you're too rude and full of yourself right now." Mermista stated.

"Mermista!" Glimmer groaned at how blunt her other friend was being.

"What? You were taking too long to tell tell her, what else was I supposed to do?"

"So... you... want me to learn how to be more...Princess-y?" Catra questioned as she tried to put the pieces together.

"W-Well, in a way, sort of... more like..." Poking her fingers she tried to come up with the next best solution.

"We don't want you acting like you at the prom." Once again, Mermista stated bluntly, resulting in Glimmer facepalming.

"And... what exactly is the water bottle for them?" Catra asked pointing to the object.

"It's called a spray bottle, catfish. And every time you do something wrong, I'll spray you with it." She didn't give Glimmer the chance that time to come up with an explanation after what could be an hour-long pause.

"And you expect me to just stand here and take it?"

"Also yes." Glimmer answered directly this time. "Look, Catra, this is the best chance for us to gain support from the other kingdoms across Etheria, including Princess Frosta! She's one of the strongest princess's around, and with her on our side, that would be a big help for the Rebellion!"

"You don't say..." That almost sounded like a challenge to her. Thinking some stupid everyday princess was more powerful than her? She would definitely take a bet on that.

"Yes, so we need to make sure you're, you know, more presentable around the other people. You said it yourself you don't like socializing with people much, and at the Ball you're going to have to somewhere. If something went wrong, it could damage any chances of not just Frosta's help, but the rest of Etheria's!"

"So you want me to spend who knows how long doing this until I'm more princess-y like you and then go to the prom the way  _you_  want me to be?" She found some annoyance in that. Not just the fact they were basically telling her not to be her at the party, but the fact they were practically forcing her to be something else she wasn't.

That sounded like something the Horde would make her do.

"In a sense... yes. B-But just for one day! An evening at that! We have less than six hours before the Ball and at least an hour for us to get there, so we basically have the next five hours to practice. Then you can go back to being the same old Catra you're used to being and we like!"

"Then can you at least tell me why Misty has the spray bottle?"

* _spzzzt_ *

"Ahh!" Catra yelped as she was sprayed again, this time covering her entire face.

"Rule Number 1, no nicknames." Mermista stated. It became evident that while Glimmer was here to teach her the manners, Mermista was here to enforce them.

"She's just... here for support." Glimmer said nervously with a smile.

"And because she said I'd get to do this if I did." She grinned.

"You backstabbing-!"

* _spzzzt_ *

"Ah! Stop that, it burns!" Catra yelped, rubbing her stinging eyes along with the sticky-feeling water over her skin.

"Well what did you expect? It's saltwater."

"Tch, forget about it then! Go to the prom without me!" She grumbled marching her way back to the door.

"I was afraid it would have to come to this." Glimmer commented. Taking a deep breath, she shouted the two words Catra feared the most. "Oh Mooooooooo-mmmh!" No later than three seconds she found Catra's trembling hand covering over her mouth, a look of worry and anger in her eyes.

"You're going to call your mom on me if I don't?!" She found it low, even for someone like Glimmer! Then again, she wouldn't deny it took a bit of guts to do something so maliciously.

* _spzzzt_ *

"Guh!" At this spray, Catra found herself rolling on the ground in agony, wiping her face again from the cold water and the stingy salt that came with it whenever it got in her mouth and eyes at the same time.

"Rule number 3, no assaulting or touching guests." Mermista told her.

"I swear Catra, it won't be as bad as you think." Glimmer assured with an uneasy smile. As the two of them watched Catra trying to rub whatever freezing water she could out of her skin, she leaned herself over to Mermista. "By the way, I didn't say you needed to use salt water." She whispered.

"I know, I just found it more fun this way."

...

Test #1: Sitting

"You're kidding, right?" Catra stared at the chair almost in amusement.

She really didn't know what to think of this whole Princess Prom Practice, "Triple P" as Glimmer tried to name it to make it sound more fun, and failing, and this was one of the prime examples why. After scuffling with Mermista for the first ten minutes non-stop to get rid of the stupid spray bottle, the Princess finally relented, at least in getting the water switched out with regular water compared to the stinging Saltwater she filled it up with earlier.

With less than Five hours to go, Glimmer felt it was most appropriate to focus on the primary tasks and mannerisms Catra needed to learn and then the non-essential elements of it if they had any time left. Unfortunately for her, Glimmer found nearly all the elements essential, so there was no telling what they would cover or how long this would take for each lesson.

At least she was smart enough not to tell Catra that part.

"Nope!" Glimmer said smacking a small wooden ruler in her hand, trying to act more professionally on this. "The Princess Prom can last up to Eight hours, possibly into the morning passed midnight, so it's understandable if you get a little tired." She explained walking back and forth. "As such, you need to learn how to properly sit in a chair."

"Tch, you gotta be joking." She chuckled. "This'll be easy!" It was a chair. Enough said! How hard was it supposed to be to sit in a stupid chair?

Grinning to herself triumphantly, she casually turned the chair around as she sat in it backwards, resting her arms and head against the chair's back as she turned around to face them.

"Wrong!" Mermista hissed.

* _spzzzt!_ *

"Ah!" Catra yelped again, tumbling out of the chair with the chair falling on top of her. "Are we seriously going through this for a stupid chair?"

"I'm sorry Catra, but everyone's going to be watching you at the Ball from time to time." Glimmer said with a small apologetic face. "Presentation's going to be everything to these people. Even if it's just half the room, there will be enough Princesses there to cover half of Etheria."

"Ugh, whatever." Catra groaned as she picked herself and the chair back up. Turning it around again so it was facing them directly. Mentally sighing to herself she sat herself in front of them again, not crossing her legs or trying to glare at them as she did.

"Incorrect!"

* _spzzzt!_ *

"What? What was wrong that time?!"

"No slouching! Sit up straight!" Mermista ordered, threateningly twitching her finger against the dangerous trigger. Grumbling to herself, Catra crossed her arms as she leaned back against the chair, sitting straightly as they wanted her too.

* _spzzzt!_ *

It didn't even bother her that time.

As long as she kept telling herself anyway.

"Let me guess, no crossing my arms?"

"No, just no glaring while you're doing it."

...

Test #2: Conversation

"Ok,,, and viola!" Glimmer smiled as she handed Catra and Mermista a fresh bowl of the punch. "Ok, this one should be just as easy. Just have an everyday conversation with Mermista. Pretend that she's someone you never met before!"

"Just talk to her?" Catra would've rolled her eyes at that if it wasn't for the fact it would've resulted in more spraying. "Easy! I've seen you guys do it constantly!" With a victorious grin, she turned her attention to the other princess as she raised her cup to her. "Hello, how are you today?" She asked politely as she sipped some of her punch.

"It was better before I started looking at you, freak." Mermista huffed.

"PFFFFFFFT!" Catra spat out the mouthful of punch to the side, nearly choking on it as she glared angrily at the mermaid princess. "What did you just call me?!"

"Easy, Catra, deep breath." Glimmer said softly, waving her hands calmly to sooth the savage beast. "Remember, you're going to be watched. You can't just let one person get you riled up during the prom, okay?"

"Mmhhh fine." She muttered, squeezing her teeth together as she held back the urge to insult.

"Let's try this another way!" Glimmer suggested smiling at the thought. "Catra, why don't you say something positive about Mermista instead?"

"Sure, I guess..." The girl scanned up and down the girl with a questionable look. Outside of Adora, as always, there was very little she had to compliment others about. Whether it be the lack of tact in their behavior towards her, already putting Mermista at a disadvantage, or the way she's seen people treat others through their life. It was rather hard to say anything good about a person she's barely met before. "You, um..."

"Yeah?" Mermista questioned crossing her arms and raising her brow.

"You're very, um..." Glimmer was crossing her fingers behind her back as the tension rose. "...You're don't smell like dead fish like I thought you would."

*spzzzt!*

"No, mmh... Try complimenting her hair for starters."

"Ok... it looks very... watery? Like an Ocean, I guess?"

"Ok, that's an improvement." At least it wasn't insulting, or by much, so it proved to be a step in the right direction. "Try saying something more positive, about it."

"Like what? It's not anything special by the looks of it."

*spzzzt*

"Ghh..." Catra's ears twitched as she felt the water drip around them. "Alright then... Your hair looks... Good, for a person who swims with fish all day?"

"Better! Now Mermista..."

"...You smell more like a wet dog than a cat."

"Hey!"

*spzzzt*

"Oh come on, why does she get to insult me and I can't?" Catra complained, almost pouting with a puff of her cheeks.

"Well, she doesn't exactly  _get_  to make fun of you Catra, we're just trying to get a hold of your emotions. You might bump into a person here or there that'll be a little... harsh... to you, and you can't attack anyone! Not once!" Glimmer explained. It didn't make her feel any better by having an explanation behind all of this. It hurt her more than it did Catra knowing she was the one going through all these insults and lessons against her will. "As soon as you learn to ignore her words, we can move on."

"This stupid prom thing better be worth it..." She muttered, turning her attention back to Mermista. "Fine, give me your best shot."

"...Gladly." Glimmer instantly regretted the grin growing on Mermista's face.

It took a matter of seven seconds before Catra ended up tackling Mermista across the table, the two roughing with each other as they rolled across the floor. Glimmer could not have sighed longer than she had at that point, even if she wanted to.

"I warned her not to mention Adora..."

...

Test #3: Refreshments

No sooner had they finished the conversation portion of the various tests did Catra find herself in front of the food table again. Looking back on it now, the amount of food that was here was probably little in comparison to what she had to look forward to at the Ball.

"Ok," Glimmer began as she handed Catra a plastic plate, "so there's going to be plenty of refreshments over at the Ball. But often on you're going to find one either getting spoiled or find one area empty of food. The chefs will always be bringing out fresh refreshments by the hour, so this one is all about patience and self-discipline."

"How the heck is this supposed to teach me self-discipline?" Mermista had to agree with Catra's questioning on that one. Even she didn't know where this was about to go as she planned to follow through what Glimmer tasked her with.

"Just trust me. Now, grab as much as you want while trying to maintain good manners, ok?"

"Ok, whatever." She was starting to regret ever wanting to go to this stupid Ball thing. The only thing keeping her ongoing at this point was the fear of what Glimmer's mother would do to her if she ended up messing up or refused to go to the Ball like she said she would earlier.

At least this one had some more merit and reward to it. All the food was genuine and it did look delicious. Thankfully for the three of them she didn't need much training in this one, Catra picking up and assuming how she was supposed to be. No dipping her hand in the punch bowl to get a drink, no grabbing the food without a tong, and no leaning over it out of fear if her fur or hair shed a little over it.

There were assorted pastries, several varieties of fish around here, and, ooh! She came across the last large serving of salmon! Resisting the urge to slurp her lips, she happily reached over for it as she prepared to-

"Dibs." Mermista declared, grabbing the same salmon with her own tongs just as Catra grabbed it.

"Wha- Hey!" She growled quietly as she glared at the girl. "I grabbed it first!"

"You snooze you lose, freak." Mermista retorted as she started a game of tug-of-war with the girl. In all honesty she really did want a slice of the salmon, having an appreciation for the taste of it as well as how thoroughly the cooks prepped it within Bright Moon. She also remembered to be as insulting as possible to make sure Catra had a good control on her emotions.

Not that Glimmer required her to be as rude as possible, just because she found it more interesting this way.

"I didn't grab it last, idiot, you did!" Catra hissed.

"Catra, language..." Glimmer calmly reminded.

She shook her head as she tried to rephrase it. "Fine. I didn't grab it last jerk, you did."

"Ugh..." This was going to take what felt like forever at this rate.

"Well too bad! It's mine!" Mermista snapped back.

"Umm girls? Maybe we should all calm down?" Glimmer tried to convey her words to the girls who barely paid attention or care.

"Let. It. GO!" With a mighty howl, Catra pried the salmon out of Mermista's grip. What few seconds of joy she felt slowly melted away as she ended up slapping her hand back across the table, striking a large colander that was filled halfway with boiling fondue.

This resulted in a small chain reaction as the fondue pot rolled back against the table off it's small stove, striking a large stack of the plastic cups, tumbling them over an assortment of food with one of the stacks falling down on the ladle to the fruit punch and flinging its contents onto Glimmer's clothes, the ladle itself flinging over to a large pile of gelatin stacked together in crystal glasses, causing that to tumble over, knocking and shattering a good dozen of them on the table, with the other half of the stack rolling across the table and topping over a candle, resulting in the table cloth catching on fire.

All three of the girls shrieked for a moment in shock at the display of events they'd just witnessed. There wasn't any way any of this was intentional and they prayed something like this couldn't possibly occur over at the Ball itself, whether or not it was orchestrated by Catra's own involvement.

Reacting quickly to the events, Catra grabbed the entire bowl of punch, flinging it over as she doused the erupting fire in a single shot. The fire hissed as it dissipated, the table cloth still smoke a little as the room filled with its fiery smell. All of this while the rest of the refreshments were ruined from the event as well as Catra's attempts to put out the glorious fire, drenching the rest of the now-soggy refreshments with a fruity aftertaste.

She didn't even need to turn back to find out what awaited her, already rolling her eyes as she felt two piercing gazes glaring at her.

"Let me guess..."

*Spzzzzzzzzt!*

...

"Huff..." Glimmer sighed as she wiped the sweat from her brow, Catra leaning in her chair as Mermista groaned sitting on the table, both incredibly exhausted as much as Princess Glimmer was. "Alright... phew... I think we got it."

"Finally..." Catra never wanted to repeat any training session like this again. Neither did Mermista after having to use up seven entire spray bottles filled with liquid to correct the task.

The day had been tiring for the three princesses, but it looked like things were finally at an end as three hours remained before the Ball. Despite her lack of concern and behavior, Catra finally managed to nail down on how to act more *princess-like*, like the others needed her to be. It was a long and grueling tasks, but she could safely say she nailed it.

The three biggest obstacles she had to overcome were her own emotions, her manners, and her ability to converse with the other guests she would be surrounded with around the Ball. Of the biggest obstacles, she learned to ignore anything they said rudely about her, not to respond aggressively if someone bumped into her on accident, and most of all, not to scratch her ears whenever she found herself surrounded by anyone else.

This was definitely one of the longest training sessions Catra had ever gone through, or the most annoying in this case, but as it stood, things did seem to finally be letting up as the lessons were over and two more fires were finally put out.

"Let's never do that again, pleeeeese..." Mermista complained almost begging to be put out of her misery.

"Huff... You did a great job today, Catra." Glimmer complimented with a sincere smile. The magical in question just shook off the words with a wave of her hands, still breathing heavily through her water-covered face.

"Whatever... huff... can we go now?" She almost wished to be at the Ball at this point.

"We can... riiiight after one last detail we have to address."

"And dare I ask, *what* that detail is?" Lowering her head back, she was almost frightened at the sparkling look in her eyes, one Mermista knew all too well.

"Uh oh..."

"It's makeover tiiiiiime!" She declared, squeezing her fists with excitement.

"...Is it too late for me to go back to the Horde?"

...

...

This was it! The Princess Ball! The glorious destination that Catra, Glimmer, and Mermista have been torturing themselves over for the last several hours.

The Palace itself was as much as Catra could expect for a Kingdom of Ice. It stood proudly against the mountain top as it was covered head to toe in a block of eyes, massive pillars of ice spiking out of the top of the great fortress which shined beautifully from the night's starry rays. From the base of the mountain to the top of the castle, everything was coated in a sheet of beautiful reflective ice. Even the ground they walked on leading up to the magnificent structure was covered in ice, just enough to keep it from being too slippery for people to slide on and beautiful enough to walk across.

Thankfully after the tiring day they had, the Makeover session they had didn't prove as terrifying as it could've been. Not comparatively at least.

It took a good hour to find the right clothes for Mermista and Glimmer, trying on various dresses and outfits they could find within the Castle's Dressing Room. As much as she tried to resist the urge to show it, Mermista couldn't hide the small smile she had growing on her face, enjoying the activity as they tried the numerous combinations of jewelry and outfits Bright Moon had to offer.

Then it came time to work on the harder part of the makeover- Catra. When she didn't like a dress, she tore it out of frustration, albeit accidentally, whenever she tried to pry it off her body soon after. When it came to jewelry, there was nothing she was comfortable with, refusing to part with her tiara and wanting nothing to do with any of the rings and bracelets they had to offer. And she certainly wasn't allowing anyone to put those stupid high heel shoes on her feet, taking a near half hour to convince the two of them to let her go shoeless.

When all hope seemed lost for the two, she finally found the perfect outfit! ...Just not one they were expecting. As opposed to a shorter, skinnier, dress she could wear if she didn't want anything to do with the ones Glimmer found for her, she ended up digging through the Dressing Room until she found a dark purple short-sleeve tux, rolling up the sleeves of it and cutting slits in the matching pair of pants she found to go with then around her knees. She didn't bother tying the bow tie around her neck either, finding it better just to hang loose so she didn't need to go over any etiquette training for that of all things. And along with the fingerless knuckle gloves she found, she deemed her own outfit complete.

And to be honest, the two actually agreed to it! It was surprisingly fitting for someone of Catra's character, finding the tiara she refused to part with adding on to the color of her outfit as well.

Overall, the trio of friend-ish princesses were complete and ready, making their way through the the palace gates as they had to deal with one more obstacle.

"Mmh..." Catra grimaced as she refused to loosen her grip on the sword.

"Catra, just give it to him." Glimmer whispered, not wanting to cause a scene at the prom before they even entered it!

"Fine," she grumbled, letting go of it as the taker finally pried it from her hands, "but you better not damage it! I got enough problems with that thing as is." She glared at the winter-coated man as Glimmer pulled her hand, leading them away from the man and towards the palace door themselves.

Like everything else, the palace was magnificent, inside and out. The only thing the two found greater than the entrance itself was the Ball Room inside of the palace. It was every bit was surprising to Catra as Glimmer made it out to be. The palace sparkled inside around all the corners, the walls and floors laced with a reflective coating that enhanced the stunning visuals of the palace's beauty. All around them Princes and Princesses from across the world were gathered inside, wearing various outfits and socializing with one another as the musicians played elegantly in tune with the Ball itself.

"Wow..." Catra muttered as the two passed on through the doors. It's no wonder Glimmer was so uptight about everything up to this point, this place was HUGE! If the size of the room didn't surprise her, it's the number of people of various races and kingdoms that did.

"The Ball is one of our most ancient traditions." Glimmer explained as the two made their way down the stairs. "A princess's first Ball is a huge rite of passage."

"I'll say." Catra looked across the rom, still surprised by its surprise, and a little uneasy at the hundreds of people that filled it. "Is this supposed to be some sort of contest thing to see who can throw the biggest party or something?"

"No, nothing like that." Glimmer almost chuckled at the remark. Turning her attention to Mermista on her left, she grew curious as she saw the girl examining everything with a strange look on her face. "Is something wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, no, I'm fine." She replied, not giving her any attention as she spoke. "I'm just making sure someone isn't-"

"Yoo-hoo, Mermista!" A familiar voice called out, bringing surprise to the first two and annoyance to the person being called. Turning around, the three were greeted with the sight of Captain Sea Hawk, the self-proclaimed man of legends himself, smiling excitedly as he waved to the three. "You forgot to escort me personally to the Ball, dearie. Thank goodness I managed to convince the guards I was your plus one."

She didn't know what was worse at the moment. The fact he still managed to show up or the numerous faces that were staring at them as he yelled everything halfway across the room.

"Oh yeah, I knew I forgot something..." She almost wished it remained that way. "I'll catch up with you guys later. I need to keep him company before he sets a curtain on fire... again..." With a small wave she departed from the duo, leaving them to fend for themselves for the remainder of their meeting.

"We'll see you later." Glimmer waved back as the two went ahead. "Ok, let's review the basics."

"Fine..." As long as this was the *final* final time she had to do it, Catra was willing to put up with it.

"If someone bumps into you...?"

"Say excuse me even if they're the ones who did it."

"If someone steps on your tail..."

"Point it to to them or ignore it the first time, and don't attack them on the second time they do it." A part of her hoped there was a third time so she could alleviate some stress.

"And if you have an itch-"

"Don't scratch my ears in front of everybody, I got it, I got it."

"I'm sorry Catra, it's just... This is really big for the Rebellion." Glimmer tried to explain her reasoning. "The Kingdom of Snows is really big, and the Rebellion could really do with having their help."

"I'd assume that after all the work you pushed me through." She muttered, giving an uncaring shrug as she dug her hands into her pockets. "But it's fine, just as long as I don't have to chat too often."

"Don't worry. Aside from Princess Frosta, you won't have to socialize with anyone else if you don't want too unless they approach you directly." Glimmer promised as the two ascended the stairs to Frosta's throne. "If she joins us, the other princesses are sure to follow."

"Are you sure she won't be weirded out with the cat stuff then?"

"You'll be fine, don't worry about it. She meets all sorts of people daily, this'll be nothing to her."

Finding their place in line, Catra sighed as the two bowed politely before the princess herself. She muttered to herself as she counted off how long she was supposed to remain like this. "One... Two... Three. There!" Raising her head again, she was greeted with a sight she was wholly unprepared for and least expected. "That's princess Frosta?" She questioned, cracking her voice a little.

The Princess in question wasn't anything like she expected her to be. She wasn't a young adult like Mermista was, she didn't have some elegance to her that Princess Perfuma did, and she didn't seem to be as quirky or insane as she came to know Entrapta to be. She wasn't some renowned-looking figure of authority and she didn't seem to be someone whose appearance screamed at others to bow before them, despite the, pun unintentional, icy gaze she stared at the others with.

She was a simple kid in size, probably half of Catra's height, sitting on her throne like she owned the place.

And did.

"What's it to you?" She shot back, refusing to change the look on her young face.

There was a silence between the three as they stared back at one another. In an attempt to break the tension building up around here, noticing Catra's perplexed state, Glimmer cleared her throat as she curtsied respectfully in front of her. "Revered hostess. We come into your hall under the ancient rules of hospitality, bringing greetings from Bright Moon. And She-Ra, the legendary warrior." With that, she nudged Catra ahead a few feet with her elbow, pushing her between the two of them and snapping her out of her state of shock. "Go on, introduce yourself." She whispered.

Ok. This was it. All the training, all the hard work they went through, the tiredness evident between her, Catra, and Mermista. It took a lot of work, many hours of rehearsal, and a lot of fires they had to put out just for the sake of teaching Catra manners. But by the end of it all, this is what it all came down to. However this party would go was all determined by what Catra would say next, putting the Rebellion ahead or behind of her future relationships with the Kingdom of Snows.

Finally breaking herself out of her frozen state, Catra finally turned back towards Glimmer as she gestured to Princess Frosta, saying the last three words Glimmer wanted to hear.

"She's a brat?"

_**...** _

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_**...** _

**_A/N: I know i know, I made it a little goofy here with the whole "princess training thing", and I apologize for it, but i did it for 2 reasons: 1, it was a request from someone, and i found myself unable to resist the urge because, aside from it's humor factor, it felt like a good way to soak up the two minute "make over" montage that would've happened after._ **

**_And 2: For you guys to enjoy, because after this chapter, minus an occasional joke or funny scene or two, you will be in for a rough ride of the Feels, so i hope you enjoyed the last bit of legitimate happiness we'll get for awhile Xo..._ **

**_Anyway! Hope you all enjoyed, sorry for the rushed bits, etc. and etc. Hope you all enjoyed, leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!_ **


	29. Episode 8: The Princess Prom Part 2

 

_**A/N: Hey folks, here with another post!** _

_**Yeah I know, pretty short, I get it, sue me (PLEASE DONT!). But, part of it was due to the fact i posted the other one today (thus making this my second post today ^^ I did it again, huzzah!), and i'm unsure if anyone got a notification about it because the fic itself didn't state it was posted today since i posted the last one within 24 hours of the first one, and the update thing didn't say anything either X/.** _

_**Besides that, I've also reached the halfway point of the episode...man that's depressing... guess I overshot it with the last chapter with too many words :/? Oh well. Either way for those who didn't get the info, yes, this makes this a nice 2-post-in-1-day ordeal, so hopefully everyone enjoys that ^^!** _

_**With that said, enjoy!** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

"Excuse me?" The young princess maintained a dignified manner despite the slight shift if annoyance in her tone.

"C-Catra!" Glimmer yelped.

She couldn't believe it. She just could not believe it! After the harrowing day of training they had, they thought everything would be in order. Following a glorious invite from Princess Frosta herself, the royalties of Bright Moon, specifically Glimmer and Catra, found themselves honored with the grand proposal to attend the Princess Prom. It was a sacred tradition held once every decade, allowing princesses to visit from all over the world into one spot.

At first, they thought it would be glorious! After all, who wouldn't be excited to attend an event held every ten years? On top of that, one to socialize and meet princesses from around the world, meeting people they never could before and possibly foraging new alliances that could benefit everyone. And that's exactly the mindset Glimmer and Bow were aiming for, hoping to make a lasting impression not just to one of the largest kingdoms around, but to all the kingdoms of Etheria.

There was, however, one unfortunate problem that shattered that excitement, and it went by the name of Catra.

Now, there wasn't anything technically wrong with the girl. She planned to attend with the others and put on her best behavior as much as possible. The setback was, she was planning on putting on her best behavior as much as possible. Catra's mannerisms and behavior left much to be desired for a party like this. Depending on her behavior and manners, it wouldn't just boil down to how Princess Frosta saw her, it would determine how the rest of the world saw her.

So, with one last option remaining, Glimmer enlisted Mermista's help as they trained Catra in the art of Good Manners. Needless to say, the results were mixed. She had a great desire to help better herself, if only because Glimmer threatened her with her mother, for the party, yet with every basic they came down to she somehow made a chore out of teaching her. It was like taking to parrot trying to get it to talk for the first time.

Tedious, uneventful, and very time consuming.

After a few hours and minor fires that might've occurred, the two deemed her finally ready for the Ball, having it in good faith that she was prepared to deal with any scenario that occurred there. Which is why it became extremely troubling when, upon meeting the girl for the first time ever, Catra had to say three certain words that caused the room to go silent.

"Did she just call me a brat?"

"Wha- Noooo!" Glimmer insisted anxiously, waving her hands repeatedly as she teleported in front of Catra to block her path to the young one. "S-She didn't say  _brat_ , she said- she said eh... Who is that? Hehehe..."

"No I didn't." Catra's irreverent tone continued to shock the crowd as Glimmer's throat grew a lump. "I said she's a b-mmmh!"

"Hahaha, she has this wicked sense of humor," Glimmer chuckled nervously, slapping a hand over Catra's mouth, "she thinks she's some sort of comedian. It really is sad but it's usually easier to humor her sometimes you know? Hah hah..." At this, the young princess continued to narrow her eyes as the beads of sweat dripped down Glimmer's forehead. With little other choice, the princess teleported from her spot, reappearing on her knees three feet away from the princess holding her hands together pleadingly.

"Princess Frosta, I am so sorry for her. Please, give her one chance and I swear she will be on her best behavior!" She begged. Shifting her eyes from the begging princess to the one who had a severe lack of manners.

This was supposed to be She-Ra? The She-Ra? Woman with the strength of a hundred men, the symbolic hope for the Rebellion, the girl that could beat back the Horde on her own? She was nothing more than a common street thug by Frosta's appearance, feeling more insulted that she had the nerve to come in here to insult her than the insult itself.

With a restrained sigh, Frosta nodded. "Very well. I will forgive you both for this one transgression. You are both welcome in the Kingdom of Snows under the ancient rule of hospitality. Leave conflict at the door. And please enjoy the ball."

Words could not describe how relieved Glimmer was as she said this, hearing the murmuring dying down behind them to a few simple starers. "Oh, thank you so much, Princess Frosta. I swear you'll never have another problem with her."

"Would you stop that?!" Catra grumbled as she pulled Glimmer up to her feet. "What do you think you're doing embarrassing yourself? You shouldn't have to apologize to this pipsqueak!"

"Mmmh." With as much tolerance as she had, she pointed her right finger towards the girl. "And keep a better leash on your  ** _pet_**."

"A pet?!" Catra's ears and tail shot wildly at the statement. Struggling, Glimmer attempted to keep the distance between the two as Catra attempted to lunge at her, flailing her arms in her direction as Glimmer pushed back. This earned a mouthful from the crowd again as they all watched this display, questioning the sanity and sincerity of what was supposed to be the honorable She-Ra. "I'll show you a pet you little-! Ghhhhhh!" Having no fear of the dangerous individual, the guards took a step forward, ready to protect their princess if the situation called for it.

"On second thought, I want an apology. From her." Frosta decided, still maintaining a dignified expression and not one that belonged to an angered individual.

The usual kind of expression one had after meeting Catra.

"What? Apologize? Me?!"

"As she bows." Casually, the princess waved her hands as the guards took another step in front of her. "Until then don't plan on approaching me again."

"Y-Yes, your highness! Again, thank you so much!" Glimmer sputtered out as she teleported the two of them to the bottom of the stairs. Waiting for the area to die down of its murmurs, she let out a groan before giving a stern look at the proclaimed She-Ra herself. "What the heck was that?! What's wrong with you?"

"Wrong with  _me_?" Catra exhaled an undignified breath. "Why don't you ask little pipsqueak up there what her problem is!"

"Catra- Ugggh!" Pinching the bridge between her eyes she tried to contemplate. What was she supposed to do now? In under a minute she made possibly the worst entrance in Etherian history in front of hundreds of different people of royalty. Nobody here was going to forget what she displayed and on the unlikely chance they ever did, nobody would forget a face like Catra's anytime soon. "Would you mind telling me what brought all that up?"

"What brought what up? I was pointing out the obvious. I mean look at her," she shot a look up the stares even though she couldn't see the princess in question, "she has every characteristic of a brat!"

"Since when did you have a problem with kids? I've seen you with kids before Catra, I thought you were good with them!"

"Yeah, kids! Squirts, shrimps, kids!" She clarified. "You know, easy kids, like six-year-olds! The kind where you have to pull a funny face and they top crying, not the ones that are stuck between being a selfish brat and a teenager!"

"Dare I ask what your version of a selfish brat is?" She knew she wasn't going to enjoy the answer.

"Well, you know, brats! Punks who are full of themselves, think they know better than everyone else, and make it their life's work to demean you!" She exclaimed crossing her arms. "Man, I hate them!"

"...Gee, she almost sounds like this other person I know that's mean, degrading, and obnoxious..." Glimmer commented sarcastically.

"Really? Who?" There was no way for Glimmer to tell if she was being serious right now or playing an incredibly painful joke at the moment. All she could do was put on a solemn face, hoping that one day Catra might've gotten the picture, or stared in a mirror.

Seeing the situation unraveling itself for the worse, Glimmer took a deep breath through her nostrils as she breathed out her mouth, calming the irritation she was growing. "Ok, new rule: stop calling her a brat. You're going to give everyone else the wrong impression!" She muttered sternly, keeping the conversation as close to themselves as much as possible. "And at some point, you're going to have to apologize to her whether you like it or not."

"Tch, as if!" Catra scoffed as she turned away from her.

Great.

Catra was irritated, had no idea how to pick up on sarcasm or look in a mirror, and officially hated the princess they needed to get along with for no reason other than the fact she was an older child, whereas Frosta found herself irritate with Glimmer's friend, She-Ra herself, who was also making a horrible impression in front of hundreds of other guests. She really didn't know for the first time which scenario was worse, and that scared her a little.

All she knew at that moment was that they needed a new plan. She needed to find a way to either get Catra to apologize to the princess, or to get Frosta to forgive Catra's irritating behavior enough so Glimmer could talk to her about a possible alliance. Both options sounded like an impossible feat to pull off, and she knew this day couldn't end before one of those situations were resolved!

* _sniff-sniff_ *

"Hey, is that Entrapta?" Catra wondered as she lead the way towards a large pillar. Sure enough, as she thought, the two were greeted by the perky purple-haired Princess of Dryl.

This was actually a welcoming change of pace for the Princess of Bright Moon. Maybe if they found some familiar faces to socialize with it would give Catra enough time to cool off and hopefully open the possibility of apologizing to Princess Frosta. At the very least it would give Glimmer a chance to come up with a new strategy.

Spotting the two familiar faces under her, the scientist grinned as she playfully slid down the extremely large pillar, twirling around it as she slid down using her extended hair. "Catra! Glimmer!" She greeted, chipper as always. She was dressed in her casual scientist outfit like she had on before, wearing her purple goggles over her head that she flipped up and a pocket filled with consumable around her waist.

"Hey ge- I mean, Entrapta." Catra corrected herself as she remembered the obnoxious lessons she went through hours ago. "What are you doing here? Trying out some doomsday weapon or something?"

"What? Of course not, don't be silly! My last three ended in failure, so now I'm observing a Social Experiment!"

"Social... Experiment?" Catra repeated to Glimmer, the princess shrugging back uncertain. Putting the pair of goggles over her head again, the scientist squirmed with anticipation as she gazed around the room.

"Different groups are thrown together and forced to mingle." There was an exceedingly excited anticipation growing in her voice, the princess flexing her fingers on the pillar with enthusiasm. "Hierarchies form and break. It's the perfect place to observe behavior! And they have tiny foooood!" Her mouth watered at the mention as she lifted her curls over her pockets, displaying the magnificent treats she discovered during her observations. "Where's Bow? I wanna show him my new recorder."

"He's... coming later." Glimmer looked away in a gruff.

"Oh? Why didn't he come with you? Aren't you friends?"

Even though it was unintended from Entrapta, the notion of what she said caused Glimmer to lower her gaze. "Why would you think we're not-

"There he is!" Entrapta announced, waving to him and the date he brought with. "Hey! Bow!"

There, descending the staircase at the entrance of the Ball, were the last two people she was happy to see at this moment. There, was her good friend Princess Perfuma. Princess of Plumeria and owner of the Hearts Blossom, their runestone that empowered the kingdom. And walking arm-in-arm with her was Bow, her best friend, and the person she was supposed to be going to the prom with in the first place!

Watching the two of them walking down the stairs together gave her an unnecessary stir of emotions and irritation that riled up in her heart, part of which she couldn't control. Of course she was angry he went with someone else. Why wouldn't she be angry after he left her like that without any prior notice before yesterday? Anyone would be if they found out their best friend, the very one you did everything together with, suddenly decided to be with someone else at the very last minute behind a party.

It was then that she noticed the other detail that made her heart sink. Not the fact they were together without her, nor the part where they looked so happily at one another while doing it. It was the fact they were wearing matching outfits that clashed perfectly with one another, with Bow wearing a short White Tux, and Perfuma, wearing an elegant pink transparent dress and another shorter dress underneath it.

"They're matching." Glimmer stated in disbelief, walking ahead of Catra as she squeezed her fists. "That's  **our**  best friend thing!"

"Feelings seem to be getting hurt." Entrapta whispered into her tape recorder, kneeling to Glimmer's side

"Ok, I'm back. I bought myself a few minutes by getting Sea Hawk to talk about his first ship again, so I got a good ten minutes to help." Mermista greeted as she approached the two. "What'd I miss?"

The girl was completely ignored as Glimmer continued to stare at the two. The way they smiled to each other, they way they appeared to be talking, the way they doing something she couldn't believe. "T-They're laughing? They're making up their own inside jokes? What?" Catra nearly jumped as Glimmer snapped at the word, crossing her arms angrily. "Is Perfuma his new best friend now?!"

"...Not gonna get into whatever's happening there."

"People are walking around in circles." Entrapta whispered, squatting as she shuffled over between Catra and Mermista.

"Hey, is there any chance one of you could hide me from-"

"Sheee's a beauty, can't you seeee~!" The merrily voice belonging to the one and only Captain Sea Hawk sang out, filling Mermista's face with a red blush as she covered her eyes in embarrassment. There was nothing worse in the world than having your plus one singing through the crowd about the love of their lives.

"She's attending this with meee~"

"She's my Princess of the Seeea~"

"Mermistaaaaa~!" With this debatably beautiful sonnet brought to an end, he finally opened his eyes again as he stood behind the princess, only now spotting the familiar faces of his former comrades. "Ah, if it isn't my crew!"

There was too much gold to be had here as Catra smirked at her. Of all the people in all the lands, her plus one just happened to be the legendary Sea Hawk, proud owner of his brand new ship he hopefully didn't set on fire yet, and claimer of the sirens of the sea wherever he went.

And now he was Mermista's plus one.

"So, Sea Hawk's your Plus One, huh?" Catra sneered. This day finally turned around for her. "I have to say, I'm so  _jealous_  of you." She snickered.

"N-No! He was going to be my ride before Glimmer asked me to come over yesterday." Mermista stated, blushing almost twice as hard than before. "He was just going to be my ride, okay? JUST. A. Ride."

"Of course, Mermista darling, of course." Sea Hawk played off before leaning over to Catra. "I am her plus one." He whispered. This was too proud of an opportunity for her to pass up.

"Hey, Sea Hawk, I have a wonderful idea! Why don't you take Mermista and tell her about all your glorious adventures from start to finish?" Catra suggested, putting on the best look of interest that she possibly could. "I'm sure everyone would love to hear your stories for  _hours and hours_.

"You wouldn't-" Mermista seethed with anger as she realized what Catra was doing.

"Why that's a great idea!" Sea Hawk declared, grabbing Mermista by the shoulders as he began dragging her away. "Come along, my dear! It all started when I was but a wee lad..." As the two faded into the crowd, Mermista shot the deadliest look possible back to Catra as the magicat herself smirked proudly, taunting her as she waved her hand back to her nice and slowly.

 _Maybe next time you won't get so trigger happy with a spray bottle!_  She yelled to herself.

"This is the best Social Experiment I've ever been to!"

"Would you get out of here already!" Catra growled as she pulled Entrapta's hair, dragging the girl away Wiping her hands clear of any of the girl's hair, she made her way over to the princess again, standing at her side as the princess stared at the ground. "Hey, Pi- Ngh... Glimmer. You okay?" What was she upset about now? Was she still upset with the meeting with Frosta? Or did it have to do with-

"Hey Catra, Glimmer." Bow greeted with a wave as he approached with Perfuma. "Like the outfit you found Catra, it's nice."

"Hmph," Catra grinned as she flaunted, staring at her gloves, "glad someone around here- Ngh!"

"Hahahaha, that's so funny, Catra!" Glimmer forcibly laughed as she threw an arm around Catra's neck, pulling her in tightly. "What a funny inside joke the two of us came up with!" There was a strain in her force that told Catra how irritated Glimmer was, just not what it was about.

Under normal circumstances, she would've gladly pulled herself out of it through whatever means necessary. Whether kicking, biting, or clawing someone's face off, she was about to let a party stop her from maintaining her dignity.

Unfortunately, Rule #36 was one of the first things drilled into her head: No violence!

"The She-Ra, Glimmer!" Perfuma greeted happily. "It's great to see you."

"Hah, Perfuma was just telling me about a winged horse that ate all the apples in Plumeria and then flew away." The joke itself was practical given the circumstances. What made it so funny for him was the fact the three of them were fully aware of a certain winged horse and the only one she could be describing. After all, it was the method of transportation Catra used to directly enter the Queen's throne room before. "Sound familiar?"

"Sure, whatever." Glimmer mumbled looking away. "Isn't this fun? Catra and I are having such a great time here together. Right Catra?"

"Are you kidding me? You just finished yelling at me about the- Urkkkk!" Catra coughed as the arm around her neck tightened briefly. "I mean yeah... we're having a blast..."

"Uh...okay?" Bow looked between the two as he wondered about the strange behavior they were displaying. "Anyway, we're gonna go say hi to people. You guys wanna come?"

"No, no, you guys go on ahead, Catra was just about to tell me this hilarious story I never heard of! Ha ha...haaa..."

"Um...okay then, we'll just uh... See you later." With that, the two waved again as they took their leave, preparing to mingle with the other guests. Never has Catra been so thankful to see someone leave as she felt the oxygen returning to her lungs again, gasping for breath as Glimmer finally let her go.

"Ufffff-! Huff... Huff..." This party was becoming more and more tedious with each passing minute she was here, and she hasn't even socialized with anyone yet! "Ok, seriously Glimmer, how do you expect me to... Glimmer?" The princess had disappeared from her spot, most likely teleporting, no doubt. Searching around the room, she found Glimmer through the crowd again as she was right across the Ball Room, grabbing herself some punch.

Shrugging, she made her way over to her, leaning back against the table with her hands in her pockets. "Party's not going as planned, eh Princess?" She grinned, looking at the boring people that crowded the room.

"Mhhm." Glimmer hummed quietly as she took a sip of the punch.

"Heh, can you believe that stupid horse flew all the way to Plumeria just for some apples?" She commented, turning around to get herself some punch too. "I mean geez, how dense does a horse have to be? It can fly now, and it chose that crummy place to do some apple picking?"

"It's hilarious." Glimmer muttered staring into her cup.

Looking to the princess herself, Catra couldn't help but droop her ears. What the heck was she so upset about? Was it the fact Bow was with another girl, a friend of hers like she was to him, that upset her? Was it the fact almost everyone else was too occupied to socialize with her? Mermista stuck listening to Sea Hawk's rambling tales at the Kelp Bar, Bow and Perfuma socializing with the other guests, and Entrapta doing who knew what as she observed the various conversations throughout the room. Did that upset her? Or maybe it was the fact one obnoxious brat had yet to be apologized to?

Now that she thought about it, why was it bothering herself in the first place? This is exactly what Glimmer wanted, what she kept ranting about, what she trained Catra for for the last who cares how many hours! And she was doing a good job of it so far, more or less. She wasn't picking fights with anyone, she wasn't being impolite to anyone else, save for a certain Princess who would not be named, and given how much they had to practice for she would think this was the best she could expect.

And why was it bothering Catra so much?! She didn't like Glimmer and Bow, she didn't have much care for the two of them, so why did it... make her chest feel weird, about it? Why was she feeling a little depressed about seeing Glimmer so glum like that? Wasn't the Princess Prom thing everything she wanted? Or was she just being greedy cause nothing was going her way? Because of one bad introduction to Princess Frosta.

Speaking of which, that's exactly who she saw on the other side of the room. The apparent brat, the current bane of her existence, Princess Frosta, escorted by her two guards as she made her way to the refreshments. Taking a look back and forth between her and the depressed Glimmer, Catra rolled her eyes back as she groaned like her life depended on it.

"Ugggh! Twist a knife in my gut why don't you..." She grumbled, making her way over to the one she deemed bratty. Glimmer barely paid attention to her words as she continued drinking her punch.

At the time, the princess of the Ball observed the refreshments with poignant curiosity. Everything was neat and tidy, most of the guests seemed to be enjoying themselves, and everyone, at least those that mattered anyway, seemed to be enjoying themselves. All save for one particular pair she met.

"Hey, shri- I mean...mmhhhh..." She didn't give a single glance to the girl in question as she stood a good ten feet from her to the right. "Revered Hostess." She already prayed for someone to put her out of her misery, the words leaving a wretched taste in her mouth. With all the power she had, she forced herself to bend forward, giving as respectful of a bow as she could under the circumstances. "I wanted to tell you I'm very sorry for how I acted." She hoped she didn't have to make eye contact to the cross-armed brat. "I was being... unacceptable."

"Yes, you were." She stated bluntly. Catra had to squeeze her fists behind her back to contain the anger.

 _Okay, just let it slide, Catra..._  She told herself.

"But as you're only an  _honorary_  princess, you can't be expected to know better." There was a single twitch in Catra's eyes at that remark, subsequently filling with unbridled fury and releasing it all at the same time.

"Gee... you're so right..." She grunted through her teeth. Shaking her head of the anger, remembering she's supposed to ignore it, she continued the conversation. "I would appreciate it if you gave Glimmer a chance to talk to you again... your  _highness_... " She nearly gagged just from saying it.

"Hmm... I don't know." She replied casually, savoring one of the fruit slices to Catra's annoyance. "Personally I had more respect for you than I did her."

"You did?" That might've been the first bit of surprise she's gotten all day out of the girl.

"Yes. At least you had enough decency to maintain your ideals, regardless of how rude they were, and that I respect. What I don't respect are people who grovel and plead in front of me." She gazed back at Catra with a look of irritation, squeezing her hand into a small fist. "To be seen in public while someone grovels and begs at your feet? I can not begin to tell you how humiliating that feels."

"...Well, I'm sure it was hard for her to do so-"

"Who's talking about her? I was talking about me!" She restated. "I mean do you have any idea how embarrassing that is? To be throwing a massive Ball for the Princess Prom only for some whiney princess to be crying at your feet? I can not begin to tell you how that feels." As she said this, one of the guards brought over a tray of horderves, awaiting her inspection. "The Snow Peas and the cookies are touching. Do it  **right**!"

Ok. She could put up with the put downs here and there. She could put up with this being one of the whiniest brats in her entire history. She could put up with the terrible manners, the very one she herself spent the last seven hours trying to perfect to better herself, from this atrocious brat. And she could deal with the fact that she might've been the absolutely worst princess Catra had encountered at this point that made Catra want to rip her own hair out.

BUT!

Out of all the things here, she was NOT going to put up with her putting down Glimmer while she was already feeling down! That girl's worked harder than anyone Catra's seen in the Rebellion, who cares of how little she's seen from other people. She kept maintaining a optimistic attitude, she kept trying to do what's right and only insulted people who probably deserved it, and she's one of the strongest princesses she's known, emotionally and/or physically! She even took on Shadow Weaver of all people and lived to tell about it! She deserved respect for that!

And this little brat was acting like she knew better than everyone? How did the servants put up with her? How did the guards stand by her side so willingly to defend her? Why did nobody else around this stupid Ball, Princess Prom, or whatever you wanted to call it, not call her out on this?!

Growling, Catra extended the claws in her right right, having lost all the patience she could possibly have with this child. "All right, listen here you little bra-!'

* _Sheem_ *

"Geh!" Catra stopped immediately as she felt several spear tips surrounding her neck, seeing as four guards surrounded her without hesitation. Waving her hands, the two guards in front of Catra backed away as the princess approached, while the two behind her grabbed her by each shoulder, forcing her down on one knee as a third one forced her head down as Princess Frosta approached her, not so much as an ounce of fear in her eyes.

"I suggest if you wish to continue being a guest at this party that you get that attitude of yours checked out." She scolded. "You tell your friend back there that the Kingdom of Snows will continue to retain it's neutrality from all other kingdoms, and we will remain safe and secure as we always have for thousands of years." With a yank, she grabbed hold of Catra's hair as she lifted her head, forcing Catra to look directly into her eyes.

She meant business.

"That's two strikes against you so far. If you continue to be an interruption for this party, if you threaten any of my guests, or hurt anybody around here, I'll have you thrown out of my castle immediately. Got it!" Releasing her grip from her hair, she nodded to the three guards who stood behind Catra, nodding return as they released their girl on the girl.

Catra ended up falling back as she rubbed her shoulders, feeling a soreness from the aggressive hold they had on her. "Otherwise, please, continue to enjoy the party." WIthout so much as a wave she turned around as she walked back to her throne.

Catra swore, if she closed her eyes right now and never met the girl before, that this girl was the spawn of Shadow Weaver...

...

...

"-then a winged horse came into Plumeria, ate all the apples, and then flew away." Bow said, finishing his story as the group of people laughed around him.

From above, this is where Glimmer found herself staring, sitting on a cushioned bench for the last few minutes. She couldn't stop thinking about Bow being with her other new friend. It wasn't so much jealousy for the girl as it felt like an act of betrayal.

Bow's been her friend since their earliest childhood years, as far back as Glimmer could remember. She remembered back when they went to their first Princess Prom, how he showed her around the woods back then when they were kids, how he was the brave one who killed a nasty looking spider she found in her bedroom with a rolled up magazine. They did everything together!

So to find him here with someone else, someone she considered a friend yet not enough to be comfortable for her best friend to be hanging out with, it was just plain weird.

"UUUUUUGGGGHHHHH!" That momentous groan of exhaustion and irritation only belonged to the one person she knew, seeing Catra collapse onto the cushioned seat with a tired look in her eyes.

"Where were you?" Glimmer asked a little worried.

She didn't care about the rules or the guidelines anymore at this point. She slouched as far back in the couch as she possible could. "Trying to apologize and make up with Princess Frosta."

"No, seriously, where were you?" She awaited for a response to this serious question, and when nothing came, she blinked in surprise. "You... really went to apologize to her?"

"Yeeeees..." She moaned, rubbing her aching head. There was only so much of a good nature she could force out of herself before she grew a headache. "You were bumming me out so I thought I'd go and get the stupid apology over with. I might've botched it with her though... sorry..."

"Mmh..." Wow... she can't believe she actually did it, or at least tried to at that. Catra, the hardest person to get along with, the one who barely had a sense of decency when it came to new people, actually tried her hardest to make amends with someone she despised. All just to make Glimmer a little happier, and after the annoying training session they spent all morning to work on. "No... I'm sorry." She apologized back, catching Catra by surprise. "I shouldn't have pushed you through all that stuff this morning just for a stupid Ball... To turn you into something you're not."

"Eh, forget about it." Catra replied, closing her eyes as she tried to relax.

"Why do you keep saying that?"

"Saying what?"

"You know, "forget about it", "just drop it", you keep bringing it up whenever something has you down."

"Well, yeah, I say it like I mean it. Just forget about it and move on with your life. It's basically how I got through most of my life." That was... rather depressing to hear from her. To just forget about all your problems and move on? Never looking back reflecting on how you came to this situation in the first place? Ignoring all the good moments you had with it for the sake of moving on? Nobody should have a life like that!

And yet... she envied her. "I wish I could live like that." She sighed, continuing to stare over the couch.

Noticing her state of distress, and a little annoyed by it, Catra took the opportunity to turn around herself, looking over the ledge to see what she was staring at. "What's wrong, Pinky?" It was then that she picked up on the sound of laughter, seeing Bow holding his side as he laughed with the other guests. "What? You jelly or something?" She teased.

"No, I'm not jealous or anything. Bow can hang out with whoever he wants to! It's just...Ugh..." Letting out a groan herself, she leaned over the couch as she planted her face on the top cushion, dangling her arms over the side. "I never had that many friends, okay? It's always just been me and Bow. But now, what if he likes his new friends better than me? What if everyone does?" Catra could not believe what she was witnessing just now.

Right in front of her, with a groan and complain, Glimmer began to cry into couch, burying her face into her arms as she did.

This? This was the Princess of Bright Moon? The one she agreed to fight alongside long ago in order to claim her very own kingdom? The person who beat Shadow Weaver awhile back, the one who had a sparkling attitude and personality that she tried to defend not five minutes ago?

"Geez, you're selfish!" Catra hissed. Hiccuping a bit to try to calm the flow of tears, Glimmer rubbed her eyes a little as she looked back.

"What?"

She didn't care if it made a scene all the way up here, she didn't care if it was drilled in her head not to do this sort of thing in public. There was no way she was going to put up with a whiny child like her crying her eyes out almost immediately after she tried to cheer her up the first time!

"You can't have one friend in your life and suddenly it's the end of the world for you?" She pulled on her own ears at the annoyance she felt. "Do you know how many people wish they were you right now? Almost everyone wishes they were you, I wish I was you! Getting to live in a big fancy castle like that, having butlers and servants who preform whatever request you have on a time? Parents that actually care about you around the clock? I'd kill for that kind of life!"

"Catra..." She didn't know what to say. For the second time now, Catra was actually trying to legitimately cheer her up, or at the very least prove a valid point to Glimmer... she thinks.

"You don't have that many friends? Yeah right! How much you wanna bet there's thousands of people out there right now who like you just because you're a stupid princess? That was given to you on the day you were born! I had to fight literally tooth and claw every day of my life just to keep people from picking on me, and you wanna know what? I can count the number of people that do like me on one tail!" As if to emphasize that point, she stuck her tail right in front of Glimmer, sticking it up proudly in front of her. "And do you want to know who that friend is? Her name is-"

"Adora!" Glimmer gasped as she looked over the side.

"Exactly!" Finally this girl was starting to get the idea! She could only put up with so much whining from the spoiled brat before she lost her patience, gave up, and walked her way home, no matter how far away it was. She needed to get the idea that her life was absolutely  **nothing**  to complain about! And until she did she would rant until Glimmer's ears fell off or Catra's mouth did first! "So don't go telling me you're jealous because you have one less friend in the world! If you wanted to trade lives with me, I'd more than welcome it! Where I grew up, it was just me and-"

"Adora!"

"Yeah, I know! She was always the one defending me when I was young, she was the one who was the closest to having it all. Friends, someone as close to family as her, skill, and she was the only person who didn't treat me like dirt or like my life had no meaning! Honestly, I probably wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for-"

"Adora!" Glimmer repeated looking back to her this time.

"Ok, I get it! You can stop saying it now..." She grumbled.

"What? No! Ughhhh, look!" Taking Catra's chin, she directed it over the ledge in the same direction that Glimmer was facing, and gasped.

Walking through the doors, taking in the view of the entire room in one sweep, all with that same ridiculous smile she knew her to have, was her only friend in the world, Adora. The same gifted friend she was jealous of beyond all reason, the one she just got done ranting about for the last minute.

There, she stood. Elegantly, beautifully, and proudly, as she arrived as the Plus One to the invitee, Princess Scorpia. The two were dressed appropriately for the party, almost too much in fact.

With Scorpia, the princess went all out in the theme of dark. She had a pitch black dress on that hung over one shoulder, with a slit on her right leg to reveal her slender figure. It helped bring out the color of the dark red carapaces that made up her claws and her tail, the colors already complimenting the blue majestic scenery that surrounded them. As a final piece to add to her color, she wore a beautiful belt, adorned with very small red crystals on all sides of her.

Adora herself was dressed appropriately, yet simple, all at the same time. She wore a long simple red dress, one that stretched all the way down to her heels, and a single orange sash that wrapped around her waist. She let her hair hang flowingly, stretching it down to her shoulders as it draped in front of her left shoulder. Simple, elegant, pristine, and pure.

And in her hands was the one troubling factor in all of this. There she held a simple box, wrapped over with a piece of green wrapping paper covered over around it, and a dazzling blue ribbon tied neatly over a bow on top of it

Thus, here they were. Princess Scorpia, and her friend and fellow Force Captain, Adora.

The Horde had officially crashed the party...

...

...

...

_**A/N: I know I might've forced the catra x glimmer moment a bit too much, but as always, never assume i end things off there. It'll be brought up next chapter (or following depending on how long next chapter is :o) as well. I never leave things unfinished, only forgotten ^^...wait a minute...** _

_**Anyway! Hope you all enjoyed this nice little 2-post-in-1-day episode! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!** _


	30. Episode 8: The Princess Prom Part 3

_**A/N: Hey guys, another full-able chapter for ya, and gonna be honest!** _

_**...this might be the worst chapter I wrote XO Reason being? Because I'm out of my medication today for my ADHD, and because of that, I was feeling drowsy all day long. For those wondering why I didn't just take a break, it's because if I get in the habit of not writing, then I'll never write again X/ same issue I had with my RWBY fic for awhile, so I kinda have to.** _

_**I call this my worst cause I overly felt some parts of it were forced or rushed in some character interaction. But another reason I didn't let it keep me from posting is because, in all honesty, I often think half of my chapters are gonna end up bad, and when I get positive feedback out of it, it proves me wrong XP** _

_**So yeah, keep in mind, this is my writing when I'm out of it. If it ends up good, great! If not, I'll probably take it down to rewrite bits and pieces here and there. Otherwise, hope you all enjoy!** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

"I feel like everyone is staring." Scorpia commented as she walked down the stairs with Adora.

"Oh let them stare. It's not like their opinion matters anyway. " The Blond Force Captain replied holding her green package.

This was it. The Princess Prom! The center stage and location for all of Adora's planning. All the princesses and kingdoms gathered under one roof for a night of celebration, one that's held every ten years! She could not begin to describe how long she worked the previous night for this day, or all the preparations that came with it.

One of which was Shadow Weaver herself.

There was no end to the number of troubles she kept bringing up, the issues she pointed out with Adora attending the Ball like this, even with Scorpia. She tried reasoning to Adora all the cons to this little endeavor, doing her best to avoid drawing any attention to all of her past manipulations, and how dangerous it would be. It took a lot of coaxing to convince her that she would be fine with Scorpia, as well as having all her training under her belt to keep herself safe.

The Ball itself was also the very first Ball Adora had ever attended, much less the very first party Adora had ever attended, and she had to say, it was beautiful! Lights glistened and sparkled off the various icy structures, the moon lighting played a gigantic part in presentation outside of this place, and everyone around her was someone new to meet, someone new to make potential alliances with!

This place was going to be a blast!

Making their way up the stairs to the throne, the two proudly curtsied respectfully, Adora giving off more of a bow given the contents in her hand.

"Revered Hostess, I-"

"Stop!" The two turned around at the shout of panic coming from Catra, one of two people Adora was looking forward to meeting her again, as well as Glimmer who she was less than happy to meet again. Just as she got to the top of the stairs, she was instantly cut off by two guards blocking her path, both of them using their spears to form an X in front of her. Despite her past annoyances, Princess Frosta waved her hand, allowing them to step up to Adora and Scorpia. "You can't let them be here, they're from the Horde!"

Oh, sure, typical. Of course that would be the angle she would play at. "The Hordes evil", "you can't trust those monsters", she was getting tired of hearing it at this point. Smiling to the host of the party, she bowed. "Revered Hostess, Princess Scorpia was invited, as per the rules of the Ball. I feel it would be most ungrateful if she kicked us out just because of her prejudices with us."

"Prejudice?" Catra repeated dumbfounded. "Who's talking about prejudices here-"

"Princess Catra." Frosta interrupted. "The rules state clearly that all princesses and their chosen guests are welcome."

"But they're up to something!" Catra claimed, eyeing the package in Adora's hand. She quickly shot a finger at it as she hissed. "Why don't you explain that for starters!" With a small grumble, Adora shook her head away as she took another step forward.

"Revered Hostess, Princess Frosta, I've come baring a gift for you." She said taking a knee in respect as one of the guards took the package.

"A... gift?" Frosta questioned, eyeing the package with inner curiosity as it was placed on her lap.

"Y-Yeah..." Standing up again, Adora had a small blush on her face as she shifted her eyes away. "This is... kind of my first party. I've never been to one before, so I stayed up all night studying about them. I have to admit, I was a little embarrassed when I found out it wasn't  _that_  kind of party, so... I apologize. But I hope you like it."

"Oh gosh, you're gonna make me hurl..." Catra groaned rolling her eyes.

Eyeing the strange package again, Princess Frosta calmly pulled at the ribbon tied over the strange package, removing the top of the lid as she pulled out whatever it contained. Holding it out, the numerous people were greeted at the sight of a strange, pocket-sized, globe in her hand attached to a wooden base. Inside of it were numerous white specs that slowly danced around the structure inside of it, the orb filled entirely with water. In the center of the strange object was an exact replica of Princess Frosta's palace, glittering in the light just like the real palace itself did.

"It's a snowglobe." Adora explained. "I'm sure you might have plenty of those around here, but I made it myself. It took me seven hours to make it from scratch, so-

"Tch, really Adora?" Catra shot back with a snide grin, crossing her arms. "A present? That's your best opening? Why don't you bribe the kid with some candy while you're at it? I'm sure she'll-"

"I like it." Frosta replied firmly, earning a smile from Adora.

"Are you serious?!"

"Yes. It's nice. I can tell a lot of quality and detail went into the present. At the very least, it's the thought that counts." She gave a somewhat bowful nod to the blonde guest. "I appreciate your generosity. Thank you." With another smile, Adora gave another small bow to the princess as she placed the globe in her winter dress pocket.

Grumbling at the sickening display, and how quickly she appeared to have won the princess over, compared to her at least, Catra marched her way over to her friend as she dug her claws through the sash around the dress, pulling out an all too familiar red head band. "Ha! Then what do you call this?" She asked pointing to the head band accusingly.

This was the exact same head band that started this trouble back in Salineas, the very one Adora wore to become that strange creature of darkness, both inside and out! It had the same coloring to it, the same red jewel adorned in it's center, and just holding it was enough to give her an off feeling about it. She would love to see her try to talk her way out of this, to explain why she brought such a dangerous item, one made by Shadow Weaver at that, to the ball!

"It's called a sweat band!" Adora said blushing again. "Excuse me for being a little nervous," she yelped, pulling the band back from Catra's hand and stuffing it in her dress, "about being out to a party for the first time in my life!"

...Ok that actually explained a little too much to Catra's case.

She was more surprised by how detailed and legitimate her explanation was, as if she rehearsed this line word for word in this event. Knowing her teacher, she probably did. It did nothing to calm the anger in Catra's mind though as she grabbed the collar of her dress. "Ok, I don't know what you're up to with this kid, but there is no way I'm letting you stay here-"

"That's enough!" The smaller princess yelled firmly with a stern look. "You look at me and see a child, but I've worked to hard to gain respect, only to throw it away because you have a history with two of my guests."

"What? That's not-"

"Silence!" She shouted again as two guards grabbed Catra's arms. "For centuries, the All-Princess Ball has been neutral ground. I will not dishonor that legacy. Scorpia is a princess. Princesses get a plus ones. They stay."

"But-"

"And I believe I already warned you," she continued, "that you had two strikes already, and what would happen if you threatened any of my guests. Guards, get her out of my palace, immediately."

"What? No!" Catra yelled as she pulled back. It proved in vain as several more guards entered the struggle, overpowering the magicat as she tried to throw them off without the use of her claws. It would've been worse if she injured anyone in her attempts to convince the younger princess. "Get off of me!"

"Wait!" Adora called out, catching everyone's attention as she turned towards the smaller princess again. "Revered Hostess, please, give her one more chance. I swear she's not herself today, and I wasn't feeling threatened in the slightest. Give her one more chance. Please?"

There was a small silence that filled the area as the guards and princesses looked to one another. Catra was a little surprised to see Adora trying to defend her so dearly after the last time she saw her, considering it almost ended with her losing her head, and Glimmer was more anxious about what would happen if Catra was thrown out. It didn't matter at this point if they had a bad relationship with Frosta, if Catra got thrown out in front of hundreds of people, there was no telling the amount of backlash that would've transpired.

"...Very well." With the wave of her hand again, Frosta's guard released their hold on Catra, the girl grumbling as she rubbed her sore arms. "But this is your  _last_  warning. Got it?"

"Thank you, your highness." With another bow, Adora turned away as she walked back towards the stairs. Right as she was about to pass Catra, she paused as she placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "We need to talk." She whispered with a small concerned look in her eyes, walking passed her with Scorpia trailing along.

"Catra!" Glimmer called out as she rushed to her friend's side. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine..." She grumbled, watching as Adora made her way through one of the curtained archways of the ball, leading to an outside balcony. Scorpia, meanwhile, seemed to be mingling with others at the Kelp Bar, unaware as she was a few people away from an embarrassed Mermista who still had her face in her hands as Sea Hawk continued his life's story. "I'll deal with her, you keep an eye out for the scorpion lady." She didn't even give Glimmer a chance to agree or devise a plan a she immediately chased after Adora.

This was Adora. Her best friend. Her  **only**  friend. After the events of Salineas her mind had been racing from time to time with the wonder of what happened to her friend. She was nothing like Catra remembered, not when she wore the headband. She was vicious, cruel, insane, took great pleasure in the pain she caused Catra and the thrill it gave her to fight. She couldn't tell if it was all the headband or something Shadow Weaver did to Adora through her various manipulations.

On top of that, she was alone with Shadow Weaver. For all Catra knew she could've been tortured or punished by Shadow Weaver on a constant basis to make Adora the person she saw in Salineas! Shadow Weaver did comment about how Adora became closer with the woman ever since she ended up leaving her. For all she knew Shadow Weaver could've spun the biggest lie to turn Adora against her, to make her feel unwanted or something!

Making her way up the stairs, brushing passed the sparkling light blue curtains, she saw her. There, Adora, standing at the edge of the balcony as she looked over the railing, facing the night sky.

Adora admired a lot of things about this night. Being the first party she's ever been to, the numerous people she got to meet tonight, seeing so many smiling faces all gathered in a single location. There was no telling how many of these faces were genuine and how many of them hid their evil hearts to the rest of the world. She would need to sort that out for herself, determine who she could trust and who were the enemy, and at the end of it all, who was most likely to join the Horde.

It was a time consuming process, one that she had plenty of time for.

"Adora..." She turned around to be greeted by Catra as she walked over.

"Catra..." She greeted in turn.

What was about to transpire here? Can't hadn't a clue as she approached the girl on the balcony. Being the first time in weeks they've met each other, given how badly their last encounter ended, there were any number of ways this night could go.

"Adora-"

"I'm sorry." Adora apologized. Catra was frozen with shock, standing just a foot away from the girl who gave an expression filled with sorrow.

"You... you are...?" Catra questioned, walking to her left as she leaned on the railing.

"Yes, I am." She assured. "I don't know what I was thinking, I was being stupid!"

"Adora, it... It's okay."

"No, it's not! I wasn't thinking straight before. The way we argued with each other, the way I hurt you?" She shook her head in frustration. "We shouldn't be fighting each other like this, we never should have!" The words alone lifted Catra's heart a little. With just a few sentences, Adora said practically everything Catra wanted to here.

Here she was, apologizing for everything she's done! She's admitting her mistake, she knew that she was on the wrong side, it was all perfect! With Adora's head in the right direction now, she could move her over to her side, the right side! At the very least a far better side than the Horde, that's for sure.

They wouldn't have to take obnoxious orders from people who used them, they wouldn't have to worry about each other constantly if they were fighting on the same side, it was all too perfect! They would fight side by side, they could bring down the Horde and Shadow Weaver together, and they wouldn't have to worry about hurting each other as much! Best off all, if they both fought on the same side, they could both share a glorious kingdom together. Heck, if they play their cards right, they might even be able to get two kingdoms out of it!

"Adora, I swear, it's okay." She smiled as she rubbed her shoulder. "If you really mean it, it's all in the past now!"

"R... Really?" She almost let out a sniffle as she spoke.

"Yes, really! You'll see, the Rebellion's a lot better than you're thinking! They gave me my own personal room, the meals are all cooked, we could be leading our own soldiers in the Rebellion-"

"What?" All the pain and frustration from earlier was devoid from Adora's face, her friend giving off a look of confusion at the unexpected reaction. "What are you talking about? I'm not joining the Rebellion!"

"Huh?" She wasn't? "But you just said you were sorry about all the fighting before."

"Yeah, about Salineas, about how I almost killed you. I never said anything about joining them." She clarified.

"Then... Why did you just mention working on the same side?" A part of her felt like she knew the answer despite not being prepared for it.

"Why do you think? I'm talking about going back to the Horde!" Wasn't it obvious to her? The Horde was the driving force behind Etheria, the army that was trying to unify all of Etheria as one compared to the evils that compelled the princesses. Why would she think she'd ever want to join the Rebellion? Oh, wait, that's right. "You need to come back home with us, Catra. We need to get you fixed."

"Fixed? Adoraaaaa..." Catra moaned in irritation. She had to slide her head to the railing, banging against it a few times, just to get rid of the stress building up in her. She didn't consider how much crazier this might make her look. "How many times do I have to tell you I'm not under anyone's control?"

"It doesn't matter how many times you tell me," she replied, pressing a palm against her head to get her to stop, "I know you're not yourself."

"But I  **am**  myself, Adora. This is what I want, I don't want to go back to the Horde!"

"You only think that because of what they did to you! Shadow Weaver can break the spell they have over you, I swear."

"Adora...uggghhhh..." The two looked away from each other as they tried to think.

What were either of them supposed to do? Both of them felt they were on the right side and both of them felt like the other was on the wrong. Friends since childhood, people who grew up alongside each other as far back as they could remember. Neither of them wanted the other to leave without them tonight, and they couldn't risk making a scene here.

It's not like Catra couldn't understand what Adora was coming from. After she left there were so many things Shadow Weaver did to manipulate her, trying to convince her that Catra wasn't in control of herself. She didn't need an understanding of whatever Shadow Weaver meant by  _fixing_  her; if it came from Shadow Weaver, it couldn't be good!

And Adora, what was she supposed to do? She once knew Catra as the sweet and sensitive friend she was as a child. Even after whatever caused her to change her personality like that she still knew her to have a sensitive heart. She was kind when she was with her, she might not have shown it when she was with others but she did care about others a lot more than she let on. She was a good person, no matter what sort of exterior she had.

Both of them were in pain with themselves, and for each other.

...

"Mm. Mm. Wow, this is good!" Scorpia commented as she continued to gorge herself with the numerous entrees.

Glimmer was having a hard time getting a good read on her target. For the last few minutes the Scorpion Princess was doing nothing but trying meal after meal, piece after piece, of the delicious food this place had to offer. She didn't need to worry about manners herself, seeing how she already was on good terms with the Revered Hostess herself, Princess Frosta, and the fact it was, naturally, a party to begin with.

What exactly was their evil plan here? Was she going to launch some sneak attack on the hapless guests of the party, or were they just going to eat the horderves all night long and starve everyone to death? At the rate it was going, Glimmer actually started to wonder if it was the latter.

"Mm! What is- I don't even know this food!" Scorpia hummed as she savored every tasty bite.

It was during that time that she saw Bow again, mingling with another set of guests as she told the same joke he said to the last couple he met. Seeing how Scorpia was still flavoring every piece of food the party had to offer at the Kelp Bar, Glimmer took the opportunity to, cautiously, approach Bow, keeping an eye on the girl as she neared him.

"Bow, wait up!" She said, catching his attention.

"Oh hey, Glimmer. What's up?" He was curious how she was doing since the party began.

"There's something I need to tell you." She remembered everything Catra told her about being greedy earlier and how it looked selfish to someone like her. With that in mind, she prepared what she hoped to be a heartfelt apology. "I know things have been weird between us have been weird all night." She went on as Bow grew a smile on his face. "So, I wanted to say-"

"It's all right. I accept your-"

"-I forgive you." They both spoke at the same time, catching each other by surprise by the other's reaction. One with a face of worry while the other one held a small scowl over their face.

"You  _forgive_  me?" He stared with a look of irritation in his eye. "Glimmer, I'm allowed to hang out with other people."

"Y-Yes, I agree!" She nodded holding his hand. "You have your own life, you can make your own choices. I'm okay with it now!"

"You're  ** _okay_**  with it?" The boiling expression going through his mind only got worse. "What do you mean you're okay with it now? I don't need your permission or your satisfaction to choose who I hang out with."

"I-I know that, I was just saying!" She tried to soothe him, stroking his hand gently. "I'm okay with whoever you want to hang out, just as long as we're still friends."

"Stop saying it like that!" He yelled a little, pulling his hands away.

"L-Look, I know I'm saying it wrong, it's not what I meant. I just... I'm worried about everyone leaving me, like we're not going to be friends anymore if you're friends with someone else. First we're friends, and then you're friends with someone else, and then we're not friends anymore."

"Is that what this is?" While he didn't ignore the frustration he was building, his expression softened. "Glimmer, you have me, Catra, and the Rebellion behind you."

"That's what I'm talking about! First it used to be just the two of us, and now... now everything is changing. I don't want you to leave me behind."

"No one is going to leave you behind." He shook his head at how foolish he was finding her to be. "I wanted to hang out with you and Catra, and Perfuma tonight, but you're the one who keeps being weird and leaving." She frowned at that. "I know change is scary, Glimmer, but you don't get to take it out on me just because you feel uncomfortable right now. And you don't get to judge who I can and can't hang out with."

"I-I-I wasn't, I was just... I..."

"Save it." He cut off, practically ordering her. "I don't want to hear anymore about it tonight. I'm going to get my cummberbund, because it's freezing around here. Why don't you try and cool off or something, and we'll talk tomorrow, okay?" Without even looking her in the eye, he took off, leaving Glimmer to stoke in her own sadness.

What was wrong with her? First she was too paranoid about everything pushed Catra away with all the preparations, then she pushed, or at least ruined her chances, of getting a proper audience with Princess Frosta by begging and pleading in front of a child, and finally, she acted like she was in charge of who Bow was allowed and not allowed to be friends with! Everything about this entire night was turning into a disaster!

And who was she most upset with?

Herself.

She was the Princess of Bright Moon, daughter of an immortal, angelic, Queen. She wasn't like this, she didn't care usually who her friends were friends with or not! All of this... all this craziness... it was all her own fault. Because Catra was right. She was being selfish for a change. Maybe she was always selfish and just didn't realize it till today? Was this how everyone saw her? Did everyone think of her as some selfish brat?

What kind of friend was she? She wasn't one! She was just a selfish girl who had tears running down her face because she got sidetracked from Scorpia because she wasn't feeling the way she wanted to.

That's when she suddenly remembered her target. Looking back quickly, she breathed a sigh of relief as she saw she was still there, apparently having an arm wrestling match with a familiar Princess of Salineas.

"I'm gonna make you pay for damaging my front door!" Mermista threatened as she stood arm-to-arm with Scorpia, barely feeling the crushing grip in her claws.

"I was doing you a favor by blasting that eyesore!" Scorpia grinned back, determined to bring the mighty mermaid's hand down.

"Mermista, my deeear~" Sea Hawk continued to sing from behind as Mermista blushed.

"There's little she feeears~"

"As long as I'm heeere~"

"To bring her some cheeer~!"

"...How about if I lose I let you take him with you?" She offered, pointing back to the man who's been an embarrassment to her all night as he sang words of questionable encouragement. She didn't even bat a wink as she felt Glimmer tapping her on the shoulder to get her attention.

"Hey, do you mind keeping an eye on her for me for a minute?" She requested.

"Ngggh, trust me, we're not going anywhere!" She assured as her face tightened. She had to admit, this Scorpion girl was definitely a worthy arm-wrestler, but there was no way she was going to let her claim victory tonight after what she did!

With her preoccupied, Glimmer took a breath of relief as she made her way through the party guests. Perhaps this was a chance to check up on Catra herself, and possibly chat with the only person she considered a friend...

...

The night sky was filling with the sparkles of wonder and the glitter of stars as the evening shifted more towards the night. By now a few of the guests were leaving the party while many still came in late at the last minute. So many people, so many potential relationships, and so many wonders they had to offer.

None of it intrigued Adora or Catra, though, as the two stared off into space, trying to figure out what to say to the other after this momentary silence.

"...Do you remember when we were kids, how we would always talk about going out and seeing the world?" Adora asked looking up to the stars.

"Yeah..." Catra mumbled leaning on her own arm on the railing, glancing at the sky too. "We used to talk about it nonstop. It would always be "destroy an evil princess here", "rescue that damsel in distress there", and everything."

"Heh... I think our funniest dream was blasting off into space one day to see if any of the moons were made of cheese."

"Well  _cheese_ , I wonder who's idea that was?" Catra smirked.

"Hey, cut me some slack, I was six. And remember the first time we tried to steal a skiff?" She asked with a curious smile. "When we were nine?"

"Haha, yeah." She chuckled in a mellow voice. "I remember we had no idea how to pilot the skiff ourselves."

"And when we started it up, we both ended up falling out-"

"And crashed the skiff into another one." They both said in unison, laughing all the same. The smile they shared in that moment quickly faded just as fast as they looked over the balcony.

"We got quite a scolding for that one, huh?"

"Yeah... scolding..." Catra mumbled. She didn't want to mention how her scolding was more along the lines of a physical punishment in comparison to hers. It wouldn't matter anyway if Adora thought she was under the princess's control.

"Why can't we go back to those days?" Adora gently placed her hand on Catra's own over the railing, looking at her with a pained look in her eye.

"Adora..."

"I want to go back to the way things were. We were happier back then, we were a family! You, me, Lonnie, Kyle, Rogelio. We had a whole bunch of fun back then."

"Oh yeah,  _fun_." Catra grimaced. "Such fun games like playing dodgeball with everyone vs me, seeing how long they could stuff me in a weapons locker till someone let me out."

"Catra, come on, they were kids, that was years ago. They stopped picking on you after awhile."

"Yeah, cause I threatened them if they didn't!" She argued. "Everyone was nice to you because you were you, I had to earn my keep."

"And you did. You proved to everyone you were a part of the Horde, you gained everyone's respect."

"Oh, yeah, sure I did. I'm sure you had nothing to do with it." With a small hiss she pulled her hand away as she walked a couple feet from her, crossing her arms as she turned away.

"I didn't!" The blonde Force Captain yelled back as she approached her. "You really did earn their respect, Catra, don't act like they didn't warm up to you!"

"So I'm just supposed to forget everything they did to me? I do that enough as it is with the people I know, I can't forgive them for what they did."

"Then don't, Catra!" Adora pulled her back as she took her hands. "Just move on from it, and come back with me. Please?" Adora's face teared up as she requested this.

"Mmh..." How was she supposed to find the right words to say?

She wouldn't believe anything she had to say that sounded like an argument to the alternative and anything positive she had to say about the Rebellion was immediately shot down, all because Adora thought Catra was under the princesses control. And without any magic for her to use, there was no way to prove otherwise.

The bigger problem was how she was supposed to turn down Adora's pleading. She was the one person she didn't want to hurt in this world, at least not like the rest of them. She was always there for the both of them more so than Catra herself was, and she at least deserved the gratification she was hoping to get out of Catra. She deserved to hear Catra say "Yes", to hear her say she would come back to the Horde with her.

And Catra couldn't bring herself to give that to her.

"What exactly are you planning here, Adora?" She needed to give her something else to think about, something that could turn this conversation around. At the question, she watched as Adora's face hardened a little, turning away from her as she leaned over the balcony again.

"...Nothing you should worry about." She revealed, shooting a look of concern to her soon after. "Not if you come back with me."

"So you are up to something?!" Why couldn't she just get a moment's peace here? Why couldn't she meet up with Adora again after so long without there being trouble?

"Like I said, it'll be fine, you don't have to worry about it. Just come home with me, okay?"

"How do you expect me not to worry about it if you're up to something?" She stammered. "Does it involve the Ball? Are you planning something against the Rebellion? ...Are you planning to do something to Glimmer?"

"Ugh, of course you would mention her." Adora's disdain for the girl was almost too obvious for her as she leaned her arm against the railing.

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"What do you think? She's the evil princess who's controlling you right now, she's the one who's separating us!"

"Pffft, yeah, I'm sure she's gonna *sparkle* us to death while she's at it." Catra joked, twiddling her fingers playfully.

"I'm serious, Catra!"

"Glimmer didn't do anything to me, Adora. She's harmless, I swear."

"That's the other thing that keeps bothering me. Why do you always defend her? I thought you said she isn't your friend?"

"She's not my friend, okay? She just helps me from time to time, but that doesn't make us friends."

There was something strange in that tone that didn't settle right with Adora. The way she claimed she just  _helps her_  while not actually being friends? It felt a bit... troubling... to her. "So, what? It's that whole "scratch your back and you scratch her" philosophy you used to have? Or is it some new "you scratch my back and I'm friends with you for life" philosophy?"

"I told you she's not my friend!" Catra repeated with a small growl in her throat.

"Oh, right, of course. I mean you wouldn't be with her or the Rebellion if you didn't consider her a friend, right? You just eat together, sleep together, fight alongside each other, but that definitely doesn't make you friends-"

"SHE'S NOT MY FRIEND!" Catra yelled, nearly making Adora jump. "I don't even like her, ok? Or that stupid arrow guy for that matter! I don't like either of them, okay?! They're just a means to an end for me, okay? All I want out of this is the stupid kingdom they promised me, that's all there is to it!"

"...Wow..." Adora didn't know what to say about this. Was this still part of the Princess's control, some sort of lie that kicks in, or Catra actually being herself for a change? Adora couldn't tell anymore, there was an infinite number of possibilities behind all of this, a hundred different things their magic could've done to her.

"Ahem..." A familiar voice coughed out, causing Catra's ears and expression to droop slowly as she and Adora turned back to the princess in question. There, they saw an angered look on Glimmer's face, one filled with outer rage and inner sadness, a small frown hiding under the look of contempt as she held a tray with several drinks on it.

Timing could not have been worse for the three of them.

"Speak of the evil..." Adora muttered, feeling a salty bitterness in her mouth from looking at the evil princess. She turned herself away from the princess as she gazed out to the stars again, all while Catra's entire face dropped from the awkward feeling overwhelming her right now.

"P-Pinky... I-"

"Save it, Catra." Glimmer cut off as she stood right of Adora, placing her between herself and Catra. "I'm just here to meet your friend, that's all." She explained her reasoning for being here as she gave a small smile to the other. "So, you must be Adora, huh?" She asked, offering her a small serving of punch. "It's nice to meet you."

The air around Adora intensified as she stared coldly at the girl, Glimmer doing her best to keep her composure until Adora turned away again. Feeling like an answer was never going to come to her, Glimmer swirled the drink in her cup as she came up with a new strategy. "So... Catra says you were her only friend through most of her life. What was that like growing up?" Again, her smile was met with nothing but a cold, hard, stare as Adora looked to her. "I'm sure you've got some... funny stories? Maybe a nice memory of the two of you?"

There were no words Adora had for this girl. This. This was the person she hated the most in her life, possibly the only person she hated so deeply in her life. She was responsible for all the bad things that have happened to her, her friend Catra, for all the things the Rebellion has done next only to her mother, Queen Angella. The people who sabotage the Horde, the leaders willing to use civilian lives to protect their own dark secrets, the very people that would turn best friends against each other.

She didn't care how innocent she looked, she didn't bother looking into her eyes directly, not wanting to be tricked into some sort of darker magic. Her goal was the destruction of people like this. Plagues of Etheria, scum of the planet, defilers of all that sought Unity. She was pure evil.

"...Is there any question I can ask you that will make you stop glaring at me?" She asked, feeling a coldness spread over her.

"Hmph," Adora grunted as she swiped the beverage from Glimmer's hand, "you think you're so clever, don't you?"

"I'm... sorry?"

"I don't know what you did to you," she made Glimmer jump as she grabbed the collar of her dress, "but you and your evil tricks aren't going to fool me!"

"Hey, cool it, Adora." Catra interrupted, pulling her threatening hand away from Glimmer. At this, Catra and Adora glared silently at each other, both feeling a small steam of anger welling up inside of them, all while Glimmer looked to the two friends guiltily.

"I know you're not in control right now, Catra, so I'm not going to even bother with you right now." She shot her gaze from her to the smaller princess instead. "And as for you, I'll be watching you, got it? I'm not going anywhere until you leave the party. I'm not going to fall for any of your tricks, any of your wicked spells, and I'm especially not going to consume any of your poison drinks!" With a proud grin, she poured the contents of the container over the balcony, having bested the princess in one of her many wicked schemes!

"Ah!" The three blinked as they heard a sudden gruffy yelp from under them. Peering over the side, Adora's face switched from rage to anxiety as she saw the pour victim of her dumpage. "Hey! Adora!"

"S-Sorry!" She apologized back. With a last shot of anger to Glimmer, she shook her head, finally turning away and leaving this conversation behind her.

With her friend disappearing behind the curtain, Catra sighed. Leaning over the balcony again, she uncaringly grabbed another of the drinks, not even making a face as she casually poured its contents over the balcony, resulting in yet another yell from the previous victim. "Adora did it."

"Huff..." Sighing, Glimmer set the tray on the ledge as she took her own drink, refusing to take a sip as she just swirled it back and forth in her cup. "I'm sorry if I messed something up between you two."

"Eh, you didn't mess up much." Catra mumbled, rubbing between her eyes. "Look, about what I said a minute ago-"

"Forget it, forget it." Still depressed as before, there wasn't much sadness that could be added to her heart. "You said it yourself, time and again, how we're not friends, remember?"

"Heh, you're finally picking up on that, huh?" She joked a little, stretching her arms out with a satisfied smile on her face.

"...Catra?" She spoke quietly, adding curiosity to Catra's attention. "Why can't we ever be friends?"

"Huh? What brought this up?"

"Just... just tell me why, okay?" There was a small sniffling in her voice that Catra wasn't ready to put up with.

"Pinky, it doesn't matter if we're not friends or not, okay? I'm not leaving the Rebellion, I'll still fight with you guys, everything's fine."

"Then why can't you just say we're friends then?" Her voice cracked a little as she gave a pained yet hurtful look to her. "Everytime, every single day, it's always the same thing with you. You say we're not friends, that we just work together, and it doesn't mean anything to you. Fine. I'll accept that, okay? But why do you act like nothing ever changes? I mean, don't you feel anything? Doesn't some part of you feel different after all the time me, you, and Bow spent together? Doesn't that mean something to you-"

"NO! It doesn't, Pinky!" Catra shouted angrily. She was tired of this conversation in the first ten seconds. She was tired of having a third fight with Adora resulting in her leaving again. She was tired of this stupid ball and everything it had to offer. But most of all, she was tired of hearing about this friendship garbage over and over again.

"I don't know how many times I can tell you that I don't want anything to do with you, or being friends with you. You know what my other friends are like? Because I sure don't! I didn't get anyone I could trust growing up except for Adora, I didn't have anyone to keep me safe from my nightmares, except for Adora. She was the only person in my life who ever gave an ounce of care about me. Without her, I'd probably be dead! And you think I need or even want friends? I got plenty, thank you very much!" She finally huffed, drowning out every breath she has as she panted.

"C-Catra..." Glimmer's eyes started to fill with tears as she panted.

"Oh, come ooooon!" Why couldn't she leave her alone right now? She had enough stress with Adora being here, thinking Catra's been brainwashed, and the fact they're definitely up to something. She didn't need Glimmer's crying to stress her out too-!

* _tug_ *

Catra blinked. Looking down slowly as ever, she was met with the rather strange sight of Glimmer, pressing her head into her chest as she wrapped around her in a tight hug.

"...P... Pinky? What are you doing?"

"Catra, I'm," she sniffled, "I'm sorry." Leaning her head up, Catra saw the strange look of sadness filling up in her eyes. But they weren't tears for herself, not that she could feel. It almost felt like... they were for her.

"Sorry? ...About what?"

"About everything!" She sobbed. "I always thought you didn't want friends because you thought one was all you needed, but that wasn't the case, was it? You don't want friends because you can't trust any friends, can you?"

"I..." The look on Catra's face as she paused confirmed it.

"You spent your entire life on your own, too scared to make friends because you don't know what would happen if you did, because you were too afraid of what pain it would bring. You're afraid of what will happen if you have any more friends and you don't trust them enough to not leave you. To live your whole life with that fear, unable to trust anyone, even yourself... It's one of the saddest things I've heard..."

"..." Catra didn't know what to say. Was she feeling sorry for her pity for her? Was she trying to drive Catra insane or something here? To drive her off the deep end, maybe even over the balcony itself? She didn't know anymore. She didn't want all this mushy stuff filling her mind unneededly, she didn't want anyone else reading into her personal life like this!

All she did was push Glimmer away with her arms, walking a few steps away from her with an irritated scowl as she shoved her hands in her pockets. "I'm going back inside. Go bug someone else for a change, will ya?" With her last comment said, she walked away, leaving the princess to her lonesome.

She found herself alone again, with just the sky to look down on her as everyone else left her. Frowning, she turned her back back to the balcony, looking into her own drink with misty eyes.

Everyone she talked to ended up mad at her today. Everyone she tried to cheer up or gain some sort of support from wanted nothing to do with her anymore. Everything about this whole day started with her and was ending with her, and it was one of the emptiest holes she ever felt in her heart.

"Why does everyone hate me right now..." She asked herself as a single tear rolled down her cheek, dripping into he reflective pools of her drink.

It was at that same time that another girl, one by the name of Adora, peeked out from the curtains she hid behind. The princess was alone, the party guests were still mingling with one another. Catra had yet to return to her willingly. There was nothing to hold her back or stall her at this point. With a quick check of her surroundings, she pulled out a small inner earpiece from her dress's sash, placing it in her right earlobe as everything fell into place.

"Catra isn't coming with us. Everyone move on to phase two." She ordered pressing into her ear.

"The cat's not coming? Gee, I wonder why..." A familiar voice of static sarcastically spoke.

"Keep it down, Lonnie, you're going to blow our cover." Another voice spoke out.

"I'd be more inclined to if  _someone_  wasn't going around spilling drinks on me!"

"Enough!" Adora ordered in a small grumble. "I repeat, everyone is to move on to phase 2. NOW."

"You got it, Force Captain Adora." The voice as followed by a small clicking sound.

"I still say we'd be better off targeting both, but whatever." Lonnie chuckled as her mic turned off.

Adora took one last look at the Princess outside before walking over to the ledge of the staircase, looking over the numerous party guests with a grin.

"Now it's time to get this party started..."

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

**_A/N: The following feels have been brought to you by Alcohol! Remember kids- if you don't feel any emotions, you're off to a good start!_ **

**_Lol, lame joke aside, really hope this chapter came out better than I anticipated (and considering I anticipate bad, it's hard to say X/). At the least, we are nearing the end of what I consider my favorite episode *sigh* and i predict maybe 2 parts if not 1 really long part next chapter._ **

**_Hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!_ **


	31. Episode 8: The Princess Prom Finale

_**A/N: And now we reach the grand finale of our lovely little "dance".** _

_**I gotta be honest with you guys, this is probably the biggest chapter I've struggled with. Not in terms of size or anything, but of difficulty. Why was it difficult for me? Check up the Authors notes at the bottom to find out afterwards.** _

_**With that said, enjoy!** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

The music picked up through the majestic halls of the Kingdom of Snows' palace. All throughout the guests were continuing to mingle and party with one another, regaling one with a tale of heroism and adventure, and another with the history of their heritage and what it meant to them. Others were keen on showing off their amazing skills, putting off a spark or two of their magic, some shredding the dance floors as the music continued.

Truly, it was the Ball to remember.

Sadly, it was a Ball Catra wanted to forget more than anything. Ever since she arrived at this place this Ball wasn't the least bit interesting to her, in any respect. Most of the guests seemed too stuck up to her to socialize, the guards were verily strict with everything they were doing, any of her previous allies were with their own Plus Ones and other friends, and out of all of it, there was the brat of the party and the Revered Hostess, Princess Frosta herself.

There was no end to how much of a headache the girl gave her, no way to process what was going on through that annoying beyond all reason attitude of hers. She was a brat to Catra's perspective. Plain and simple. Actually, far from simple, because ever since she met her, the only thing she's done royally was being a royal pain to Catra's rear end!

Perhaps it didn't help when Catra called her a brat not two seconds after meeting her, but so what? If she was supposed to be some high and mighty princess, one who would be Queen one day, she should've acted like less of a brat, right? She was stuck up, snobbish, insulted others who didn't deserve her respect, and made it her mission to nitpick every little detail at the Ball. What's worse, when Catra did eventually try to apologize to her for earlier, she had to go and be a brat about that too! She was nothing more than an ungrateful princess who looked down on everybody!

Again, to Catra's perspective, anyway.

Surprisingly, that wasn't even the worst part. The worst part also happened to be somewhere near the best part, because halfway through this party is when she saw  _her_.

Her. Adora. Her best and only friend in this world. She was attending the Ball as Scorpia's Plus One. There was no limit to how shocked Catra was at the prospect, or how quickly she managed to befriend the Princess upon meeting her, all because she gave her a personally-made Snowglobe upon her arrival, going through the whole innocent explanation of how she didn't know what kind of party it was going to be.

It was then that the two had a talk. Up on the balcony right outside the party's room, the two reminisced about their past and present. Everything they loved about it, everything they hated about it, and where it was going to go from here. Neither of them wanted to hurt the other too deeply, both sides feeling as if the other had been played for. It didn't help when towards the end of the conversation that Glimmer had to show up, immediately upon Catra going off in a tangent about how she didn't consider her or Bow friends, and how she never would.

When this whole day started, Catra was actually a little interested in the idea of attending the Ball. She would go in, see how good it was, and then determine if she wanted to go to the next one in another ten years. After the events of day though, she felt like the wait was more of a death clock, slowly winding down and drawing the next one closer and bring about further ruin.

This day, despite it's ups, was a complete downer.

It was as she descended the stairs that Catra noticed a certain girl missing from the event, aside from Glimmer who was still crying, unbeknownst to her, out on the balcony. There were too many sounds and too many scents to pick up on the girl's location, the smell of food filling the air second to the amount of people that were there. That's when she noticed something she had never seen before, something that drew a good number of people to the Kelp Bar.

Mermista smiling and partying.

"O-Okay, now watch this- watch this, are you watching? Huh? Watching? Watching? Good! Now this is gonna freak you out!" She chuckled as her face was flushed. With a wave of her hands, each of the dozen bottles in front of her popped their corks in a wave from left to right, spritzing as the waters burst through the top. They all gathered into one a large wave of beautiful surreal colors as Mermista waved her hands, collecting all the various juices and drinks into one wave.

The waters danced along her arms like a snake, the mermaid princess not having so much as a drop of it falling to her skin as she continued to chuckle, tantalized by the beauty of the water surrounding her. Lifting both of her arms slowly into the air, the waters began to swirl as they merged together, bubbling and frothing into a variety of colors between blue, green, brown, yellow, orange, and back to blue again to repeat itself.

Everyone was watching with anticipating as the waters began to separate, each of them forming a small glob as they danced around in a circle to each other, hopping individually as they circled around her in the air. Then, with one thunderous clap of her hands, she pulled all the globs together, causing them to burst at the center.

Instead of a watery mass that would've dumped onto her head, they instead scattered across the crowd as they formed a bright, beautiful mist, one that rained down around the guests. The specs of water were so minuscule that they simply sparkled as the lights reflected off of them, all putting on a glittery display as if it was snow.

At this, the crowd applauded in cheer as the show came to an end, Mermista giving a cheeky, wobbly, bow as the people watched, a few of them leaving as she did.

"T-Thank you- Thank you par-tree... P-puh-parteen- party, peep-Hic!-olesh!" Mermista swooned in her strange stupor. "I'll be here all we-week, or until my ride g-ETsh here..." She smiled, leaning against the counter top as she continued her random outbursts of laughter.

"M-M-Mermista, darling?" Sea Hawk spoke as he lowered himself to Mermista's head on the counter. "Maybe you should take a break right now?"

"What's wrong with Mermista?" Catra asked as she finally approached the Kelp Bar.

"Ah, Catra! You've got to help me!" Sea Hawk fretted. "I don't know what's going on with her! She's been like this ever since the arm-wrestling match!"

"Heheheh, t-that Sh-corpia girl, she's a real...a real... real real real good sh'port, you know?" Mermista chuckled as she drooled a little on the counter, face still pressed against it on her left side. "Ev-Ev-ON after she cheated, she sh'till shook muh hand on it and congradull... congrackle...con...cong... heheheh she thanked me for winning!"

"What do you mean she cheated?" Ok. Maybe Princesses were a little weird to Catra. This was far beyond the line of plain weird, even for her.

"She, per... prick... prickled... heh heh... prick prick prick...heh heh, it sounds like pickle... she poked me with some'tang on my leg, and then shudden... suddenly I'm just reeeeeally happy to see everyone, heheheh!" She turned her head over as she faced Catra directly with a sappy grin. "Hi!"

"She pricked you with a..." Catra's face flashed as she blinked with realization. "Wait, are you saying she drugged you?"

"Heh heh heh... you're a cat..." Out of nowhere, she suddenly grabbed Sea Hawk, throwing her arm over Sea Hawk, causing him to squeal as she pulled him closer, announcing to the world as she pointed at him with her other hand raised in the air. "He-Hey, everyone, everyone! I just want everyone to know...I LOOOOVE this man, right here... He is such a... greeeat guy... I love him shooooooo mu'sh!"

"M-Mermista darling, please," Sea Hawk begged, blushing as he tried to pry her grip from him, "you're embarrassing me."

"H-Hey, where did that Mermish'ta girl, go?" She asked looking around. "She said she would pay me if I... if I uhh...Hic! Threw up in the punch bowl awhile ago..."

"Oh dear First Ones!" Sea Hawk panicked, breaking free of her hold as he made a mad dash for the punch bowl. Watching him leave, Catra found herself getting pulled over by an intoxicated Mermista, the girl chuckling as she looked her in the eye.

"Heheh, I'm just kidding, I didn't really make the beh-bet." Her hiccup was followed by a deadshot look in her eyes, looking serious for the first time. "I don't trust that Mermish'ta girl. I heard, I-I-I heard, she's a mermaid!" She pulled Catra's head even closer as she whispered into her ear. "Never trust a fish, Catra!"

"Uh... duly noticed." Catra muttered, lifting Mermista's grip from her and wiping off what she hoped wasn't drool from her hands. "Hey, have you seen Adora anywhere?"

"A-Adora? A-A-A door...heh... I've seen plen...p-p-LOTS of doors today, Catra..." She grinned, drawing a circle on the counter with her finger. "What kind of door was it? Sliding doors? G-laaaaash door? A door... door? Heh heh heh... you're a cat..."

"Yeah, I get it, I'm a cat. What about that Scorpia girl? Do you know where she went?"

"...Heh heh heh... Cat rhymes with dog... Hic!" With another hiccup, Mermista ended up sliding off the counter, falling to the ground with a thud large enough to shake the various bottles around here. "Ugh, who put this floor here?"

"Ok, this was funny at first but now it's getting sad." Catra commented, looking around the room. Seeing how Mermista was out of commission, she made her way across to the entrance stairs as she saw Bow, now wearing a cummerbundt with the rest of his outfit, as Perfuma waiting at the bottom of it for him. "Hey, Bowey! Flower Girl!"

"Huh? Oh, hi She-Ra!" Perfuma greeted cheerfully. "Are you enjoying the party as well this fine day?"

"Fine's the last word I'd use to describe it." Catra shrugged, looking to Bow as he finally reached them. "Have you seen Adora?"

"You mean the girl who attacked Salineas before?" Bow asked rather surprised. "She's here too?"

"Yeah, she's up to something. We need to figure out what before it's too late."

* _chunk_ *

All heads, eyes, and ears turned to the ceiling at the sound of the lights flashing off, brightening just enough of the room to display the tranquil dancefloor and the hostess of the Ball, Princess Frosta, standing proudly at the top of her stairs to the Throne.

"It is my solemn duty as hostess to now announce," she decreed to the partygoers, "it is time for the first dance of the Ball."

All at once, the entire room filled with cheer and the thunderous roar of the crowd. One by one, dozen by a dozen, the groups of people rained down from the side lines. From the stairs, to the balcony, from the counters themselves, hundreds of people pushed and shoved as they made their way to the main attraction of the Ball, the dance.

Catra, Bow, and Perfuma found themselves helpless as the onslaught of people rushed them, pushing them ahead and separating them one by one until they found themselves on different ends of the room, all separated from one another and incapable of reaching the others as the dancing commenced.

All around her, Catra watched as, one by one, the individuals linked hands together, throwing their other hands professionally behind them. A certain awkwardness filled the air as she watched the happy, smiling, faces of the crowd stare at their partners. She might not have been one for dancing, but it did leave behind a certain ambiance when you found yourself in alone while being surrounded by hundreds of people at the same time.

That's when she appeared before her. With a hand raised to her, other behind her back, and a grin plastered on her face, Adora smiled as she saw her friend before her, looking as calm and peaceful as ever. Rolling her eyes to herself, Catra was incapable of refusing the offer as the dance started to commence, less she be kicked out of the dance floor for the other partygoers to enjoy.

"Miss me much?" She teased as the two danced in tandem.

"And where did you disappear to?" Catra asked almost interrogatively.

"Oh you know, a little of this, a little of that." Adora replied casually, dodging the question.

"I'm serious, Adora!" Catra raised her voice a little.

"Oh, hush, just enjoy the dance." She retorted, doing a small spin as she switched partners with another.

It was that time Catra found herself switching partners, one with a very sluggish looking Mermista. "Hey, Ca-AT-ra, buddy'sh!" She squealed. "Hey-hey-hey, li-li'shin... There'sh...There's this, cat I know... I know her I know... she looks ju'sh like you!" She leaned Catra back as she sluggishly danced. "I think her name wash... C-Catra too!"

"Egh... Mermista, it's me, Catra!" Catra groaned. Mermista blinked a little at the statement, then dropped her jaw deeply as she gasped.

"Oh, my gosh! You're the same ppppppperson!" She sputtered. "Heheheh, I gotta tell the other Catra about th'ish..." With a mad fit of giggles, Mermista found herself twirling away uncontrollably, being replaced with Bow soon after.

"Have you seen Glimmer?" He asked slightly worried.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention," she hissed a little as she crushed his fingers a little, "nice going with her, idiot."

"Ack-!" Bow squirmed in his grip, waiting and biting his own teeth until Catra loosened her grip. "What are you talking about?"

"Thanks to you I've been stuck babysitting Princess Crybaby all evening." She complained. "You mind telling me what you said to upset her so much?"

"Catra, it's not what you think." Bow said hardening his expression as the two curtsied for the second act of the dance, taking each others hands gently into the others. "She's been acting like she controls who I get and don't get to hang out with all night."

"Like  _how_  has she been acting?"

"Like she owns me! She keeps going on and on about how she's "okay with me being with other people", like she gets to decide who I do and don't get to hang out with!"

"What? Uggggh, Bow, you idiot!" She stammered. "She wasn't talking like she owned you! She was saying that because she thought she was being selfish! She probably thought she looked like she was owning you and she was trying to confess that!"

"What?" A slow raincloud of guilt started to pass over Bow's heart at hearing this. "Then where did she get an idea like that in the first place?"

"Uhhh..." Now Catra felt the rain cloud passing over her mind, from realization of who's fault that was and the fact she was responsible for causing the argument with them in the first place. "I... Might've... given her that idea... possibly..."

"You what?!" Bow stammered as quietly as possible as the mood lighting surrounding them shifted to a forest green. "Aww Catra, I can't believe this! She probably thinks I hate her now because of it!"

"Hey, I just gave her the idea, I didn't have anything to do with how you reacted." She reminded with a snarky tone.

"Mmmh..." As much as Bow wanted to argue about it, along with the fact they were still dancing, he couldn't deny that she was right. While she might've been the one to instigate the thought in her, there was no excuse for the way he acted either. "Do you know where she is then? So I can apologize to her?"

"Last I saw her she was on the balcony. You mind asking her if we can leave after this?" She grumbled as they switched partners again, swirling around the room. "I've had enough of this place."

"Hey sh'puddy!"

"Aww geez, it's you again." Why did she keep finding herself in an intoxicated Mermista's arms?

"Hey! Hey! Li'shun to mi'sh!" Catra used every bit of power she had to refrain from scratching Mermista after the spittle she felt on her face. "There's thi'sh udder cat I met, her name is Catra, toooooooo! You should totally meet eesh other!"

"Yeah, sure, she sounds like a real charmer. Now go!" She twirled again as she losted her latest partner. When she stood in place again, she found a familiar blonde haired friend of hers backed up to her.

"Hello again." Adora ginned.

"Ok, seriously Adora, just tell me what you're planning."

"I don't have anything to tell you, nothing you need to worry about." The way she spoke almost sounded like she was threatening her and warning her peacefully at the same time. "Just enjoy the night, Catra, ok?" She smiled as Catra leaned her back as far as she could be bent. Lowering her eyes down so she could see her friend again, she smiled. "Otherwise you might ruin it for everyone."

"What do you mean I'll ruin it for everyone?" Pulling her back, the two twirled away from each other, still hand in hand.

"I mean don't worry about  **it** , ok?"

Gritting her teeth, Catra hastily pulled her back right in front of her, keeping their noses from touching by a single inch. "What's  _it_?" At that moment, with the music coming to an end, right before the band started it's next ballad and just before the applause, Catra's ears twitched as she heard it.

* _tick-tock_ *

That noise. That familiar ticking noise. Growing up in the Horde, it had a familiar sound to it. Always a tick, followed by a tock, and always something bad.

An explosion.

This was the sound of a bomb.

Scanning the room, feeling the time around her freezing for a second, Catra observed every nook and cranny that she saw in those few seconds. She saw Perfuma looking at a distraught Bow, Sea Hawk trying to pull away Mermista who was still in her stupor, Adora's worrying eyes as she saw her, and no sight of the Scorpion lady, not that she was her biggest concern right now. Where did she hear it come from? How could they get it passed security?

How could she get it passed everyone?!

It has to be something small, if not something nobody would point out! Was it coming from the bar? There were servers and drinkers going in and out around there, not to mention Mermista who'd been occupying the Kelp Bar all day. The band's instruments? If there was something off about the noise, Catra should've picked it up in a heartbeat. The spotlights? They might've been able to sneak something up there, but it sounded far closer than the ceiling above.

Where could this thing possibly be? Where could it be hidden in plain sight? When would they have time to get it planted in the first place? How could they have snuck it in? Where could they place it? So many questions and she knew there was so little time to find the answer!

And that's when it hit her. Looking up to the stairs to the throne, right before the next ballad played, she heard another tick.

That was it. That one single tick that confirmed where the bomb had to be planted. It wasn't hidden by anyone, it wasn't brought in without anyone knowing. It was the Snow Globe itself.

The Snow Globe  **was**  the bomb!

"No!" Catra yelped, trying to pry Adora's grip from her hands. "Let go!"

"Catra, stop." Adora begged a little sternly.

"That was your plan, wasn't it?! You gave the child a bomb?!" Catra yelled, turning a few heads as the dancers kept going. "Let go of me!"

"Catra, stop it! You need to- Ngh, stop struggling!" Adora grumbled as she struggled to maintain her grip.

"Get off!" With one mighty shout, Catra rolled back, flinging Adora across the room.

* _Crash!_ *

Everyone gasped in shock at the sound of the large crashing. The lights returned to the room, the band went silent, and Princess Frosta herself grew rather surprised at the sound of the crash. Ahead of Catra, planted over a collapsed table, was Adora, lying in a mess of various foods, hair soaked from the punch, and a small dab of cream sticking to her right cheek. She was covered head to toe with the foods of the ball, and a total mess to everyone who gazed her.

Catra continued to grumble as she rushed her way over to the downed friend, more intent on her mission at this point than the state she left Adora in. She cared deeply for her friend, there was no mistake about that, but what she found Adora doing was just heinous. Bringing a bomb for whatever task required it, to a place filled with innocent people, and giving it to a child, even if she was the biggest brat Catra had met so far?

This was something possibly on Shadow Weaver's level, and knowing her, she put Adora up to this, possibly without her knowledge!

"Deactivate the bomb, Adora!" Catra yelled, oblivious to the deafening silence of the other guests and hostess.

"What bomb?" Adora's innocent line of questioning lead to her getting picked up by the scruff of her neck in both of Catra's hands.

"Don't you dare lie to me about this! Tell me where it is, Adora! Right-!"

* _crickkk_ *

Before the two of them, a large pillar of ice grew out of the ground, separating the two with a transparent wall of blue, large enough and wide enough to keep the two of them separated. Falling to her back, Catra was defenseless as pillar after pillar of smaller ice was formed around her, just scraping over her skin without cutting her while pinning her to the ground at the same time. By the end of the sudden grow of frost, she only one right hand out of the cluster of pillars, barely getting herself any headspace or room to burst out, though plenty if she planned on making a scene.

Standing right in front of her hand was the Revered Hostess of the Ball, Princess Frosta herself. The girl had loathed Catra with every fiber of her being just from looking at her. After taking her insults, taking her constant interruptions, and her direct threat to her the second time they met, she decided to ignore her warnings. She gave her each and every chance to behave here, even an additional chance, and she still failed to behave.

Here she was, a pinned kitten, standing before a princess of ice, Princess of the Kingdom of Snows.

"Frosta!" Catra gasped. "You've gotta get everyone out of here! She has a-"

"Princess Ball is a ceremony of unity." She stated coldly as she stood forward. "Violence is  _ **strictly**_  forbidden."

"Forget all that! You've got to listen to-"

"Silence!" She seethed, cutting Catra off. "You've been warned since the moment you came here, you've been given more chances than anyone deserves, but no more! As hostess, in accordance with the rules set down over the centuries, I hereby  **revoke**  your invitation! You are to leave my kingdom, and never, EVER, return!" With a scathing look in her eye, she turned her back to without hesitation as she walked away. "Someone come and collect this pet, and get her out of my sight."

"...Ghhh..." Catra's face tightened as she clenched her teeth.

No.

No.

No no no no NO NO NO NO  **NO**!

Catra could handle a lot of things. She could handle losing. She could handle people making fun of her or the people she cared about. She could handle getting beaten physically, talked down to by her superiors, bullied through most of her life, being called a freak, manipulated by her enemies, lied to by her allies, betrayed by her friends, shot down by the people who supported her, harassed on needless things that bothered her, and so much more without reacting to it violent the first couple times around.

But this? Oh, this brat right here? She was an exception.

She is every bit of everything Catra hated in a person. Someone who saw themselves above everyone else, someone who thought they could talk down to other people, got to say how people lived their lives, got to insult and mock them for their lifestyles, decreed who had to do what without opposition, and never thought about the consequences because they were well protected by an army of guards, idiots who would go around and protect someone for stupid money and not their ideals.

She was all of these things and then some put into one. And honestly, Catra could put up with that much. She could let it go if it was a simple person she met for the first time, whether they were royalty or not, someone of import that mattered to the Rebellion, and so forth, and she would contemplate what she would do to them in her dreams later.

This time, however, was different. Here, not only was she dealing with an obnoxious beyond all get out brat who thought just because she was the host of the Ball she got to do whatever she want, to Catra anyway, oh no. Here, she was dealing with someone who was being beyond a royal pain, both literally and metaphorically, as Catra herself was trying to help her! She was trying to warn her, warn everybody about the bomb, and did they listen? No. Why? Because they were every single reason Catra hated being surrounded by people.

There were too many different kinds in the world. Good. Bad. And worst of all.

Those who took advantage of both.

Not anymore.

"Agggggghhhhhhhhhh!" Catra screamed violently. With all the strength she could muster, all the anger welling up inside of her, she let out a roar as she broke her way through the surrounding pillars of ice, shattering the ice all around her, shooting it in every direction, some of it nearly scratching the guests themselves as the ice fell around them. Everyone watched in terror as the magicat stood her feet firmly on the ground, panting heavily at the burst of force she had to use to get out.

"I've had it with you you little brat!" Catra yelled, extending her claws. While maintaining a composed demeanor, Frosta couldn't help herself as her heart trembled a little at the sight of the enraged cat whose tail flailed wildly. "I've tried to be patient with you," she spoke as she stepped over the ice, "I've tried to apologize to you, and I try to warn you, and do you ever listen? No!"

"Eh, excuse me, hey, pardon me..." Bow muttered as he pushed his way through the crowd of people. Making his way to the front, he was in shock at the scene, hoping to himself he was imagining things when he made his way through. "Catra, what are you doing?!"

"Stay out of this, Bow!" Catra shouted back to him, shooting him a deathening glare.

"Catra, stop!" Adora begged as she attempted to pull her arms away.

"Ngh! Get, OFF!"

* _swiff_ *

"Ah!" Adora yelped a bit as she winced in pain, Catra blinking at the realization of what she just did.

"A... Adora..." For a moment, Catra returned to her senses. What had she done? She just scratched Adora's arm. Her friend. The one who's always helped her. It didn't matter if it didn't bleed, she had a notable scratch against her left arm, rubbing it profusely to ease the pain. Adora looked back to her with a look of shock, neither of them able to believe what Catra just did to her. "I... I didn't mean i-"

* **WHAM!** *

The humanoid feline was powerless to defend herself in her distracted state as a another giant pillar of ice grew from her right side. In one simple motion, the ice slammed into Catra's stomach at a vertical degree, slamming her and pushing her several yards off her feet and into the air, throwing her off and harshly to the ground to the throne above.

Rolling onto her side, feeling like she just got slammed by a table, Catra glared back to her attacker, grumbling to herself as she saw the child prodigy of ice make her way up the steps, a look of rage matching Catra's own as she narrowed her eyes.

She thought she had been lenient enough. She thought if she gave this stupid girl enough chances that she would eventually learn from her mistakes. But did she? No. She just had to keep pushing her buttons time and again, as if she got a rise out of it, never taking her threats seriously or listening to her. She always threatened, she always hissed, and she never knew when to stop. And now, she had injured one of her guests.

She didn't care how it would look to the general audience, provided they even cared about the She-Ra who attacked an innocent teen to begin with. She was going to throw this cat out of the house for good, even if she had to use her own two hands to do it.

"I gave you more chances than you deserved." Frosta scowled. Raising her hand in front of her, Catra watched as the girl's entire body began to glow with an aura of blue right. "And you refused them."

As she squeezed her hands together, Catra pushed herself off the floor and rolled out of the way, narrowly avoiding the smaller pillars of ice that grew around her that would've encased her in another trap. With her blood boiling with anger, Catra made a charge directly for the girl, intending to get her intended target if it was the last thing she did.

Without even batting an eyelash, Frosta raised both her hands to the air as she grew another pillar of ice. This time directly under her, she launched herself fifteen feet in the air from the pillar, separating her from Catra right as she was about to reach her. Unwilling to let this child beat her, Catra jumped to the air herself, digging her claws straight into the pillar itself.

Noticing the small grin this elicited from the young child, she quickly shot a look directly above her, hearing a rumbling coming from the ceiling. Directing her magic towards it, Frosta watched the cat as another pillar grew from the ice, this time from the ceiling, as it pressed directly in front of her and downwards towards the cat who disappeared from her view as it slammed towards the ground.

Thinking at first that she had caught the cat finally, she found herself growing rather surprised when she saw the cat now pulling herself around from the pillar she had created, somehow getting behind it and on top of it all at the same time. She was so surprised in her momentary state of confusion that she failed to react in time when Catra tackled her off the pillar, throwing the two of them back towards the main floor of the Ball Room.

Nevertheless, the princess of Snows refused to back down, or give this wretched guest a chance to catch her breath. Closing her eyes again, Catra watching as her body radiated the same blue aura from earlier, she found herself suddenly crashed into from her side by the fist-size pillar protruding from the ceiling, throwing her back to the dance floor where she crashed into a table near a handful of the guests. After getting a moment of clarity to herself from her surprised state, Frosta flipped herself backwards in the air as she regained her balance, planting her feet firmly on the ground as she slid a short distance on the ice behind her.

With the destruction of the party going on, numerous guests started to flood towards the exit, running in fear and terrified for their lives as the ground started to shake around them. The only ones who remained behind were Adora, Bow, Perfuma, Sea Hawk, Mermista, and an intrigued Entrapta, watching it from the railings atop the stairs, who took notes on the fighting style between the savage beast vs the young child who controlled a mighty empire.

The young Bow ran over to Catra as she pulled herself from the wreckage, growling like the animal she was as she scraped off any chunks of food from her shoulder, continuing to glare daggers at the girl. "Catra, stop!" Bow shouted grabbing her arm. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Get out of the way, Bow!" She yelled, easily shoving him off his feet and away from her right. Bow couldn't believe or understand what had gotten into her! She wasn't just throwing off the reputation of She-Ra, she was doing so by attacking a small child at that, an attack that hundreds of different princes and princesses were becoming aware of!

Nobody would ever forget the image of the icon of the Rebellion, She-Ra, attacking an innocent girl that was trying to protect her own party guests. Any time someone would mention what happened to the ball, recall the events of this day, they wouldn't be describing every detail on their own. Others would interpret what the attack was like, making the story more and more misunderstood with each rumor it was passed on to.

At that rate, everyone would only know She-Ra as the girl who tried to assassinate a young princess.

Not two seconds after pushing Bow away did Frosta gather another handful of her magic. Lifting a single hand to the air, Catra's eyes widened a little as a dozen small, albeit lethal icicles materialized in the air, all swirling about until they achieved a solid form. Directing her hand towards Catra, she launched a volley of the dreaded shots at the girl, intending to hit anything that would immobilize her, even if it was permanently.

With little options or space to work with, Catra quickly ducked down as she flipped the table over, shielding herself from the many icicles of death that penetrated halfway through the table, one of them nearly reaching her eyes in the process. With the icicles lodged into place, Catra followed this up with a retaliation of her own. Throwing her back to the ground, she kicked off the foot of the table as she kicked the bottom with both her feet, avoiding the icicles in the process, and blasting it towards the girl in one swift kick.

Like before, the girl found herself stunned by the sudden reaction to her own attack. Catra knew this brat might've been powerful with her magic, but even someone as young as her has never been in a full-fledged fight before, and it was during those moments of shock value that gave Catra a small gap of time to respond to whatever she did.

That would be her key to winning.

Try as she might, she found herself unable to materialize a wall of ice in front of her more than halfway through. Right as the table flipped over the small, sending it spiraling towards the young girl, she found herself getting tackled out of the way, the table passing by her as it flung towards the Kelp Bar where it crashed, shattering hundreds of smaller bottles and breaking through the middle of the Kelp Bar's counter.

Looking back to her apparent savior, she was awestruck to see that Adora had saved her in time, Adora picking herself off the floor a little sorely and still smiling to the young girl as she helped her up. "Are you okay?" Frosta gave her a simple nod, Adora finding herself relieved before glaring back to Catra. "What is wrong with you?!"

"Don't get in my way, Adora!" Catra shouted, sprinting towards the two of then furiously with her claws still extended, arms at her side.

Seeing how she wasn't going to learn her lesson, with the guards preoccupied with evacuating the citizens and royalties from the room, Frosta created a small obstacle course of ice, throwing pillar after pillar at the attacker who skillfully maneuvered out of the way, up and above and to the side of the powerful pillars, while making a beeline for the girl.

"Ahhhh!" Frosta roared in anger. Finding her patience continuing to wane further, the princess gathered the magical ice below her feet, creating another pillar that pushed Adora away and ascended herself directly up to the air, right at the very center of the Ball Room. With a better view and vantage point of her target, she prepared herself as she set up the ultimate trap.

From the pillar itself, she shot out another massive pillar in front of it directly towards Catra, the pillar being practically the same size of the girl herself. Despite noticing how obvious the attack was, Catra showed little hesitation as she jumped above it, stretching her claws out as far as she could as she pulled her hands back ready to strike. The brat made the stupid mistake of making a direct path towards her own pillar, like the rookie she knew her to be.

As she grinned to herself at her nearing victory, behind her back, Frosta channeled a large portion of her magic into her plan, preparing all the ice she possibly could for the would-be attacker. Right as Catra had passed the halfway point, the girl yelled as she leaped directly for ice queen, preparing to catch her target once and for all, not realizing it was possibly the last mistake she could ever make until the little girl finally grinned.

"Too slow." With that one simple comment, as Catra was still in midair, Princess Frosta pushed herself away as she jumped into the air.

All at once, all the ice Catra had used to trail up to this larger pillar, all the ice that formed the pillar Frosta had jumped from, slowly began to disintegrate, fading away as her trap was finally sprung. That's when Frosta showed her hands with the energies that grew around them, directing Catra's attention to the ceiling where she heard a rumbling noise coming from.

She gasped.

All above her, nearly covering half the dance floor itself, she saw numerous and perfectly shaped cracks in the ceiling, the very ones she saw whenever Frosta shot at her with one of her pillars. With a single wave bringing her hand down, Catra found herself incapable of dodging out of the way as pillar after pillar shot straight at her, slamming her towards the ground where the pillars continued their brutal assault on the girl.

With Frosta returning to the ground herself, she focused all of her energy into her attack on the girl, refusing to budge while also being careful not to overdue it, less she end up killing the attacker by mistake. She was against the act of taking someone's life, no matter what kind of enemy they were.

All around her, as the last of the party guests continued to flee, Catra's allies and friends all watched in terror as the girl used up every ounce of her magic into her one attack, covering the floor in a thick dust of ice that blocked their view of the magicat girl who was lead into a trap she couldn't avoid. Every time one fist-sized pillars struck her, it was instantly replaced with another, dissolving soon after to repeat the process in an endless cycle.

After what must've been at least a good ten seconds of the endless attack, Frosta finally eased up, panting a little out of breath at the excess energy she must've used, as the pillars surrounding the area slowly dissolved into nothingness. Here, the group waited till the thick fog of ice dissipated, lying and waiting for any reaction out of Catra who they had yet to see at this point. It was at the same time Frosta finally saw the aftermath of her present battle, finding herself unable to believe the destruction both she and Catra caused throughout the party.

Everything was destroyed. Everything else was in pieces. From the Kelp Bar being smashed into by the large circular table, to the top of the steps of the throne being crushed from where Frosta slammed a massive pillar of her ice, to the ceiling above that shattered a couple spotlights above her and crashed to the ground, it was ruined. What few guests had remained consisted of the rest of Catra's friends and allies, everyone else having fled for their lives.

A part of her heart sank at the sight of everything. She was so preoccupied with her fight, trying her best to immobilize the cat creature, that she failed to take fact in the hundreds of guests that used to fill her Ball Room, now practically empty because she let her emotions get the best of her.

Just like Catra.

This was not a transgression she would forgive so easily. With the fog of ice finally beginning to clear, everyone saw the state Catra was in before them. There she lied, face down and into the ground with her arms still ahead of her, passed out and severely weakened from the attack she had taken from the young girl.

Glaring, she walked her way over to the young teen until she was standing not two feet away from her. This person, this one single person she should've thrown out from the very beginning, was responsible for the destruction and ruination of her Ball, the ever enchanting Princess Prom had been ruined because of her.

Did she shoulder some responsibility too? Sure, she could admit that. She was the one who also destroyed half the Ball Room in an attempt to stop the invitee, though she was also wise enough to know that the blame could not be placed squarely on herself. None of this would've happened, none of it could've happened, if it wasn't for this one miserable person who had to be a troublemaker at her party. She was warned, repeatedly, and she denied all of them.

This was all her doing.

And her friends knew it too. They had no idea what had gotten into her or what caused her to act this way, and for the first time they didn't care. She was attacking a young child, one who was the hostess of her own Princess Prom, and the ally they desperately needed for the Rebellion. Whatever reason Catra had better have been a good one, because if she didn't, none of them knew how they were going to react whenever she regained consciousness.

"As Princess of the Kingdom of Snows," she began, "I hereby officially decree, from this day forever, that you will be banished from my king-"

Graaaaaaah!" With a mighty yell, with Frosta being too close to react in time, she attacked.

* _Skreeeee!_ *

"Ahh!" Princess Frosta cried out in pain as she was struck squarely against the face, throwing her a few yards ahead of the girl and continuing to slide another good distance of feet away. The attack wasn't anything too horrid, though it did leave a notable scratch on Frosta's right cheek. Wincing from the deep pain it brought as she rubbed it, Frosta slowly leaned herself up again, seeing the wretched She-Ra that managed to finally land a hit on her, standing where she left her.

Out of breath, out of energy, Catra panted. Throughout the fight she could tell she needed to close the distance between the two of them, and despite Catra's speed, with the Princess's magic she had the element of speed and mobility at her disposal. So what was the best thing to do? Simple: make the princess come to her. It was the single best way, if not the only way by this point, for her to get close enough to the brat for her to launch an attack. And while it wasn't anything she wanted to repeat a beating over, her body slouching over from the sores, she accomplished her mission in the end, no matter how tired she was from the excursion.

"You..." Frosta grumbled, wobbling a little as she made her way to her feet. She barely had any concern over the girl at this point. She struck her. Struck. Her! An attack on a direct line of royalty was one of the worst crimes anyone could ever commit, and she had done it with a cheeky grin on her face. The same grin Catra had at this moment as she raised her right hand up, revealing what sent shock to Frosta and the rest of her allies' spine.

The Snow Globe.

The same precious snow globe that Adora made with love and care into the craftsmanship. Looking to her right coat pocket, Frosta finally realized what her intended target was all along. There, she saw a noticeably large-sized hole, the pocket completely torn from the coat itself from Catra's sharp claws.

Being this close, with all the noise and ambiance in the air now silent, she could hear it perfectly. The continuous tick of a time bomb just waiting to go off, waiting to enact whatever evil plan Adora or Shadow Weaver had in store for the Ball since the moment she arrived. Upon closer inspection, she even saw an incredibly faded Horde symbol over the glass, a watermark almost invisible to anyone not in front of it. It was if it was taunting Catra about how obvious the trap was, how stupid everyone else were for being gullible enough to accept such a gift from the likes of the Horde.

She refused to let it mock her any longer.

"Ghhhhhh!" With a low-pitch grumble, Catra raised the mighty orb to the air, intending to finally end the madness once and for all, no matter how much the others pleaded her not to.

"Catra, wait!" Bow cried out.

"She-Ra, please don't!" Perfuma begged.

"Catra, stop! It's not what you thi-!" Was the last bit of words she heard from Adora.

But it was too late.

* _crash!_ *

With one single, solitary, throw, she did it. Lying in pieces broken and shattered below her, lied the shattered remains of the snow globe, one Adora worked so hard to build and one the Princess of the Kingdom of Snows considered to be a nice gesture, just for her. The water pooled out of the shattered glass around her, the structure inside now broken in half as it lied in littler tiny pieces, scattered all around Catra in a small circle, completely destroyed.

She attacked a princess in front of countless people. She crushed a little girl's present right after she struck her. She destroyed an entire party that should've been a pleasant night for everyone across Etheria. All the world would remember from this day forward was how Catra showed the world just how violent and extreme the hero of legend could be, what the hero of legend truly was.

A monster.

A freak.

All around her she saw the numerous eyes of her allies and single friend, and she didn't care in the slightest. They were mixed between shocked, surprised, confused, intoxicated while hanging over Sea Hawk's shoulder, and most of all, furious. Who was the furious one? Adora, naturally. Who wouldn't be if a friend they knew suddenly destroyed a young child's gift right in front of them, one they happened to appreciate themselves?

It didn't matter to her. After she recovered from her exhausted state, after she finally had a chance to explain themselves, she knew it. She knew they'd understand. They'd have to. Nobody could fault her of destroying a fake gift if there was a bomb planted inside of it, no one could stay mad if she was trying to protect everyone.

With her tongue hanging out from exhaustion, Catra finally sighed. "There... huff... it's over now... it's over-"

* _tick-tock_ *

No! It couldn't be! Catra could still hear the ticking going off from the pieces of shattered junk. It was still ticking! She destroyed the orb, she crushed the castle remnants. How was it still ticking after all this time?!

Then she realized it. The Base. The bottom of the snow globe that held the orb in place. It was an inch thick, several inches wide, and big enough to house anything the size of a sandwich, or in this case, a verily small explosive device that could explode into epic proportions, ones that the Horde were more than capable of creating.

"No-!" Catra cried out as she reached for it, too little to late however as the ticking finally reached its end, revealing to the remaining inhabitants what it had to offer.

Music.

Catra froze in place as she and the room heard the fine tune that composed the sweet and beautiful melody of a lullaby song. It was playing the simple sound of music, one anyone could fall asleep to, and loud enough for the rest of them to hear with the room being as quiet as it was. This was what the countdown was leading up to, this was the surprise waiting at the end of the ticking noise. Not an explosion, not destruction, beauty. A beautiful melody that she worked so hard to disrupt, one that caused her to lash out violently in her attempts to save everyone.

One that caused her to ruin the Princess Prom.

Catra didn't know what to say. Was there anything she could say at this point? She thought she was saving everyone from what could've been dangerous, being denied the opportunity to explain herself after the music went off. She had no excuses for her actions, no line of reasoning she could offer. She barely had an apology she could give away that would explain the travesty that had befallen her.

"I... It's music...?" Catra continued to stare at the musical device as it slowly started to die down, becoming more dysfunctional and distorted as the breaking of the device started to take it's toll on the item. "I... I don't under-"

"Catra, you idiot!" Adora shouted angrily, glaring at her. "I kept trying to tell you not to worry about it, but you couldn't listen, could you? I tried to tell you and you ignored me every time!"

"But... But I... I thought it was a bomb..." Catra muttered, still staring at the snow globe in sheer denial. "I... I heard the ticking, and... and... I thought that-"

"Well excuse me for not taking people with extra sensitive hearing into account when I made it!" Adora cut off. "I'm a little rusty on making a music box, so sue me! It didn't have anything to do with any explosives though, and it never did!"

"B... But..."

"Catra," Bow spoke steeping forward, "is this what you were all worked up about?" He couldn't process the revelation of these events either. To go all this way, all this destruction, just to destroy a snow globe she thought was planted with a bomb? How could they ever explain themselves to the world.

"I... I'm sorry, I...I- Gehh!" With a sudden yelp, Catra found herself pinned to the ground by a group of guardsmen. There were probably two guards for each of her limbs, pinning her to the floor along with the two separate ones pinning her by her shoulders. Struggling, she lifted her head up as her ears lowered, trying to look at the hardened face of the princess who she scratched, whose present she just destroyed. "P-Princess Frosta... I... I didn't mean to-"

"Be quiet." She ordered coldly and without emotion. She walked her way over to the pinned Catra until she was right in front of her, this time knowing there was no means of a sneak attack with the guards pinning her down. There wasn't a single chance she could break free after the exhaustion and injuries she took either. "The entire Princess Prom... all the destruction you've caused... attacking me directly... is punishable by either a life sentence, or a graver penalty." She stated.

The eyes of the crowd turned to one another in worry. They couldn't risk the chance of Catra being imprisoned through all her life or worse, yet they were in no position to argue back to the princess after all the destruction their friend caused, all the chaos that erupted. They needed to think of a plan fast, a way to stay Frosta's punishing hand from Catra's person.

"I should lock you up and throw away the key," she continued, "or throw you over the cliff side and let the fall judge if you're innocent or guilty." She had so much pain and anger in her eye. A portion of that pain was for herself as the rest was for the people around her she cared about. With a heavy heart, every bone in her body yelling at her to the contrary, she sighed. "But... I can't fault you if you were just trying to protect everyone." She deemed.

Everyone was at a loss at the merciful sounding words coming from her. They thought she'd punish her in the worst possible ways, possibly declare war on the Rebellion itself for this devastation. They had forgotten that they were dealing with a child mature well beyond her years.

This was the power of an absolute ruler. One who was cunning and wise, yet had enough heart to put themselves in the place of those who needed to be judge.

"Your actions are unforgivable but your reasons are not. Therefore, I am simply banishing you from the party." She declared. Was this supposed to be a good thing? A bad thing? She wasn't going to get executed, thank goodness, but this didn't put their relationship with the Kingdom of Snows anywhere better. In a way, it almost felt worse than it could've been otherwise. Waving her hands, this time for her guards instead of magic, the dozen of guards lifted Catra to her feet, slowly dragging her away. "Remove her from my castle. Immediately."

What was the point of struggling here? She wasn't the victim here, she was the attacker. She felt empty for the first time in her life, staring blankly at the spot, filled with remorse for everything she had done this night, for everything she ruined with her own two hands after everything they worked so hard to build. For one of the few times in her life she felt absolute guilt, knowing where all the blame was and who to put it on.

"Wait!" Adora called out, running up to her as the guards stood. They maintained their tight grip on Catra as Adora approached, not wiling to give the scoundrel a chance to lash out at someone else. Being right in front of her, Catra gazed into Adora's solemn eyes. She could feel a small part of guilt coming off from the girl, a guilt she had no reason to feel. She was the exact same Adora Catra knew her to be.

Innocent and peaceful. Too much for her own good.

"Catra..." She spoke softly. "I'm sorry all of this happened..." With a heartfelt apology, she slowly wrapped her arms around her captured friend, embracing her in a hug that provided her the only source of warmth she could feel at this moment. And from here, she leaned her head further to Catra's right ear as she whispered the most shocking of words to her. "But I did warn you, didn't I?" From the corner of her eye, she could see it.

All of a sudden, it flashed right before her.

_"What exactly are you planning here, Adora?" She needed to give her something else to think about, something that could turn this conversation around. At the question, she watched as Adora's face hardened a little, turning away from her as she leaned over the balcony again._

_"...Nothing you should worry about." She revealed, shooting a look of concern to her soon after. "Not if you come back with me."_

_"Hello again." Adora ginned._

_"Ok, seriously Adora, just tell me what you're planning."_

_"I don't have anything to tell you, nothing you need to worry about." The way she spoke almost sounded like she was threatening her and warning her peacefully at the same time. "Just enjoy the night, Catra, ok?" She smiled as Catra leaned her back as far as she could be bent. Lowering her eyes down so she could see her friend again, she smiled. "Otherwise you might ruin it for everyone."_

Adora grinned, letting Catra be the only person to see it.

This. This was the trap. All along, she tricked Catra from the moment she came here, by putting Catra in a trap she knew she would never be able to escape from.

By letting Catra be herself.

She played with her from the moment they got here, from the moment Catra first laid eyes on Adora at the Ball. She toyed with her past, she pointed out the flaws of their current predicament, she set her paranoia on fire from the single moment she told Catra not to worry about anything, reverse psychology at it's finest.

She made Catra into her own worst enemy, made her reveal herself as the monster Catra was. She did everything she said, told her every truth she wanted to hear. She  _did_  tell her the truth from the very beginning, all while knowing Catra would react this way and she would ruin the party. She took the bait and fell from the trap, never realizing all of it was a ruse, allowing Catra to ruin the party herself the way she knew she would.

Adora didn't have to do anything unnatural either except being herself, whereas Catra tried to be someone she wasn't.

And she paid the prince for it.

"N-No, NO!" Catra screamed as she was hauled away. "Let go of me, she tricked me!" She shouted angrily, trying to break free of the guards' grip. There was no fighting back against the heavily trained guards, ones that were trained since the moment they enlisted to protect the Princess and her people. "She set me up, I swear, she did all of this!"

Nobody listened to her as she was carried through the doors, Catra watching in anger as Adora grinned the entire time she left, her back turned to the remaining people as Catra was carried away. She paid no attention or mind to her allies as they all ran passed her, trying to catch up to Catra to make sure she was okay, wherever she was taken to.

Admittedly, Adora was a little hurt inside. To manipulate her best friend like she did, to use her as a means to show the world how evil the Rebellion truly was, it sickened her a little. Yet, if it was to prove her point to every princess who had an actual good heart, one Scorpia showed her to have from the moment the two first meant, then she didn't care. She proved to everyone how destructive the Rebellion truly was, no doubt swaying a few minds here and there about the possibility they lied about the Horde.

To Adora, the Horde stood united as the single force to combat the evil princesses, and protect the world from everything they threatened. She didn't feel any guilt from the methods she used to make this nice work, only guilt towards the one she had to betray a little to make it happen.

Looking back, she gave a small caring smile as she saw the other injured princess. Despite her tough demeanor, she could tell the princess was in pain, both inside and out. She couldn't prevent a single tear building up as she touched her, the pain excruciating for a child to bare along with the emotional pain that doubled down on it. Her night was ruined by Catra, someone she couldn't fully blame given the circumstances of her reasoning.

Walking up to the child princess herself, Adora kneeled down as she took a small cloth from her dress, prepared from every occasion. "Here." She offered. Still questionable on it, Frosta allowed her to place the cloth gently against her cheek, wincing a little from the sting as it was applied to her injury. "You know, the Horde isn't as evil as the Princesses make us out to be..."

...

...

"Ahhhhhh-!"

* _thud!_ *

"Oof..." Catra groaned as she thrown over the stairs to the palace, landing on the hard icy ground and grumbling a bit as she held her sides. While she might've survived Frosta's clever trap, she still had to contend with the injuries she took in the process of it. Followed by the hoarse tone in her voice after shouting through the castle for the last minute as she was dragged away and she was sore all over.  
"Mmmh..." She didn't know what part of her hurt the worst right now.

Her aching bones, or her heart.

"Catra!" Her allies called out as they made it through the doors, running safely down the stairs as the guards returned to the castle, two of them waiting by the doors as they stood guard.

"Are you okay?" Perfuma asked worriedly, kneeling to Catra's right side as she patted her back.

"I can't believe... she tricked me..." Catra muttered, still unable to comprehend what just happened. "She used my emotions against me... without having to pull a finger..."

"Catra, it wasn't your fault." She refused to believe the fabled She-Ra was as cruel or malicious as she made herself out to be in front of the crowd. She's seen her for herself, and there was no way that She-Ra from Plumeria would ever be capable of committing such an act of violence without a good reason. "She tricked you, she tricked everybody. You shouldn't blame yourself."

"The Princess is right, lass." Sea Hawk nodded, still holding a loopy Mermista's arm over his neck. "There are many nefarious individuals who know how to manipulate matters of the heart. No one can blame you for being a victim of these poor circumstances."

"H-He-Hey, guys, I gotta id- I got- I got an idea..." Mermista slurred, exposing a flushed face for all for them to see. " I know how to- I-I-I know how to cheer her up! Hic! I-I- I heard that- I heard that... There's...Princess P-P-Prom, going on today, tha'sh like... t-totally...legim...legitimin...le-le-legiter... true!" She squealed in a loud whispered tone as she chuckled. "We should t-totally crash it and have a bl... blast!"

"I... Think we'll put a pin in it, sweetheart." Sea Hawk replied, still embarrassed over the state she was in.

"Heh heh heh..." Mermista drooled a little as she slowly rose a finger to his upper lip. "Y-Your mustache is... p... purrrrtty..."

"Besides, it's not like it's all bad." Entrapta added, descending from the stairs by her hair extensions. "Since Princess Frosta knows why you did it, she's sure to tell everyone else who asks her about it."

"And what if they don't ask?" Catra spoke emotionless. She stared at the ice ground she was kneeling on with her hands and knees, unable to accept the reality of how badly they lost today. "What if they just assume what happen and don't question it later?"

"Well, then we'll just change their minds ourselves." Bow retorted tying to sound encouragingly. Catra was harsh, direct, even blunt at times whenever it came to talking about other people around her, and he knew she still had a good heart about it. Whatever sort of trickery was played around them, whatever this Adora did, she wouldn't get away with. "Catra, even if we lost public support, it doesn't mean we can't change their minds or prove them them they're wrong later."

"And what if we can't?" She didn't bother looking back to anyone as she spoke. "What if whatever we do doesn't change their opinion about us?"

"Then we just have to keep trying." He smiled back. "If everyone can change their opinion on us in one night, then it'll be just as easy to change their opinions on us over time. And we'll have their support too!" He gestured to the princesses and allies that smiled to her, regardless if she looked to them or not. "It'll be like how it always is. Them, you me, Glimmer- Huh!" His eyes widened as he finally noticed something out of place. "Wait, where's Glimmer?"

"I haven't seen her since before the dance started." Entrapta shrugged back.

"I think the lass headed over to the balcony when I last saw her." Sea Hawk said trying to remember.

"Gah, she's probably still inside somewhere." He gave a brief pat to Catra's back as he stood up again. "I'll run inside real quick to get here, you guys wait right here."

"Whatever..." Catra groaned waving her hand away. Getting back to her own feet, she made her way over to the ledge, dangling one leg over it as she stared at the remaining snowy kingdom.

Giving a noticeable concern to each other, Bow nodded to the rest of them as he headed back to the stairs where two guards remained stationary. "Hey, I need to run back inside real quick, I think my friend's in there." He watched as the guards gave a small look to each other for a second, turning back towards him as they waved their hands to come inside, telling him to follow.

He left the others outside as the rest continued to keep to themselves with their own thoughts over the next few minutes. Perfuma looked to the stars in wonder, trying to figure out how the Universe could pull something like this on her dear friend, Entrapta was doodling notes and sketches about all of the nights recordings and notes she took, and Sea Hawk was helping an ailing friend of his who gagged with dry heaves over the side.

He had a good feeling she would wake up with a hangover by this time tomorrow.

That left Catra with her own thoughts and worries about everything tonight. How long has she been away from Adora at this time? How much had Shadow Weaver influenced her, manipulated her, into the very person she was today? What sort of trickery or brainwashing did she commit to get Adora to plan out such a cruel and manipulative plan like this one?

Most of all, how much had Adora changed? She still saw her as the friend she's known throughout all her life, the person that protected her since they were friends. She always had her back and her Adora's, up to a certain extent until Adora just had her back. So much time must've passed, more than she realized it. She was using the dark energies Shadow Weaver granted onto her through the headband, and after today, she pulled off a wicked scheme the likes of which she's never seen from Adora before.

How long would it be until she became someone like Shadow Weaver herself? Would it be possible for her to be anything worse than Shadow Weaver by the end of it all?

The thought of it gave Catra chills as she hugged herself, feeling colder from the thought than the winds that brushed passed her in the dead of night. Seeing the snowy terrain around her, seeing how big this kingdom truly was, worked towards her sense of guilt. In one single night, she lost the chance to give the Rebellion all of this, all the support they've been working so hard to build. A chance that might've cost them the war in the near future.

After another several minutes had passed, everyone turned to the sound of the front doors opening up again. Instead of Bow with Glimmer, they found two other guards taking station outside the castle gates, without a single Bow in sight. While she might not have been allowed back into the castle, nothing said she couldn't stroll on up to the front of it, right?

At the sight of her, the two guards armed themselves with their spears, ready to defend the castle again.

"Keep your pants on, all right?" She waved her hands peacefully with an uncaring look in her eyes. "I wanna know if Bow found Glimmer yet." The two guards looked to each other as the rest of her allies came up to the door behind her.

"Who?" The right one asked.

"Bow. The guy who went in earlier? You guys brought him in with you?" She reminded. Concern started to cross over in her mind as the guards stared at each other confused again, as if she was speaking some foreign language.

"What are you talking about?" The left one asked back.

"BOW!" She rubbed her head trying to refrain from starting another fight here. "You brought him in or another pair of guards brought him in, it doesn't matter. He's in there with Glimmer somewhere-"

"Miss, I think you're mistaken." The right guard interrupted, passively standing his spear up. "We're the only guards stationed here for the night. There wouldn't be any other guards out here."

What?" The group said in unison together.

This didn't make any sense to Catra. Why wouldn't these two know about the other guards that were here a few minutes ago? It didn't matter if they all wore snow masks to protect their eyes from the icy winds, they should know who's who in a place as important as this one! Who else could've...

"No..." And like previously with Adora, another reality struck Catra, one she realized all too late.

_"I know you're not in control right now, Catra, so I'm not going to even bother with you right now." She shot her gaze from her to the smaller princess instead. "And as for you, I'll be watching you, got it? I'm not going anywhere until you leave the party. I'm not going to fall for any of your tricks, any of your wicked spells, and I'm especially not going to consume any of your poison drinks!" With a proud grin, she poured the contents of the container over the balcony, having bested the princess in one of her many wicked schemes!_

_"Ah!" The three blinked as they heard a sudden scruffy yelp from under them. Peering over the side, Adora's face switched from rage to anxiety as she saw the pour victim of her dumpage. "Hey! Adora!"_

_"S-Sorry!" She apologized back._

That guard knew her name. They said Adora. She wasn't able to pick up on the voice with the acoustics from where they stood a near fifty feet below them, their echo being drowned out by the music of the Ball, and it didn't make a difference. That guard knew her name was Adora, knew specifically that Adora would be up there without seeing her for themselves. Adora wasn't the only person Scorpia brought to this party.

They brought the Horde with them.

"No!" Catra yelled as she quickly shoved her way passed the guards, ignoring their demands to stop as she ran through the castle. "Glimmer! Bow! Where are you guys?" She yelled through the castle, outrunning any of the guards that tried to chase her after passing them.

This was beyond the realm of bad. This was a whole new night,are of bad. If the Horde infiltrated the castle without their knowing, there was no telling what they could've done or what else they were party. If ruining the Rebellion's possible future relationships was all there was, they wouldn't have bothered bringing reinforcements with them, there'd be no point if the rules of neutrality prevented any violence from harming the two of them.

There was a single place she thought to check, one place she's seen Glimmer at before she disappeared on them. Running through the castle, she barged her way into the Ball room, ignoring the stares she got from most of the staff currently cleaning and fixing up anything damaged, thankful Princess Frosta herself was either retired or absent from the room.

Dashing away, she climbed her way up to the balcony, pushing through the curtains, to see the very last thing she wanted to see, or expected.

The Horde was truly here. Piloting a scorpion-like flying vehicle, she saw all of them, everyone who went missing tonight. A disguised Lonnie and Kyle without their masks on, a Scorpia with an unconscious Bow passed out over her shoulder and in thin cuffs over his wrists, and a passed out Glimmer who was also cuffed, in the passenger seat near the final person she saw grinning back to her as the vehicle took off into the air.

Adora.

It was no wonder she never saw Scorpia during or after the dance by this point. While she was tying to stop Adora's plan, thereby making it come true, she was off capturing Glimmer from the balcony, Catra too distracted by Adora's schemes and mischief to hear any possible signs of a struggle outside, provided she could in the first place with the music blasting off. With the Horde being as manipulative and secretive as they were, it wouldn't surprise her if Scorpia managed to get the drop on Glimmer, the girl already shattered and distracted from her own emotional state.

And now she was here, smirking at Catra as she held her latest capture that carelessly walked through the doors thinking he'd be safe; Bow.

"Thanks for the dance, Catra."

"Adora!" Catra yelled as she ran for the vehicle. Adora sneered, watching Catra's futile attempts to reach them as the vehicle flew off over the balcony, distancing them a good thirty feet from the ledge straight ahead, too far for Catra to reach and exposed enough for her allies to see from the Castle's entrance. "We should do it again sometime. Take care!" With a final taunt, Catra watched helplessly as her closest allies flew away.

If any of that didn't bother her, the one additional detail she saw did. She didn't just take Glimmer, she didn't just take Bow, and she didn't steal the last ounce of pride Catra had left either. With Lonnie waving it playfully in her hands, she saw it.

They had taken her sword too.

Today was one of the biggest victories for the Horde.

And the greatest loss for the Rebellion.

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**A/N: So, if you're still reading this and didn't get fed up with me potentially ruining a character or something, you're probably wondering what i meant earlier about my struggle with this.** _

_**Well, on a grand scale, my struggle was everything... specifically everything related to the characters. I didn't contemplate it at first but it was actually hard to write out what Adora's plans/scheme was in this chapter. Why? Because i needed to do something that fit her.** _

_**I couldn't do something simple or it'd be boring, and I couldn't just do the same thing Catra had done because aside from being a direct clone of it, it wouldn't be fitting. I can't really expect Adora to do something so cruel that could potentially injure hundreds of other people for the sake of her mission, and at the same time i needed to give it something that was more fitting for her while still holding true to her values at the same time.** _

_**In short, I was going into this with a no-win situation :/ So if anyone has a problem with what I did with Adora, I apologize, but there was literally nothing I could do about it. Hopefully I still kept her fun and more in-character (specifically in this universe's version) along with her show's counterpart. If anyone had a better suggestion on how I could've done her scheme, I'd love to hear it. I dont say that as a mock or a challenge, I mean I'm legitimately curious. Otherwise, again, sorry. No-win situations are just that- no-win situations X/** _

_**Otherwise, if you did enjoy, thanks to those of you who followed along and kept to the story to this point! We're almost at the grand finale ^^! And two episodes away from THE SADDEST FREAKING EPISODE I AM NOT LOOKING FORWARD TO X*[!** _

_**Huff... Anyway! Hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!** _


	32. Episode 9: No Princess Left Behind Part 1

_**A/N: What is up fanfic people! Monokub here, more excited than ever to leave a posting!** _

_**I gotta be honest, i love the feedback i'm getting from the crowd, and major thanks for all the reviews past chapter. I'm glad i went the right route with that one, so special thanks to everyone who reviewed it specifically on Fanfiction and Ao3!** _

_**I also have to add despite it being as good as it was, I'm still nervous. As everyone knows, from this point forward, we'll continue to get into more of the feel territory of the show, and with the standards I've set up to this point, I hope I continue to bring you guys charming and loveable episodes and I don't screw something up X/.** _

_**With that said, hope you enjoy!** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

"Ooooh." Scorpia grinned as she stared at her reflection in the sword.

"Now, concentrate, Adora." Shadow Weaver instructed to the young Force Captain.

"Mmh... I'm... trying..." Adora grumbled as her right hand surged red electricity. With a red headband, one gifted to her by Shadow Weaver herself, she focused.

"You need to imagine it as a living creature, an animal, if you will." Shadow Weaver advised, watching as her pupil attempted to siphon the energy from the Black Garnet. "Once you assert your will over it, it will obey."

"I-I'm trying." Adora answered, devoid of emotion. This is what the training she had earlier lead her to. The ability to wear this headband and close her heart off of nearly every emotion imaginable. As long as she wore this, she felt little to nothing. She didn't feel sadness, she didn't feel stress, she didn't feel irritation, and so forth. "It almost feels like it's resisting me, like it's... scared..."

"It's a stone." Shadow Weaver retorted coldly, "Stone's don't feel anything. Now do it. Assert your will over it, make it obey your every word!"

"Mmmh!" She wasn't going to let it tell her what to do. She wanted it's power, she needed it's power to protect those she cared about and those who were with her. She doesn't know if this stupid stone truly is alive or if it's the headband itself playing with her mind the same way it toyed with her emotions. All she knew was that she refused to let it disobey her, not when she needed it most. "Give it to meee..." She grumbled as the electricity continued to increase in frequency. She barely felt the electricity as it glided around her right arm, though she did feel a tingling sensation between her hand to her shoulder. "Give it to me!"

* _BZZZZZZT_!*

"Ahh!" Adora yelped as she was blasted back. Having her feet planted firmly to the ground, she found herself sliding against the floor by her boots, the electricity still surging around her arm, leaving it in a trembling state. With a small sigh, Shadow Weaver calmly removed the headband from Adora's head, the emotions returning to the girl as well as all the pain that came from her attempted siphoning.

She held her breath as she tried to keep from crying out from the pain it brought, always feeling it whenever she was trained to do this. When she was wearing the headband, physical pain such as this was numbed to a great extent, possibly protecting her entirely so she wouldn't feel it in the first place. Whenever it was removed though, she instantly felt any of the pain or injury she endured if she removed the headband immediately after.

"Perhaps next time, my dear." Shadow Weaver said softly, pushing the headband's jewel straight into the Black Garnet itself. With ease, Adora watched as the energy around was pulling in the electricity, filling the headband with it's renewed energy once again. "You are getting better at it." She commented, returning to Adora as she gave her back the headband.

"But I still can't get it to work!" Adora complained, looking at her headband in frustration. "It's like something's blocking me from taking it's power in the first place."

"Calm yourself, Adora. Soon you won't need me to do this for you."

"Besides, you should be celebrating." The two looked back as they saw Scorpia swinging the sword playfully. "After all, you did pull off a big score today."

"She is right, Adora." Shadow Weaver tilted the girl's head up a little so she could look into her eyes. "You have no idea how proud I am of you. I can almost guarantee that-

"Shadow Weaver." Cutting her off, all three members of the Horde were greeted by the arrival of Lord Hordak appearing over the monitor. The very moment he made his appearance, Adora and Scorpia quickly saluted, standing at respect of the image.

"My Lord." Shadow Weaver greeted, standing before the other two.

"I commend you on the capture of the Princess of Bright Moon." He complimented with a sense of pride in his voice. "Queen Angella has been given until the morning's moonrise to surrender herself to our forces."

"Thank you, Lord Hordak. But I can not accept all the credit." At this, she pulled Adora by the shoulder to her front, gesturing her her proudly. "Adora is the one who did the hard work."

Adora was at a bit of a loss for words. She didn't mind being the one credited for the mission or not, even if it felt a little embarrassing when it was her own supervisor promoting her success. On top of it, she was being promoted right in front of the Leader of the Horde, the man responsible for starting about this revolution that could save Etheria.

"Ah, yes, Adora." He gazed upon her with curiosity. "When Shadow Weaver first told me about you, I must admit I had my small share of doubts. I am pleased to see that gamble has paid off. You did very well."

"T-Thank you, Lord Hordak!" Adora replied brightly. For the fist time in her life, she felt a true sense of accomplishment and success! This feeling of praise from a great hero such as him, it was such an honor!

"I expect to see greater results out of you in the future. Continue to prove your worth." With that, the communications from him was cut off as the screen went blank.

"Woohoo!" Scorpia cheered, bringing in Adora in a hug around her neck, rubbing her head playfully with the other one. "Way to go, Adora!"

"Hehehe!" Adora let out a cheer herself as she pulled at Scorpia's arm.

This was going to be a great day, she could already tell! They succeeded in their mission, they captured two members of the Rebellion, one of which was the very Princess of the Rebellion, they had that stupid sword that caused Catra to become whatever brainwashed slave the princesses used her for, and best of all, she got complimented by Lord Hordak himself, the very leader of the Horde! Life couldn't get more perfect than this!

...Well... almost. There was still the sense of guilt she felt over how she played Catra, not that she was given much choice. She needed to get the princess no matter how much she had to hurt her or herself. She manipulated her, used her, tricked her into letting her guard down enough for her to purposely give her the wrong impression, using reverse psychology to get her to react the way she wanted to. Just because she didn't have full control over her actions doesn't mean it made Adora feel any better. She could almost swear Catra was fully in control of herself when they were reminiscing about their past.

Her being here would be the one thing to make her life absolutely perfect right now. To be together again, fighting side by side, friends together, it would be a blast! Best of all, she wouldn't be in trouble for it! She knew whatever spell they used on her could easily be reversed, according to Shadow Weaver at least.

Speaking of which, that was the one other thing that bothered Adora a little as she pulled herself free from Scorpia's hug. "What did Hordak mean by gamble, Shadow Weaver?"

"Nothing you should concern yourself with, my dear." Shadow Weaver assured, stroking her cheek softly. "Now, why don't you go celebrate with Scorpia for a while?" Adora followed her gaze as she glared coldly to the Princess of Bright Moon. "I want to welcome our dear guest  _properly_."

"Give me some time with her, Shadow Weaver." Adora pleaded, refusing to take her gaze off the terrible princess. "I have a lot of questions for her."

"In time, dear, in time." Shadow Weaver replied, patting her shoulder before taking the sword directly from Scorpia. "Now, run off. I'll call you when it's your time to play..." Nodding to her in respect, the two of them did as they were instructed as they walked through the automatic doors, Shadow Weaver waiting until the door shut firmly behind them, then turned her attention to the aforementioned princess.

"Mmmh..." Groaning, she slowly regained consciousness, coming to as the feeling of touch was going off all throughout her body.

Pain. For some reason, all she could feel was a pain throughout her body. Opening her eyes weakly, she caught a glimpse of wherever she was. It was a bleak, miserable looking place that was devoid of any charm of beauty, save for the large gem she saw within the center of the room. Her dress was torn apart, her arms were stuck in place, and she felt weak.

Very, very, weak.

"Welcome to the Fright Zone, Princess." Shadow Weaver's voice echoed as she materialized in front of her. Using her magic, she began to engulf Glimmer in a shroud of darkness, enveloping all she could see into a black nothingness. She would make sure she was in stable enough condition for whatever Adora had planned for her, but until then, she was hers.

And she was going to give her a thorough understanding of why this place was called the Fright Zone...

...

...

**_The intro starts with Shadow Weaver in the Black Garnet chamber spying and glaring at a image of Catra. Than the image dives into the water of her scrying spell._ **

**_~ We're on the edge of greatness ~_ **

**_Where we have Catra at Bright Moon looking both determined and forlorn out into the distance._ **

**_~ turning darkness into light ~_ **

**_A scene of kid Catra and kid Adora training together in the fright zone under Shadow Weaver. Before being replaced with a image of Adora glaring at a heart broken looking Catra who's on her knees across a battlefield._ **

**_~ We're right beside you ~_ **

**_But than Glimmer and Bow teleport to Catra side raising her spirit back up, as shown with her surprise blinking when Gimmer offers her a hand, than she smirks accepting the help as she takes the lead ahead of them._ **

**_~ Ready to Fight! ~_ **

**_Catra raises her sword, transforming into She-Ra in a glorious flash of light_ **

**_~ (fight, fight, fight fight) ~_ **

**_Then She-Ra rushes off into battle with Glimmer and Bow following right behind her._ **

**_~ We're gonna win in the end! ~_ **

**_Mermista rises out of a tide, blasting Horde soldiers with water._ **

**_~ We must be strong, And we must be brave ~_ **

**_Perfuma burst from the ground, capturing and tying up Horde soldiers with vines._ **

**_~(we must be brave) ~_ **

**_Frosta rides an entire wave of frozen water, freezing Horde tanks in their tracks._ **

**_~ We're gonna find every bit of strength that we have ~_ **

**_The scene shifts to Hordaks throne room where the evil shadowy figure sits upon his throne, his red glowing eyes being the only noticeable part of him, surrounded by notable members of the Horde, consisting of Adora and Catra's squadron, Shadow Weaver, Adora, Scropia, and even Entrapta._ **

**_~ and never let go ~_ **

**_The scene shifts to an epic clash between Catra and Adora, the She-Ra gritting her teeth as she presses her sword against Adora's electrical baton, as the Force Captain herself grins with chaotic excitement as the red jewel from her headband shines._ **

**_~ (Oh ah Oh) ~_ **

**_Adora and Catra push each other off as they back up into their friends- Entrapta and Scorpia for Adora, and for Catra Bow and Glimmer._ **

**_~ We must be STRONG! ~_ **

**_The scene ends with a final shot of both sides looking across the field, a transparent image of Catra and Adora's faces filling the sky as the colors are split between them;_ **

**_A majestic darkness shining into light upon Catra's side, and a horrid light seeping into darkness on Adora's half._ **

...

...

Emptiness. Sadness. Regret. Doubt. Hurt. Confusion. Denial.

And Loneliness.

These were all the feelings Catra had right now as she sat against the door within her bedroom, kneels curled up as she hugged them, wrapping her tail around the bare toes. It didn't matter if she wasn't wearing her boots at this point. Who would be there to yell at her? Angella? Glimmer? Bow? Of course not.

Whyy?

Because they were gone. The Queen remained silent in the Meeting Room as the rest were gone. Abducted. Kidnapped.

It wasn't bad enough that they were taken in the first place, oh no, that just made it all the more understandable. They were gone because of her. Her, and her emotions, the very things that Adora manipulated throughout the Ball, the very ones she distracted her with upon meeting again after the events of Salineas.

She thought the dance was supposed to be the worst part about all of this. After all the cheer and partying mood her allies were in, she thought what she had to do after would've been the worst part, since it involved having a whole bunch of manners and junk training for the Ball. Then she thought meeting the bratty Princess of the Kingdom of Snows, Princess Frosta, soon after would've been the worse part after she made a fool of herself and insulting twice in front of the same person. And somehow, that still wasn't the worst part of her night!

The worst part came when also the best part came, that being when Adora showed up with another Force Captain named Scorpia. She thought she could prove to her she's not crazy, or at the very least have a nice chat with her after the time since they last saw each other. The socialized, they reminisced about their past, they expressed regret and hurt towards each other while admitting to the care they still had for one another. That should've been a great starting point to rebuilding her relationship with Adora after everything that happened!

Instead, she found herself betrayed. Adora left behind a bunch of simple clues to her wicked plot, enough to get Catra paranoid about her schemes to begin with. From there, she through in a word of comfort and display here and there, getting Catra to let her guard down enough for her instincts to kick in. That was the decisive factor that played in to all of this, because with the ticking sound she heard come from the gift Adora gave Frosta, she was expecting anything short of a Time Bomb.

So imagine later on, after causing chaos throughout the party when she tried to confront Frosta on this, in order to steal back and destroy the Snow Globe Adora gave her, she finds out it was a simple musical tune that was set to go off? All that chaos that erupted throughout the party, when she attacked the young princess in front of hundreds of others, when she ended up injuring her out of anger while trying to simultaneously grab the Snow Globe out of her pocket, it was all for nothing.

No, not nothing. Actually, it was far from nothing. It was everything Adora needed to make her plans see through to fruition. She played everything right down to the farthest detail. Enticing Catra's emotions, playing the innocent Force Captain of the Horde, being the sweet and caring person who gave a small child a gift? It was all according to plan to make the Horde look like the righteous ones around Etheria compared to the evil princesses that wanted wanton destruction and mayhem.

The very ones that also played a key part in the night's operations. Thanks to Catra, the girl struggling to do what's right half the time, made it all the more easier for Adora to achieve her plans. Have Catra, aka She-Ra, go insane in front of hundreds of people from different kingdoms, show how aggressive she could be because of the princesses'  _evil magic_ , and show everyone her lack of care or concern about hurting a small child. It went hand in hand with everything she did then, and everything she did after managing to kidnap Catra's allies, thanks to the assistance of her fellow Force Captain and her squadmates.

Since then Catra didn't know what to feel. She was played with endlessly that night, acting as every single domino Adora needed to line up so she could knock them all down at once. She admitted that in front of Catra's face, whispering in her ears, and reminded Catra that she had only herself to blame. She was so different from the Adora Catra used to know, the one who smiled cheerfully, the one who was sad when her friends were sad.

The one who wouldn't betray or manipulate her friends, no matter how peaceful, to succeed in her missions.

Everything that happened that night was on Catra. She didn't know what impact it could have on the future from this point forward. And somehow, that still wasn't as bad as it got for her...

...

_"...Queen Angella...?" Catra spoke nervously, her ears lowered in depression since the night of the Ball, as she entered the meeting room. The Meeting Room was empty for possibly the first time Catra had ever seen it, withholding a depressed Angella and a guilt ridden Catra._

_What was she supposed to say to the Queen who lost her daughter? The one she was in charge of always keeping safe? To hear how in one night the Rebellion's relationship was crumbled under one roof, and then lose a daughter out of a carefully orchestrated plan._

_One where the plan was to let Catra be Catra, at that._

_"I should've never let her leave this castle." Angella spoke, pushing her eyes into her hands as she rested her elbows on the table. "Not with you."_

_Ok, that was painful. As if she didn't have to feel guilty enough, she now had to deal with the guilt she had because the Queen had higher expectations for her than she thought, and she couldn't blame her. From day one she apparently had trust issues with the magicat, which wasn't surprising as her motives for helping the Rebellion were purely selfish, who she tasked with aiding the Rebellion while also ensuring her daughter and friend were kept safe._

_Two different tasks she failed miserably with in just one night._

_Honestly, this was probably the worst reaction Catra had ever gotten out of the Queen. Whenever she flipped on a task she was given in some way, she was talked down to. Whenever she came up with a plan that could either jeopardize the mission or put her daughter in grave danger, that was another thing. Those were the two most common reactions she would get out of the Queen by a day's end, at least once a week._

_Here, there were no words to say. There was no talking down to Catra, there was no shouting at her about how she messed up, and it was surprisingly more painful than anything else the Queen had ever said._

_"And now I'm forced to make an impossible decision." The pain in her eyes was spotable from a mile away. Incapable of looking Catra in the eye right now, all she could do was turn off to the side. "As leader of the Rebellion, how can I surrender myself to the enemy? And yet as a mother, how do I-?" She wasn't able to bring herself to finish._

_Catra would never want to be in her position, even if she was the Princess of her own Kingdom. To choose between the rest of the world, and to choose between the people you care most about. How would anyone be able to come up with a decision like that? How would anyone blame them for choosing one or the other?_

_With a sigh, the Queen rose from the table, closing her eyes with her decision made. "I'm going to accept Hordak's terms. Glimmer is all I have left."_

_"B-But... But you can't!" Catra struggled to argue, trying to sound convincing despite not knowing any other option to get her allies back at the same time. "You don't know the Horde like I do. They will **never**  let Glimmer go!" With the situation as serious as it was, there was no joking or nicknaming that came to her mind. "If you go there now you will just be condemning the both of you. If anything you're better off remaining here! At least then they won't execute her without risking their only bargaining chip."_

_"And then I would be condemning Glimmer to who knows how much torture." Angella retorted, shooting down Catra's argument in an instant. Like the Queen she was, she clearly thought out every scenario and possibility out of the book. "To lead the Rebellion with an open mind while subjecting my daughter to pain and suffering? What kind of person would I be?"_

_"...B... But..." Catra couldn't look at her in the moment. She wanted to say how wrong she was, she wanted to point out some big flaw in her scenario, and she couldn't. She couldn't offer up any form of resistance to her planning. She almost jumped as the Queen stood before her, so distracted by her thoughts that all noise became mute to her before she saw the Queen again._

_"I appreciate everything you've done for us till now, Catra." The Queen lifted her chin with her fingertips, giving Catra possibly the softest look she's had since meeting her. "If we're wrong about this and my daughter is safely returned, I trust you to aid my daughter's side until the war is over. Thank you for everything." Without another word, the Queen made her way passed the distraught Catra, the one who could only lower her head in shame..._

...

This is why it sucked to have  _friends_. There was no benefit to having friends in the long run, there were no possibilities friends would remain by each other's side until the end of time. All they did was make people softer, make them incapable of making rational decisions with their friends involved. You were expected to always be by their side and never turn away from them, even if sometimes those lead to dire consequences.

All that was guaranteed was the exact same thing that happened at the end of every friendship.

Someone would go away.

_*knock*_

_*knock*_

_*knock*_

"She-Ra? Are you in there?" Catra could hear Perfuma call from the other side of the door.

"Oooh! Let me try!" She heard Entrapta say, giddy with excitement.

_*knock-knock-knockknock-knock*_

_*knock-knock*_

"...Maybe she's not in there?"

"What do you want?" Catra moaned, still curled up against the door.

"Oooh! It worked!"

"Catra, lass, we want to talk." She heard Sea Hawk that time.

"Ugh... hang on." Catra grumbled as she stood, opening the door to see the confusingly optimistic faces of her past allies. "About what?" She asked, giving off a look of shame to all those who saw her.

"About the rescue mission!" Perfuma said happily clapping her hands.

"What rescue mission?"

"Well, you know... Your idea on how to rescue Glimmer and Bow from the Horde!"

"We're the Princess Alliance. And the Horde took one of our own." Mermista boasted. She also wanted payback for the massive hangover she spent all night dealing with.

"And we're ready for our first mission!" Perfuma stated with glee.

"...I repeat,  _what_  rescue mission?" The weight of the air around them slowly shifted, becoming heavier as Catra walked passed them and started walking down the hallway.

"Oh, Catra, don't be like that now." Entrapta said with a smile, standing above her as she was held up by her hair-like appendages. "We know you care about them just as much as we do. So tell us how we'll rescue them!"

"..." Catra said nothing for the few seconds she stared at her, opting to walk right under her and leaving her with a confused look.

"Come on, She-Ra, we want to know the big plan!" Perfuma asked as the Princess Alliance continued to follow them.

"There isn't one." Catra replied coldly, catching everyone by surprise.

Luckily for Mermista, she knew how to play at Catra's game, giving a smirk as she crossed her arms. "Oh come on. What are ya, scared?"

"Yes."

Everyone went silent as Catra announced this, everyone stopping in their tracks including her, leaving her back to them. Catra, the Catra. The one they knew since first meeting her, the one that always boasted about herself, the one who always did whatever it took to complete a mission no matter how reckless it seemed, just admitted she was scared. If they didn't know any better, they could've sworn they were talking to a completely different person as she squeezed her fists.

"...Oh..." Mermista was at a loss on what to say. Normally whenever she pulled the oldest trick in the book like this, the person she accused would retaliate with saying they weren't afraid, and after a little bit of banter, they would immediately turn their frown upside down and face whatever challenge scared them head on.

"You guys don't know the Horde like I do." Catra said, refusing to look back to any of them. "You don't know what it's like living within the Fright Zone. It earns it's name because of what it is. A nightmare.

"And that's exactly why we need you!" Perfuma replied, trying to maintain her optimism in this situation. "You're the only one with knowledge of the place inside and out. We wouldn't last two minutes there without your help."

"You still don't understand!" Catra yelled a little, turning her head barely an inch in frustration, keeping her face hidden. "I'm a defector here, and everyone within the Fright Zone knows it. I have a bounty on my head, the only person I consider a friend is fighting on their side, and..." Catra trailed off, finding it pointless to continue the neverending list of issues. "You don't know what they do to defectors there. They'll make me  ** _wish_**  I was dead if I'm lucky enough."

"Catra, it's not like we'll let anything happen to you." Perfuma assured. "We'll have each other's backs while we're there."

"And you think that matters?" Catra grumbled back, giving a small glare to the girl. "You think we'll all be fine if we  _work together_  or whatever garbage you're thinking? This isn't some trip to an enchanted forest or some travel overseas with giant flesh eating sea monsters! The Fright Zone's much deadlier than anything you could imagine, especially where we're going!"

"But... She-ra-"

"How long are you going to call me that?!" Catra groaned squeezing the bridge between her eyes. "My name is  **Catra** , not She-Ra! She-Ra's supposed to be some all-powerful perfect being! I haven't been able to do one thing on my own since becoming She-Ra! All I've done at this point is make everything worse, and if I come along, something's going to get messed up again." She made Perfuma jump as she pulled her closer by her collar. "I promise you someone's going to  **die** if I go!" She had little heed or concern about Perfuma's fearful and mournful expression.

"Hey, ease up on her!" Mermista told her, pushing between the two. "Just because you're scared doesn't mean you get to take it out on us."

"I'm being realistic compared to the rest of you!" She shouted. "Why don't you ask the science nerd what the chances are of us failing this mission?" She offered gesturing to Entrapta.

Noticing all eyes turning to her, Entrapta took out one of the data pads from within her own pocket, calculating and mashing hundreds of different calculations as the screen flashed a blueish light over her eager face. With a contented smile as she dabbed the last bit of data and calculated one final scenario, she finally got to see the end of her results.

As Catra expected, it made her frown.

"Well?"

Entrapta took a noticeable glance at everyone with a nervous expression on her face, silently gulping to herself as she read over the information. "Umm... w-well, provided we're going in blindly at the moment, so don't let that discourage you-"

"Just tell them already!" Catra shouted.

"...There's a... 27.3% chance we'll all fail and or die..." Right before Entrapta could press an argument to this, Catra interrupted.

"Good. Now tell us the chance of one of us dying."

Like previously, she gave a worryful look to everyone, seeing all their concerned faces for a moment, then went back to tapping away at the data pad with a little less enthusiasm. This time when she finally inputted the last of the statistics, her eyes widened in shock as a red light reflected off her face, quickly covering the data pad against her chest as she gave a nervous smile. "Heh heh, what do you know? It says we're guaranteed no one will die! Heh heh... ehhhh..."

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Anyone with ears could see through Entrapta's easily spotted lie.

"It's still not an excuse to do anything, though." Mermista continued to argue. "If there was even a one-percent chance that we can pull this mission off successfully, we have to take it. If Queen Angella surrenders herself then we all fall with her. What's your plan on that when the Horde starts breaking down the front door then, Catra?"

"I don't know, and I don't care." She scoffed, walking back down the hallway. "You guys have my support if you plan on going there yourselves, just leave me out of it... for your sakes."

The others looked back to each other with concern and worry. Catra was acting nothing like the rest of them knew her to be. This was a legitimate overwhelming fear going on through her eyes, a paranoia the likes of which they've never seen. This wasn't a simple fear of the place they were going to.

This was a fear of Catra's own involvement in any sort of plan. What she feared the most at this time was the realization that it all came down to her, her and anything she could think of. Everyone depended on her at this very moment to get them through some sort of plan, and the possibility she would mess something up terrified her to no end.

"What do we do now?" Perfuma asked.

"We can't risk going there ourselves without a plan, and we can't just sit here and do nothing." Mermista stated. "We don't have much of a choice. We have to charge over there and take a chance."

"Ehhh, that's a very bad ideaaaa..." Entrapta muttered looking over the data pad. "I know this might shock you, but I was actually lying when I said that nothing bad could happen!"

"...Oh no... I had no idea you were lying... I'm in shock..."

"I know, I know, and I'm sorry for lying about it!" Entrapta whined, having no idea of the blatant sarcasm coming from a facepalming Mermista.

The only one out of the group who seemed to remain silent about all of this was Sea Hawk himself, adventure extraordinaire. There was a strange feeling of semblance he could find himself with involving Catra. That worried look she kept in her eye, the deep feeling of guilt, and the worry she would mess something up when everyone relied on her about it. He was the only one who could fully relate to what she was saying.

"...Uhh why don't you guys get the hovercraft ready?" He suggested jogging away. "Let me have a word with her." The others had nothing to argue against, though it didn't mean they understood what he had to say. They hoped that whatever it was, it was the one thing that could turn Catra's mind around.

...

Why did they bother asking her about this? She was Catra, an ex-member of the Horde. Nothing she had to offer could be encouraging or helpful throughout the entire journey.

She tried being someone she wasn't before in Plumeria, and she screwed it up. She tried being herself the night of the Princess Prom, and she screwed it up. She could probably do nothing on this mission if she went with them, and knowing herself, she would find some impossible way to screw it up!

There was no end to the number of problems they could come across if she was the one taking charge of this mission. With her run of bad luck, she wouldn't be surprised if they were blown away into little tiny chunks the moment they set foot in the Fright Zone. In fact, she would be even more surprised if they went one minute through this entire mission without someone dying on her!

Every time she was herself something went wrong. She was cursed and regretful with little to offer whether she had the Sword of Protection or not. Suffice to say, regardless of involvement, everyone else was better off without her.

"Catra, wait!" She heard Sea Hawk calling to her, doing nothing to stop as she walked on.

"I already told you, I don't plan on coming with." He could tell from her tone alone that she was in pain, and not just from her refusal to go along.

"I know that, lass, I only wanted to talk." He was thankful as she stopped in her tracks.

"About what?"

"About you." He laid a comforting hand on her shoulder as he tried to soothe her. "Catra, I know fully well where you're coming from. Back in my younger days when I first started as a captain, I was wrought with fear and distress. Worrying about what I was doing half the time, what if my actions resulted in tragedy-"

"I already had this talk with Bow." Catra interrupted. "It's not a fear I have personally of someone or something, I just..." She hugged herself at the thought of it. "If I do something here, someone else is going to suffer for it. If I go on this mission too, everyone will pay the price, I just know it."

"And you don't think it's worth saving your friends for?"

"They're not my friends." Compared to the usual demeanor she had whenever she said that, this one was filled with a genuine sadness. She didn't like saying it as much as she used to. It was all she could say to herself to refrain from the guilt of the Princess Prom disaster. If she had no friends, she wouldn't have to feel as terrible as she did now. "They're people I work with. That's all."

"You don't say..." Sea Hawk, as opposed to being turned down by this notion, was actually a little intrigued. "Maybe the problem isn't that you're too afraid, Catra. I think your problem is you need a bigger push to convince yourself that they're worth fighting for."

"A push?" A push towards what? Risking her life for what will definitely be a disaster? Cause that's definitely something she  _wanted_.

Checking to make sure the coast is clear, she watched as he dug a hand through the inside of his boots, pulling out a small pinkie-sized key with a heart as a ring. "Here."

"What is it?" Taking the key from him, she eyed it curiously. It looked a little fruity to her, something that Glimmer would probably have given the heart-shaped ring on it and the pink color she saw.

"Oh, I think it's best if you discover on your own." He replied smiling. "I recommend checking Glimmer's room at that. Maybe inside of a wardrobe at that?" He took a brief look behind him and then back to her. "We'll be leaving in twenty minutes. I really hope you get the right motivation you need to go." Without another word, he gave the girl a simple pat on the head and then took off down the hallway.

What was a key supposed to do for her? Was it supposed to show her some secret weapon they had or some hidden powerful magic that could aid them in their adventure?

Whatever it was force, a part of her hoped that it would be the key to what she needed right now...

...

The room was barren and dark without Glimmer's annoying presence in it. Walking through the doors with a glum look on her face, feeling the small dresser along the wall with her fingertips, she sighed.

Looking back on it now, in a strange way, this is where all her adventures began since joining the Rebellion. Waking up next to Glimmer because she couldn't sleep by herself, going through the hallways with a pair of boots Bow helped her find in the Dressing Room, taking a trip to Plumeria as her first official meeting in the Rebellion. Everything that ever was came from this place, the place where it all started from.

It was a strange way feeling that loomed in the air without the dweeb's presence. Without her the room felt incredibly more lifeless for some reason. There was no perkiness that fluttered through the room, and no sense of sneakiness when Catra found herself stalking about the room for things to steal and make fun of Glimmer later for having it.

Which, is and of itself, rather dull since there were barely anything worth taking around here.

So what was she supposed to look for? Something in the wardrobe? Opening the wardrobe itself, she was unsurprised to see the numerous outfits Glimmer had. Apparently the girl had a lack of fashion sense to Catra's point of view. Her options on what to wear were either dresses, dresses, or more dresses. Was she supposed to wear one of these stupid dresses? Was that what he wanted her to find around here? What else could a young girl keep inside a place where she kept her clothes?

Shuffling around the clothes themselves and the shelf on top of the wardrobe, her hand brushed against something hard and wooden. Brushing her fingers closer to it, she managed to grab at whatever was supposed to be the big mystery behind this whole wardrobe. Pulling it out, she examined the strange box, walking her way over to the center of the room as she climbed towards the ceiling to Glimmer's bed, wanting a more comfortable spot to gaze upon her strange prize.

It was a box. A simple, book-sized, wooden box. There wasn't anything special about it other than the fact it screamed "Pinky" to her. It was painted in a crusty pink, the hinges of it had a vibrant gold coloring to them, and the padlock itself, big surprise, came in the shape of a small pink heart, no doubt the lock the key was meant for.

With a small breath to herself, examining the key itself one more time, she inserted the mysterious key, giving the lock a good twist until the padlock jingled itself, revealing the contents that this entire mystery was leading up to!

"...A book?" Catra rubbed her eyes to make sure she was seeing this straight. "That's it? No secret spell magic or weapon to help us?" Talk about the complete definition of the word lame! Oh sure, give us a book! It's not like an incredibly awesome powerful weapon or a magic spell could make things any BETTER! She almost wanted to hit herself for getting her hopes up like this, hating every minute she wasted of her life all for some stupid book!

At least until she saw what kind of book it was upon pulling it out. It was a Diary in fact. A simple, leatherbound pink diary, which, like the box, screamed Pinky's name.

 _Did Glimmer leave some sort of battle strategy or something in this?_  That might've been more useful. Maybe she left behind some contingency plan in case an event like this happened? Some secret plan that was essential if anyone else ever needed it? It was Planning 101 for events like this when it came to the Horde, and, seeing how she was a princess, it was possible she was taught to have situations like this too.

Against her better judgement telling her this was a complete waste of time, she decided to pop the diary open to the very last thing scrawled into it. She came to a page with a bunch of glittery headlines and sparkles filling the page with the words PRINCESS PROM written in bold. Figuring there was nothing else she could waste time doing, she decided to read along with it, imagining Glimmer's voice as if she was the one reading it to her.

_Dear Diary,_

_This is it! The night of the Princess Prom, ooooh!_

Catra rolled her eyes, picturing her squealing as she wrote that "ooooh!" in.

_I can't believe it's finally here! This is the day we've all been waiting for, the day I've dreamed of since the last Princess Prom!_

_I got to be honest, I'm a little nervous. This isn't just going to be a Princess Prom with me and all my friends, this is going to be our first official Princess Prom involving a diplomatic mission!_

_All of it comes down to how well Catra does tonight._

Catra's eyes lowered a little in regret. A part of her wondered if this was some sort of magical diary that could change the history of the world if she edited any of the lines.

_Everything is riding on her and how well she behaves in the Ball. We've spent the last several hours training and getting her ready for the Ball. She might still be a little rusty but I have faith in her. She's been trying her hardest lately and has been behaving a lot nicer to us since the events in Mystacor. I think she might really be close to calling us friends soon! All she needs is a little push!_

_I've got to go now, we've got a big night ahead of us! I can't wait till Princess Frosta joins our side!_

_Love, Glimmer_

At the bottom of this diary's page, Catra found what might've been the most ridiculous thing anybody in the history of the world could have at the bottom of their diary.

It was, as the words under it read, a Friendship Meter. Of all the cheesy things she could've written, that might've been the cheesiest. It was in the shape of a thermometer, one sticking sideways as the meter started from the left. Within the thermometer itself, the bar was shaded up to about eight tenths of the meter, being one-fifth away, eighty percent, from being complete.

Is that how much closer Catra herself was getting to them? Was she actually getting a little closer to them than she thought?

Come to think of it, why was she wasting her time like this in the first place? It was a waste of time! Tossing the book to the foot of the bed, she grumbled as she curled her knees up again. There wasn't anything useful here! How was she supposed to get some sort of motivation or weapon through all of this garbage? Maybe she wasn't? Maybe Sea Hawk had some twisted senses of humor and this was all an annoying prank he came up with!

Now she was annoyed, irritated, and ticked. If his plan was to make her angry enough to want to chase him all the way to the Fright Zone, he was off to the right track!

... Still... she didn't have anything better to do... and when it came down to it, she hated having to worry about all of these stupid thoughts. They were annoying, obsessive. Poking her head out of the curled up knees she hugged herself with, she took another look at the diary at the foot of the bed.

When it came down to it, as long as she was reading she didn't have to worry about her own thoughts. Sighing to herself, she resigned herself to some more reading, picking the diary up again as she skimmed through to the previous adventure's log written in. As before, she read it as if Glimmer was talking to her.

_Dear Diary,_

_We had a BLAST in Mystacor! Ooh, it was a fun experience for everyone! ...Well, almost everyone. It started off on the wrong foot for Catra. Apparently some black ghost lady named Shadow-Writer or something casted a strange spell over her, making her hallucinate and think all her fears were coming true and that she was surrounded by her enemies, and despite my best attempts at it, she wouldn't tell us what she was so scared of or why._

_Why is she so stubborn like this? Doesn't she trust us yet? We're not going to make fun of her for being afraid of something, no matter how small or big it is. Sure, there's some fears out there that are funny, like people who are afraid of cheese for whatever reason, but even then it doesn't matter. No matter what she says, we're still her friends, and I wish she was more open with us and trusted us to tell us about herself, from all the parts she likes and all the parts she doesn't like, like her fears._

_Aside from that though, we all had a fun time. Aunt Castaspella was instantly taken in with her, finding her cat parts cute. I even got her to make a sweater for Catra, you should've seen her face when she found out what she was wearing! LOL!_

What kind of person wrote LOL in their diary?

_After we saved each other from Shadow whoever, we spent the rest of our days relaxing and resting in Mystacor. Catra might not have shown it but she definitely had a blast! You could tell it from time to time with the way she smiled until someone looked directly at her, doing her best to hide her face._

Catra blushed a little as she remembered those instances.

_I think her favorite part was the massage, because she wouldn't wake up till dinner by the time she got her last one. I can't wait to go back to Mystacor again, cause I know by then, we'll definitely be friends!_

Like before, there was a little meter at the bottom, filled in at about 65%.

Looking back on it, did Glimmer make a bunch of notes about all the other stuff they've done together? She decided to check it out herself, flipping through the pages again until she came across one that screamed Dryl to her. How did she know which page it was? Because it's hard to miss when there's a bunch of doodles of wrenches and robot parts on the sides.

_Dear Diary,_

_Yes! Yes! Yes! YES!_

_We're friends again! We're actually friends again! Well, maybe not friends, but closer than we were before!_

_Today was definitely the weirdest adventure we've had so far. Up to this point, it was a bit hard to tell if Catra would ever forgive me for what happened in Salineas. Every time I met her she just stared at me with a glare in her eye. Half the time I bumped into her in the halls I almost thought she wanted to kill me._

...Is that how Catra truly looked to her when she was mad?

_But after today, everything's back to normal, and I can tell we reached a new milestone! It got weird during the mission when Catra got infected by some computer virus thing Entrapta built. I admit it was a little funny too, but still weird. She acted like a mix between a house cat and a tiger. She was protective of the people she barely knew, me and Bow, fought off any of the evil robots that tried to kill us, and, kind of like a cat, for some reason she ended up licking my face._

Catra nearly did a doubletake on that last line, covering her mouth as her face momentarily turned pale green. Immediately she licked her hands rapidly, trying to get any tiny bit of Glimmer's face off her saliva. She would have to drink acid before she ever felt clean again she was so disgusted!

Swallowing whatever lunch almost worked it's way up her throat, she continued.

_I admit, I got really worried for a second there. Entrapta told us if we didn't fix Catra in time that the one we knew could be gone forever, and we didn't want that._

"They... didn't?" Catra asked herself. Those two didn't want Catra to be anyone other than what she was? Why? What was so interesting about the current Catra that they wanted to keep behind. Is it the fact this is possibly the only version of Catra they wanted because she can turn into She-Ra that times? That must be it!

Why... else would they want this version of Catra?

_She's too important to us. Most of all, it wouldn't be fair. We don't want to change the way Catra is from how she is, no matter how much she hated me at the moment. Luckily for us, she pulled through for us at the end like she always does. Even after she was being controlled by the virus, she managed to fight through and stop the machines, just for us!_

She doesn't really know what was going on through her mind during that time. The events that went on through her dreamlike vision was a little hazy these days, only remembering how scarring it was by the time she snapped out of it.

_The best part of the day was the very end though. I finally decided to confront Catra about her hate for me. I didn't want to be like this for the rest of my life, worrying about whether or not she hated me or if she could ever get over it again. And to my surprise, guess what she said?_

_She said possibly the nicest thing she ever said to us! To her, she disliked us the least! After all this time, just when I was starting to have doubts if we were ever going to be friends or if she was never going to like us, she finally gave us a sign! I knew if we tried hard enough she might start to warm up to us! I really can't wait to see where it goes from here. Even if it takes a year, I know we'll be friends for sure!_

Catra shrugged to herself mentally as she saw the meter, this time reading a whopping 50% full with lines exaggerating how amazing this realization was. She had a dozen rainbows around it, a butterfly or two, and she circled it repeatedly like it was the greatest thing ever!

Who knows what kind of marvel the next diary page had. Flipping quickly to the page, her curiosity was met with a grim outlook as she saw the lack of words this one had to it, with a giant noticeable X crossing out the meter entirely. She didn't even give it a proper introduction this time.

_Diary_

_I don't want to talk about today, it was horrible. All I can say is-_

Catra noticed some dried up tear stains on the pages, knowing it was from the events of Salineas. Did she really push so hard on Glimmer that day? Enough to make her cry?

_I messed up. I messed up super bad. I don't know how it happened, but she counted on me for the first time. She said how she trusted me for the very first time since meeting me, and I let her down. I don't know how important this Adora girl is to her, but all I know is I messed up. She won't talk to me, she won't stand near me, she hardly wants to look at me. What if I ruined any chance of being friends with her? What if I ruined any chance of her helping us ever again?_

_All I can say is I'm sorry Catra. I'm so so sorry. I really wish I was brave enough to come out and say it to her in person, but I'm too scared. I've never seen her like this and I'm too scared to approach her when I need it most. No wonder she doesn't want to be friends with us. How can I blame her when I can't help her when she most needs it? I suck!_

That... that wasn't right... She didn't suck to Catra... did she? She was mad, sure. she didn't want to talk to her for awhile, but...

"Is that really how I was?" She found herself asking again. What exactly was the point of this whole diary page reading? At first, it seemed a little interesting, and fun when you consider the fact she was doing something so sneaky too! After all, a girl's diary was full of private things, and who knew what sort of secrets lied dormant within the world of another?

Doing her best to ignore the saddening entry, she flipped over to the previous adventure's entry, specifically the one to Plumeria, the very first mission she ever did with Glimmer and Bow, indicated by the numerous flower drawings this time off to the sides of the entry.

_Dear Diary,_

_Today I got to see a side of Catra I didn't expect from someone from the "Evil Horde" army. Today she showed a bit of her sensitive and neglected side._

_All throughout the day, she was acting prideful. She was taking in the attention she gained from just being She-Ra, she made it a habit to show off in front of everyone as much as possible, and she was treated like a Queen who didn't earn it, She didn't turn down anyone who gave her the slightest bit of attention, and I thought she was acting like a selfish jerk._

_But then I found out there was a reason for it, one I still regret not thinking about sooner because she was a member of the Horde. She wasn't craving the attention because she wanted it, she wasn't showing off just to show off._

_She was doing it because she needed it. I don't think she's ever seen what true compassion and care looks like, and she was engulfed in a swarm of it. She was given so much care for the first time that she didn't know how else to act because of it. She needed the attention, she wanted to know how it felt to be cared for by somebody else._

_In that sense, it's a really sad thought. To live an entire life where no one seemed to give you the attention you deserved, the attention you wanted. I wonder if I could've ended up like her at this point if my parents never loved me? The thought of it scares me, and at the same time I wish she could have a family. I wouldn't mind sharing mom with her if she wasn't scared of her. I'd be like her little or older sister (Note to self: ask her how old she is), and Bow would be like her brother. If dad was still alive I'm sure he'd love to meet her._

Catra shook her head at this with a small smile. Somehow it sounded exactly like something Pinky would say.

_And tonight's going to be a blast! She doesn't know it yet but we're planning a surprise slumber party! I wonder if she ever had a sleepover before? Either way, I'm sure she'll be excited about it. Who knows, we might even be able to have a couple this week since I'm grounded for a little bit. Oh well._

Yeah, Catra was still contemplating how that adventure was for it. It was about the perfect balance between good and bad in a day, though she would've preferred the bad part of it first and then have it be as good as it was earlier that day.

In terms of the meter, it was filled in about 30% full. Maybe that was a little more than what it should've been, maybe not.

With all the stuff coming to her, she flipped through the pages again until she found the very first entry, the first one Glimmer filled in immediately after meeting Catra for the first time. It was also the biggest entry out of all of them.

_Dear Diary,_

_This is by far the strangest day I've had. After mom grounded me this morning, I had enough. I wanted to prove to her I wasn't a child anymore and that I can be taken more seriously. So I did the most sensible thing I could think of at that moment- I ran away and went off into the dangerous woods with my friend in the search of some ancient First Ones tech._

_Hey I said it was sensible in the moment only._

_And after searching the woods for several hours, guess what we happened to bump into? A sword created by the First Ones called the Sword of Protection, and a cat. And no I don't mean an average cat, I mean a person._

_Her name is Catra, and she's from the Horde. I really don't know what to say about her. At first, I thought she was a huge jerk. Throughout the entire time she tagged along with us because she wanted that sword, she was a pain. She annoyed me, picked on me, and for some reason decided to call me "Pinky" for whatever reason. Seriously, only my hair is pink, my outfit is closer to purple. Why not something like "Violet" or even "Purpley"? I'd take it._

_What's so annoying about her is the fact the sword chose her. She saved us from a monster when she turned into some mystical warrior known as She-Ra, who was supposed to be a symbol of hope, peace, and prosperity to all. Catra is the exact OPPOSITE of that!_

Catra's ears drooped as she felt like Glimmer was actually shouting that at her.

_She's snide, she doesn't seem that interested in being a hero, and I'd hate to say it but I'm a little jealous. Why did the sword pick her to be the hero? Why not someone more fitting? Even my mom would make a greater She-Ra than her! She has all this power and she doesn't know what to do with it. I don't even think she can turn it off. Why did the sword give it to her of all people?_

Was this supposed to be the big revelation behind everything? A whole page's worth of garbage and insults directed at her? If she wanted to be berated by someone she'd just stay inside the Horde for crying out loud! This didn't have anything useful to it, this didn't give her any motivation to go save her! It didn't matter if she thought this at first and changed her mind over time, for all Catra knew this is how she felt even today!

That was when she noticed there was a lack of a friendship meter at the end of it. Did she not have enough space to write it in? Reexamining the page, she noticed how it didn't seem to have much of an ending either compared to the other entries. Deciding to give it a check, she found the following page continued the diary entry.

_But that's what I thought only at first. She still doesn't seem to know whether she wants to be a hero herself or not, but after the day's experience, I can say she has the qualities of one._

Is this the same person writing this all of a sudden?

_Looking back on the days events now, she did a lot more than I originally thought. She saved us from a giant monster, she stuck by our side until I woke up. She got a Force Captain to call off a Horde invasion in the middle of Thaymor, and a few hours ago, I learned she actually saved a little girl named Kim from a collapsing building! She risked her life, the one she seemed more interested in, to save a child!_

_I felt stupid thinking she wasn't hero material anymore since then. Even if I still don't know what kind of person she wants to be, I think I know now what kind of person she is._

_Anything. She is any kind of person she wants to be. She can be a glorious fighter, she could be the hero we need, she could very well be the person to save our entire Rebellion, she could be anyone she wants to be. She taught me a hero can come from anywhere, regardless of where they're born._

_Throughout the entire day, I think what I learned the most is how dependable she can be. She might always be the one to charge in head first, she might be reckless, and she might even mess up a few times along the way. But deep down, I'm pretty sure, she can be the one thing this Rebellion needs most of all._

_Someone who can be there for you when you need her the most._

* _drip_ *

Catra blinked as she felt a single tear rolling down her face, making a noticeable wet mark on the page she was just reading.

Why? Why did she have to make her heart ache like this? Why did she have to do something like this to always get under Catra's skin? What did she ever do to her?!

Did Glimmer not like her? Did she get some sick amusement by making Catra's chest hurt like this? Why did she have to be so cruel to her? Why did she have to make her suffer like this? With this guilt, with this burden she's had since day one? Why did she have to be so nice to her from the very moment they met each other?

And when she looked down at the page, she saw the meter. Not one bit of it was filled in. All it had was a single question mark written within the very center of the thermometer.

She didn't need it anymore at this point. After everything she read, everything she's seen in Glimmer's Diary, she was pretty sure she knew where she was at that moment...

...

...

* _Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuummmmmmmmm-_ *

The mechanized skiff hummed to life as it was prepared. The winds wouldn't offer any resistance, the weather was nice and fitting for such a day like this, and the lack of clouds gave a much more positive omen than not.

The remaining members of the Princess Alliance looked at one another with uncertainty, all wondering the same various things. What would their chances be to go in guns a blazin' and hope for the best? What were the chances any of them could come out of this alive without any sort of plan? How much longer was Sea Hawk going to make them wait here? And was Catra truly going to join them or not at this point?

"How much longer do we have to wait?" Mermista groaned crossing her arms.

"Mr. Sea Hawk sir, are we prepared to leave yet?" Perfuma asked a little worried. Every minute they didn't leave was another minute the Queen would most likely make her way to the Fright Zone.

Looking at his Pocket Watch hit the hour mark, he sighed. "I really thought the lass was going to come with us..." He couldn't entirely blame her for being too afraid at this rate. Even after waiting an extra ten minutes, it didn't seem like she was going to show up any time soon. There was no sign of her at the door and they were already running out of time as it is. "I suppose now would be a good time as any." He said to the others. Shaking his head back to the empty entrance, he grabbed on to one of Entrapta's extensions as she helped him up to the skiff.

"Ok, so if we take it nice and slow, I think we can improve our odds of survival." Entrapta stated, tapping across her data pad as she wore her red-eyed mask.

"Are you kiddin'?" Mermista gave a grin as she punched her fist into her palm. "I say we hit something hard to make a distraction, then we'll pull those two out of there."

"Maybe one of the other members of the Horde would be willing to assist us?" Perfuma suggested. "If Catra was willing to defect, there's a possible chance someone else might help?"

"Are you kidding? None of those doofuses are anywhere as reliable as me." Catra sneered, leaning back in the skiff as it continued to hover.

"Well we have to do something, Catra. I mean if you're not going to join us then...!" Perfuma's, along with everyone else's eyes, widened in surprise and shock at the realization.

"CATRA!" They called out with joy in unison.

Sure enough, just like they saw for themselves, there was Catra, giving her usual cheeky grin and prideful smile to the rest of them.

"Come on, you guys didn't seriously think you'd last two minutes without me, right?" She commented, setting a small sack down in front of her. She didn't pay it any mind as Sea Hawk patted her on the back.

"It's nice to see you changed your mind, lass." He never felt so proud to have her as one of her crew members.

"I didn't think you'd actually show up." Mermista admitted. "You seemed sure of yourself when you said you didn't plan to go."

"Yeah, well... " Catra blushed a little as she turned away. "I'm just paying them back for everything up to this point. But if any of them ask you, I went with you guys kicking and screaming. Got it?"

"Fine by me, She-Ra!" Perfuma said with glee, preferring to address her by her heroic name.

"That reminds me, why did you have a key to Glimmer's Diary?" Directing her question to the moustache captain as she handed the key back, all other girls shot him a look of shock and anger as one of fear filled his own.

"I- Err... Don't seem to know what you're referring to lass-" Any and all attempts he had to cover up his involvement was shredded to pieces as Mermista grabbed him by the neck.

"You went through another lady's diary again?!" She stammered.

"Mr. Sea Hawk, I am surprised with you!" Perfuma exclaimed, blushing a little. "A girl's diary is one of the most sacred things on this planet!"

"I-It's not like I make a habit of sneaking into people's lives and reading their diaries, honest!" He panicked shaking his head. "I-I mean if I did that, I would know Mermista kept hers in a false bottom of her dresser-ACK!" He gagged as Mermista tightened her grip to the point of suffocation.

"I'M FEEDING YOU TO THE SHARKS WHEN I GET HOME!"

Despite the apparent threat made in front of the remaining Princess Alliance members, all three of the others just laughed at this silly display, Catra included. She had to admit, it felt a little bit better to laugh like this after everything she's been through, actually feeling like she belonged here for once.

At the sight of everyone together again, Entrapta lifted the mask to show off her grin. Like all the other times, she tapped away quickly against her Data Pad. Compared to all the other times, this time she was met with completely satisfying results. "I think our chances of everyone surviving this just raised dramatically." She happily stated.

"Then you'll like them after this, because now, I got a plan." As Catra said this, the skiff began to take off, flying through the air as they headed straight for the Fright Zone.

It was time to go save her Friends.

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**A/N: And another fun-filled chapter done. As said, hope people are continuing to enjoy this. Hard part about this is continuing to make this both an emotional struggle as well as some happy times throughout the majority of it, something She-Ra 2018 does perfectly in my opinion.** _

_**With that said, shout out again to the fans who've kept supporting me up to this point! I hope you all enjoyed today's episode! Leave a like, follow, fave, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!** _


	33. Episode 9: No Princess Left Behind Part 2

_**A/N: *awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwn* I gota tell ya people...awwwwwnnnn... I am very tired X/ like stupendously tired. Why? Cause I've been up since 3:30 AM (don't ask long story). Best I can state with a long story short, expect the first half of this to be wonky with the grammar, dialogue, writing, etc, cause that's when I was most tired (kinda ironic when you think about it since i should be more tired right now XP).** _

_**Anyway, hope everyone enjoys this as we get some more humor to help make up for the feels we got all of last chapter ^^ followed by some feels by the end...bewarrrrrrrre...** _

**_Enjoy!_ **

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

Bow continued to stew in his own thoughts as he remained within the prison cell. There were so many thoughts plaguing his mind right now that he didn't even know where to begin.

How about from the beginning? Like when he foolishly went back inside of a palace with the assistance of two guards, who instead turned out to be two members of the Horde in disguise. A part of him wondered why they looked so familiar. While they still had masks on, the way they spoke was vaguely similar to the people he met before when they invaded Salineas in an attempt to destroy the Sea Gate and capture Catra the first time.

Maybe his problems actually began when he went off on a tangent when he decided to shout at Glimmer for no reason? Perhaps saying there wasn't a reason wasn't completely accurate. He thought she was being possessive of him, like everything that went through his life was something she got to choose or decide. Being a little put off by how weird she was being throughout the entire day, he berated and scolded her about how he was free to choose how to live his life, not her.

And not ten minutes after that, he found out she got the idea from Catra, and she was trying to apologize for seeming that way, not that she was that way. So not only was he regretting his decisions and how he appeared to her, he was also dealing with the fact that wherever Glimmer was right now, she probably thought he still hated her.

This place was saddening enough without such thoughts.

Or perhaps his real issues began the moment he woke up from his own capture, finding himself within the Fright Zone itself? Beaten, bruised, and battered, he found himself thrown into a jail cell behind an electrical barrier. Save for a single bed and a toilet, there was little to nothing within this place that could help him get out.

The prison itself was nothing to the likes of which he's ever seen before. Within the center of it lied, what he assumed to be, the control station for all of these cells, or possibly the prison itself. All around the place, from what little he could see from the entrance when the force field was transparent enough, were hundreds, if not thousands, of other cells just like his! All of them were neatly lined up row after row in a large circular rotation, possibly twenty to thirty cells per floor. If the Horde really wanted to, they probably had a cell for every member of the Rebellion at this point.

For all he knew they probably had a hundred other prisons like this across the Fright Zone, perhaps enough to fill the entire planet of Etheria!

It was with the random clicking sounds he heard that he realized someone approached his cell. Taking a look, he saw what appeared to be a scrawny kid opening a small hatch in the cell. While he couldn't get a clear look of his hair color, he was pretty sure he was blonde, the kid not looking much tougher than the average teen, a little under that at the most.

"Dinner rations, prisoner." He stated, pushing his arms through the small opening of the field. Why did he think Bow would willingly take the tray to begin with? They were enemies. There was no way he was going to trust someone like this. That was when he watched the barrier shrink around the kid's hand, giving him a painful shock as he quickly pulled his hand out again. "Ow!" He sucked on his finger soothingly as he turned his back to Bow, tearing up a little at the sore pain.

"Hey. What's your name?" Bow decided to ask. If he didn't have anyone else around here to get information was, he might as well get to know the one person he's met since coming here.

"Me?" He questioned. "You're talking to me?"

"Sure. Is that all right?" He wondered if he somehow offended the kid or did something else wrong.

"Uh, I guess, but no one ever talks to me." It was almost ironic that the first person he met that wanted to talk to him was from the other side. "I'm Kyle."

"Hey, Kyle. I'm Bow." He greeted with a friendly smile. "Can you do me a favor? Can you tell me where they're holding the princess?"

"P-Princess?"

"She's my best friend." He had to know if she was okay, especially after the long night they've all had. "No one will let me talk to her or even tell me if she's okay."

"Oh, well... umm..." Bow shot a worrying face to him as he poked his fingers nervously. "She uh... she might be fine for a while, but..."

"But what?"

"... Adora's a little mad at her..." Panic overtook his face as he gave him a wave of his hands. "B-But I'm sure she'll be alright! Mostly! Maybe... I don't know. But she needs to keep her alive, so no worries."

"Wait, what is that supposed to mean?!" Bow jumped to his feet as he ran to the barrier. "Is she alright? Is something bad going to happen to her? Tell me!"

"I-I can't! That information's classified! And they wouldn't tell me. And Adora's not really in the best mood right now."

"You've got to help me get a message to Glimmer then, please!"

"I... Uh... I-I gotta go!" He sputtered, taking off quickly to the lift that brought him up here to begin with. "I like your shirt!"

"Wait!" It was too late. By the time he shouted at him to stop, Kyle was gone, leaving Bow to pound against the electrical barrier in frustration.

What was going to happen to Glimmer? He didn't know that much about this Adora girl, partly thanks to Catra's lack of description about her past. But if she was going to do something to Glimmer of all people, all because of some unexplained anger she had towards her, there was no telling what she could do.

"Please be alright..."

...

"Ok, here's the plan." Catra began as she took a boot out of her satchel.

She never thought she'd find herself actually off to go and rescue Bow and Glimmer, from the Fright Zone of all places. It was the single most terrifying place of her childhood experiences, the place where all her troubles began and never ended. If she had to choose between spending the rest of her life in a dungeon compared to spending a single day back in the Fright Zone, she would take the dungeon a thousand times over.

So what drove her to go back to it this time around?

Her friends. Yes, that's right. Friends. As much as she hated to admit it, despite her insistence to it, and no matter how much she tried to push away from it, Glimmer and Bow were her friends. Friends she was willing to go back for and save them from whatever horrors awaited them within the Fright Zone.

It's not like she didn't care about them on a whole. Over the course of their journeys together, she came to respect them for their strengths and quirks if nothing else. For all their flaws and their annoying habits, she did respect whatever strength they managed to display in front of her from time to time, including the time she watched Glimmer fight off a shadowy doppelganger of Shadow Weaver by herself. Anyone willing to do that was respectable in her book.

Even then, they showed time and again that they cared for her. They accepted all her flaws that came with her, all the fears and worries she had, and had her back whenever she messed up or did something reckless. Not once in her years within the Fright Zone had anyone ever accepted her as much as they did, save for Adora who was always by her side.

What truly pushed the envelope though, what really gave her the final shove she needed to go out and save these two, was Glimmer's Diary. After obtaining a key from a now-bruised Sea Hawk, thanks to Mermista, she got a closer look into Glimmer's point of view about her, about everything she thought about Catra.

It was enough to make her shed a tear.

She saw Catra as a hero, someone who could accomplish a lot more than anyone else ever said she could. She didn't know if she would call herself a hero at this rate, but it didn't matter compared to everything else she said about her. She revealed how she knew of Catra's faults since day one, how she and Bow were willing to help her fight through her struggles. Most of all, they were the very few people that admitted they depended on her, that they knew they could always count on her to have their backs when the time called for it.

How could she bring herself to let them down now of all times?

"Alright, so this is the Horde Base we need to get to." Catra explained as she went over the plan.

"...It's in the shape of a boot?" Perfuma asked as she stared at the colorful purple boot.

"Hey, cut me some slack, I was in a rush to get all of this." Catra replied, continuing to take out other smaller items. "Now as I was saying, this is the base we need to get to. If they've been taken anywhere, they're bound to be here."

"So what's the plan then?" Entrapta asked in excitement, flailing her arms in different styles representing the possibilities. "Are we going to use cunning? Stealth? Action?"

"All of them." The other princesses and Captain watched as she placed an item in front of each of them. A white Queen chess piece for Perfuma, a purple sock for Entrapta, a bath sponge for Mermista, and a fishing hook for Sea Hawk. "All right. First, we need to reach the prison itself. Perfuma and Entrapta will go-"

"Wait, why am I a chess piece?" Perfuma asked interrupting. She looked at the chess piece from every angle, wondering what sort of significance.

"I already told you, I was in a rush. I just grabbed whatever I could find in Pinky's room. Anyway, as I was saying-"

"Wait, so I'm a sponge and Sea Hawk gets to be the fish hook?" Mermista grumbled.

"Never fear my dear," Sea Hawk calmed, "it just goes to show attached we are!"

"...You wanna trade?" She asked Perfuma.

"Sure!" The princess smiled as she took the interesting yellow sponge, growing a small flower atop it's head.

"How about I be this model version of Bow instead?" Sea Hawk suggested, holding up one of 3 thumb-sized figurines. One was detailed after Glimmer, one was in the form of Bow, and the last one was Catra herself, in her She-Ra appearance.

"Ooh! I want the She-Ra one instead!"

"No, It's mine!" Catra yelped, snatching the three figurines away in one swipe. The blush didn't grow on her face until after everyone looked at her strangely. "What? Bow made them for us. And I thought it looked better like this..." Catra grumbled, digging through her satchel again. "Now then- Hey, where did my marker go?"

"Hoho, I am Princess Entrapta!" Right in front of her face, Catra saw what the aforementioned marker was used for. Deciding to have a little fun, it would appear that Entrapta brought it upon herself to draw two googly black eyes on the sock she gave her, as well as a small snout she drew in herself. "The Horde will never match myyyyy sockiness!"

"Heheheh!" Catra was the only one who found herself not chuckling at the joking going on, rolling her eyes at their shenanigans.

 _We're all going to die._  Shaking the thoughts out of her head, she continued.

"All right, so moving on..."

...

The scene shifted to a view of the Fright Zone as Catra went on with her explanation in the background.

"First off, we're going to need to land over at the scrapyard. It's the least guarded and least surveillance area of the Fright Zone. We're not going to get any other place to land like this one, and we're going to need to split up to make the most out of this."

"You want us to take out the surveillance?" Entrapta could be heard asking.

"Kind of. Splitting up into three teams, Entrapta and Perfuma, you're going to need to disable the spotlights leading into the Horde structure we're going to infiltrate." At this, Perfuma and Entrapta could be seen running around the corner of the security tower, Entrapta donning her mask as she peaked over Perfuma's shoulder, waiting until the spotlight passed them before running around it. "You're going to need to wait for my signal to disable the lights."

With the spotlight passing them Perfuma began to work her magic at the base of the tower, growing a massive vine that sprouted in size and girth, holding onto one of it's many roots as it raised towards the sky itself and lifted her to the top of the tower. With little else to work with herself, Entrapta, taking one more look at the marvels of technology and science surrounding her, extended her own hair to the top, pulling herself up in one swing right before a spotlight managed to reach her location.

"Meanwhile, Mermista is going to access the Fright Zone's sewer System." Catra continued as Mermista appeared leaping over a massive pipe. With the flick of her wrist, a giant geyser of water arose from the manhole, slowly rising up all the way to Mermista's waist. "She's going to need to swim through the pipes to reach the building and open the door-"

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, back up here." Mermista interrupted as the scene changed back to the conversation itself, Mermista crossing her arms in disgust. "I'm sorry. Mermista is going to do  ** _what_**?"

It took Catra a few seconds to realize what she had actually said, glancing back at the small display of work she had and shriveling at the thought. "...Ok, I have to admit, it sounds pretty gross, but you're the only one who can breathe in underwater."

"...UGGGGGHHHHHH..." Vengeance. Pain and terrible vengeance would be inflicted upon Catra by the time this day was over. To be the one person who was needed for all of this to be pulled off, to be the one charged with swimming through... filth... all for the sake of saving Bow and Glimmer. A part of her was positive Catra tasked her with this on purpose, and she swore she would make her pay with the biggest swirly she could create. "Fine!"

Back to the present, Mermista, still looking at the manhole in disgust, used her power to lift the manhole with the water, pushing it away off to the side as she lowered herself towards the opening. "Super gross." Holding her breath and her nose, she dived into the manhole, legs first, heading straight into what would most likely be the filthiest mission of her life.

"At this time, Sea Hawk and I will take up position by the entrance." Catra went on as she placed the hook and her She-Ra figurine by the boot.

"Say, why did Glimmer have a fishing hook in her bedroom to begin with?" Sea Hawk had to ask.

"Actually, it's just part of a hanger I had to pull apart. Anyway..."

Changing to the scene in question, Catra and Sea Hawk could be seen looking over the corner like Entrapta and Perfuma had done in their espionage. Unlike theirs, they had the misfortune of having guards placed at the entrance of their target, spotting at least three in total with one on each side of the entrance, and one guard in the middle. No doubt Adora took notice of this lack of safety precaution and increased the amount of security, even by a little.

"Sea Hawk and I will take care of any guards we find on the way to the base." Nodding to each other, they pulled back a little as Catra scratched the rough surface of the structure they were hiding against, causing a noise that drew the middle guard to the area. Peaking around the corner, the other two guards nearly jumped as they raced to the corner at the sight of someone pulling the first guard behind the corner.

Racing around it, they were met with utter confusion when all they found was the guard himself, lying unconscious at the feet of the large building. For what short while they were searching for the perpetrators that attacked their fallen comrades, they were drawn to the small sound of scraping they heard coming above them. Neither of them had enough time to shout out a single warning or alert as they saw Catra holding up a prepared Sea Hawk, holding onto the building itself with her other claw.

It took a single drop and strike from both of them leaping from the building to knock the two guards out cold like the previous one. With all three of the guards knocked out, Catra and Sea Hawk took the liberty of disarming them of their stun batons, finding them in much safer hands.

"After we do, Entrapta and Perfuma will regroup with us at the door, which Mermista should have unlocked and opened by the time we regroup."

"Excellent plan. Adventure!" Sea Hawk cheered, raising his fist at the planning area.

"Yeah, but didn't you say we were going to do all of our plans?" Mermista pointed out. "When do we get to hit something hard?"

"And when are we going to recruit any allies?" Perfuma added.

"Well, it might not exactly be  _recruit_  like you said, but it should give us enough help to create a distraction. At the center of the Prison Area we're going to there's a guard station. At the very base of it, there's a small generator that powers all the cells within the complex. And, assuming Pinky and Bowey's not wasting time being asleep, they should be able walk right on out of there before the backup generators kick in within the next three minutes."

"And the recruitment part?"

"Perfuma, it's a prison." Catra grinned. "I guarantee you anyone in there is going to hate the Horde's guts with a passion. They should be able to provide a distraction long enough for us to sneak out of there with those two, at least before the reinforcements swarm the place. I'm not gonna lie, it'll get swarmed real big, real fast, when the reinforcements show up."

With the guards out of commission, Catra took a peek around the corner, taking out a small hand mirror from her pockets to reflect it's light towards the Security Tower. Noticing the flash from the other end, Perfuma gave a nod to herself as she checked back with Entrapta. "That's the signal." She announced.

Meanwhile Entrapta was in her own little fantasy land as she gazed at the technological marvel in wonder. To think, all this wonderful technology, for the size it was given at least, lied in some place as horrific as the Fright Zone! It was like being a kid in Candy Land whee everything was easy pickings for whoever came across it, so many wonders to explore and fascinating machinery to work with! "Fright Zone log, day one." Entrapta commented as she used her tape recorder. "I can barely contain my excitement! Ha-ha!"

It was the very same excitement she managed to use in order to remove the hatch from the control module. "Hmm. The Horde's using an outdated wiring system." With a twirl of her hair and the flick of her extensions she began rewiring and reworking many of the various odds and ends of the machinery, grin growing wider with each wire she came across. "It really would work so much better if I just consolidated these conduits and rerouted the current here-"

"Entrapta?" Perfuma spoke, grabbing her attention. "Now would be a good time for those lights."

"Oh... right!" With a single pull, pulling out one of the wires with her hair, the spotlights finally lost all their power, allowing Catra and Sea Hawk to trek their way over to the door.

Checking to make sure the coast was clear, Catra and Sea Hawk made their way over to the door, keeping an watchful eye over their surroundings until Catra got her own back against the door. With one more look around, she firmly and gently tapped her claws against the door, trying to see if there was some signal she could get from the otherside.

_*clank*_

_*clank*_

"...Come on, fish lady, where are ya?" Catra muttered to herself, taking a glance at their surroundings every five seconds they waited.

"Where's Mermista?" He wondered with a hint of worry. In a place as dangerous as this, there were any number of unfortunate circumstances that could've happened.

"I don't know, maybe she got stuck somewhere." Where on Etheria was she?! Every second someone got stalled on this mission or disrupted increased the chances of the entire mission blowing up in their faces, possibly literally at that. With the coast seeming clear, Catra turned her back as she gave another pound on the door. "Hey, hurry up in there!"

"Uh Catra?"

"Not now, Captain."

"Horde!" He announced, knowing it would get her attention. True enough, she shot back as she saw another small skiff heading in their direction, with Scorpia at the helm of it.

"Crud!" Knowing the two were already spotted she searched frantically around them for anything that could save their bacon. There was little doubt the two of them could deal with her themselves, but if she spotted them from far enough she could easily sound the alarms and trigger an emergency siren around this place with just one call. Thankfully, noticing Sea Hawk's appearance, an idea came to her. "Give me your coat and bandana!"

"What?"

"Just do it!" With time of the essence, realizing what her plan was as he watched, he quickly turned his back to the arriving Scorpia, changing his own hair as Catra used his body as a small bit of cover to keep her from seeing Catra putting on the jacket herself.

At the same time, Scorpia became curious and confused at the strange duo she saw up ahead. One was a strange looking young man with a white T-shirt while the other one was... something she couldn't quite make out. Neither of them were recognizable to her and she doesn't remember expecting the duo either. With her face slowly hardening with seriousness, she brought the skiff to a stop as she stepped out of her vehicle.

"Halt!" She ordered, walking right up to them. "Who are you two?"

Stepping out from behind Sea Hawk, Scorpia got a better look at the second person she had yet to get a clear view of till now. Unaware of her true identity at the moment, she was met with a stranger who was wearing a bandana over her forehead, one which kept her ears covered under the red cloth as she kept her right eye closed. Along with that, she had her tail wrapped around her waist like a belt as she wore the captain's blue jacket, Scorpia couldn't get a clear look of the clothes she wore underneath it as she kept her arms crossed.

As for Sea Hawk himself, he didn't do much other than changing his hair style, but it did help to add to his secret identity since he was only wearing his white undershirt while doing it.

"Who are we? Who are you?" Catra retorted, pointing back to her.

"I'm Force Captain Scorpia." She easily shot back. "Now I repeat, who are  _you_?" She asked leaning closer to the girl sending sweat down the back of Catra's head.

Exactly how close was this girl to figuring out Catra's identity? The cover of ears, jacket over her current outfit, and closed right eye could only keep her identity secret for so long. Considering she's never met her in person up to this point, she could be a supergenius for all Catra knew.

Luckily Sea Hawk already came up with that little detail as he answered for them. "Why, we're the inspectors, of course!" He announced proudly. Catra mentally sighed in relief at his quick thinking as she took in the idea.

"Inspectors?"

"Yeah!" Catra proudly smacked the metallic door they were standing outside of. "We got a call from some manager guy, you know? Said he needed help with something passed this door."

"Then why are you still out here?"

"B-Because um... No one was here to let us in!" She insisted.

"That's strange," Scorpia poked her chin looking around, "there's usually some guards out here." Taking a closer look to Catra herself, Scorpia raised an eyebrow. "Haven't I seen you somewhere before?"

"Uhh..."

"And why are you closing your eye like that?"

"W-Well, I uhh..."

"Oh, how dare you!" Sea Hawk interrupted, patting Catra's head. "Can't you see the girl's sensitive about her missing eye? Do you think she needs a reminder of that tragic incident?!" Getting the idea, Catra put on the best fake cry she could as she cried into both her hands.

"Ehehehehhhh!" She wept. "The doctor said people wouldn't notice if I kept my eye closed!"

"There, there, my dear. It's all right." Sea Hawk cooed as he patted her head.

"N-No, no, d-don't! Please don't cry!" Scorpia begged, shaking her claws together pleadingly. "I didn't know it was like that! I don't mind the eye! In fact, I think you look better without one eye!...Oh... wait..."

"Aahhahahahhaaaa, you're a monster!" Catra cried louder.

Scorpia was beginning to panic. The strange one-eyed girl couldn't be any older than a young teenager. Why, she might even be the strange man's daughter, seeing how closely the two were being. This was bad on a whole number of levels. How else was she going to explain to any of the higher ups if she made one of the two inspectors cry just because they were doing their job? They might not ever want to come back and work for the Horde again!

And what kind of person made a young girl cry? A monster, that's who! The very one Scorpia was accused of being by the girl who was currently crying. "P-Please, please don't cry! I'm sorry!" She begged on her knees. "Is there anything I can do to help you?"

Sniffling a little, still pretending to cry, Catra glanced over to the door that they were still stuck outside of. "W-Well... I guess you can open the door for starters. Then we can get our inspection done a lot faster..."

"You got it!" She happily went about typing in the codes for the door, wanting to do anything to help the possible father and daughter duo! It was the least she could do after accidentally insulting the young girl about her eye, knowing full well how much it hurts to get made fun of because of how you appear to someone else.

Standing in front of the other two, she tapped as fast as her thick claws would let her, doing everything she could to bring a smile to all their faces as they watched the door open. It was a smile that lasted only so long for her until she saw Mermista standing on the other side of the doorway, looking unamused as always with a hand on her side and an annoyed expression on her face.

"Huh? Hey, aren't you the-"

* _Bzzzzzzzzzzt_ *

"Ghhhhhhhh-!" With a small screech at the feeling of a thousand volts coursing through her veins, Scorpia slowly lost consciousness before falling in front of the three of them, Catra watching with a smile on her face as she held up the recently-used stun baton.

"So let me get this straight," Mermista went on as Catra gave Sea Hawk his outfit back, "you had me go through the sewers,  **the sewers** , just for you guys to get the doors opened anyway?!" She stammered.

"Hey, it wasn't that bad for you, was it?" Catra joked with a cheeky grin.

"I WAS FLUSHED ON!" At the shout, she watched as Perfuma and Entrapta made their way around, running up to Catra and Sea Hawk who heard the two approaching soon after.

"Hey, you're okay!" Perfuma smiled, holding a large vine that was wrapped around Entrapta from head to toe. All three of the others looked at her in confusion, all wondering the same thing.

"Eh... why is Entrapta like that?" Catra asked.

"Oh, she just... has a small habit wandering around here and there." Perfuma tried to play it off innocently, not going into detail how many times she had to chase her around.

At that, Entrapta's eyes flashed with stars as Perfuma started to unwrap her. "You guys! There is  **SO**  much awesome stuff here! Did you know they have bots here designed to pick up raw scraps and reorganize them into reusable material for later use? And their wiring system is so much fun! I mean, a lot of it's outdated and everything and a lot of the junk they have here is so basic that any science nerd can hack into it within a few seconds but-!"

"Entrapta!" Catra yelped, clicking her fingers in front of her. "Focus. Now let's go, we don't have much time." With the others nodding to each other in agreement, they all hustled into the building following her, all except a peeved-looking Mermista who's brow continued to twitch irritably.

"Can I at least get a thank you for what I've been through?"

"I'll give you a thank you with a bar of soap. Now let's go!" Catra stated, pulling her in before the doors could close in on them again.

...

The hallways themselves seemed completely the same yet somehow different as Catra ran down the halls with the others right behind her. The same bleakness they had whenever she ran down them as a kid, the heavy atmosphere she used to feel any day she walked down these walls. Everything felt strangely foreign to her, like she's never been here before, despite having memories as clear as yesterday of this place.

Over there she could remember fondly how she and Adora played pranks on some passing guards when they were seven because they were forced to wax the floors all day for something they didn't do. Deciding to get some payback against the mean guards, the girls did well and beyond what they were told, applying seven coats of wax to the same floor, and then lying in wait until some of the guards passed them to slip on their behinds, others right on top of each other.

That got them into even more trouble but it still felt worth it.

In another hallway she reminisced about the time they managed to run away from a guard the two angered, one that smacked Catra around for a personal prank she pulled on her earlier. Deciding to get payback and drive her insane, the two made fun of her back and forth, taking shortcuts and splitting up between hallways as the stupid guard tried to chase them and beat their little behinds into submission. After what must've been a ten minute chase, the guard last track of them and was forced to return to his duty before he got into any more trouble.

The idiot didn't have any idea that Catra carried herself and Adora up to the pipes above her, giggling quietly to themselves as they watched her leave in a mad huff. They were definitely better times than they were later down their lives.

It was at the sound of footsteps approaching from the hallways that Catra raised her hand, signaling for the others to stop. Taking a quick look around, she began clicking the access code of a nearby Janitor's closet, rushing people to come inside once the door sprang open. Right as the guards were about to round the corner, she managed to collect everybody into the small block of space, everyone huddled and pressed together uncomfortably.

"Shhh!" Catra shushed quietly, everyone remaining still and silent while they were all being pressed against the enclosed space.

"Is it clear yet?" Perfuma whispered.

_*sniff*_

_*sniff*_

"Ugh, Mermista, you really need a bath after this." Catra swore her nose was starting to get paralyzed from the lack of fresh air.

"Don't  _ **remind**  _me!" She replied almost threateningly.

"And who's stepping on my tail?"

"Oops, sorry." Sea Hawk apologized.

"Step on it harder, please.." Mermista muttered, still irritated for all the time and energy she wasted.

"What's the plan, She-Ra?" Perfuma asked, trying to break up the potential violence.

"We need to get to an information port." Catra replied. "If we're lucky, Entrapta can hack into the port itself to identify which cell block Pinky and Bowey are in."

"Ok, but one slight problem." Mermista brought up.

"What?"

"Where is she?" Checking their cramped surroundings, Catra rolled her eyes with a groan.

"Ugh, you've gotta be kidding me..."

"Okay, she is really putting a crimp in my harmony!" Perfuma cried quietly, scratching at her head with the flux of annoyance reaching her head. Sea Hawk did what he could to calm her down as he gently patted her head, trying to keep her from crying out and drawing attention to the closet they were in.

"H-Hey, it's fine." Catra tried to sound as comforting as she could with the uncomfortable position she found herself in. "We'll find Entrapta, hack into the info port, and then rescue Glimmer and Bow. It's simple, right?"

"And we have to start the prison riot." Sea Hawk reminded.

Rolling her eyes, Catra added, "And start a prison riot."

"And escape before reinforcements appear!" Perfuma also reminded.

"Ghhh... Fine. Get a information port, hack the data base to find Glimmer and Bow, cause a jail break, and escape before reinforcements show up."

"And blow something up?" Mermista smirked saying, enjoying the sight.

"MMHHHHHH..." Catra's face flushed red as the anger reached near her boiling point. " _ **Fine**_! Get to a data port, hack into the data base to find Glimmer and Bow, cause a jail break, escape before the reinforcements show up, AND blow something up, most likely the generator to the cells since we're at it. There! Happy?"

"I don't know, give me another minute or two to think up something."

"Mermista!"

...

"Fright Zone Log, day one continued." Entrapta spoke into the tape recorder as she hung from the air, tapping away fearlessly into the info port she came across. "Keypads appear in every corridor and are capable of giving status updates on multiple systems." The scientist continued to look astounded.

This place was a wonderland of technology for the purple-haired genius. Every two steps she took she found herself gasping at the sight of another marvel, everything she recorded held more answers than she could get in a year's worth of daya! Sometimes she wished she could live in a place like this, just for the chance to experience everything this place had to offer! From the security to the mechanics to the very droids she spotted along the way, this place was amazing!

Speaking of which, her attention was drawn behind her as she heard the minor beeps and boops of another one of the scrap droids passing by her. "Wow! Hello there, little guy!" She gushed, chasing after it in excitement. "Where do you think you're going? Come back here you~" Like a little girl chasing after a puppy, she chuckled to herself as she chased it along into a nearby station.

These scrap bots must've been her second favorite thing about this place, next to the Fright Zone itself! She couldn't believe she never thought about adding these little guys to her own laboratory. With little guys like these around, they could make the hassle of picking up unused or unnecessary parts a breeze! Why, she could even design these guys to design smaller random things when she was too busy to make them herself!

"Haha, got ya!" She squealed, chasing the scrap bot into a dark corner. What she thought to be a dead end turned out to be a trap set up entirely for her though as another strange mechanical bot hummed with life.

From behind the cluster of mechanical junk she saw the scrap bot standing on, she saw it. A large, almost man-sized round droid bot with three mechanical spider-like legs, standing proudly and truly before her. It was the very definition of everything she loved about a robot! From the appearance alone, she could already tell it was strong, durable, was brimming with life, took a lot of care and consideration into the mechanics of it, and was the very definition of science itself! She couldn't stop herself from drooling as small hearts formed within her eyes, finding her scientific curiosity at her utmost limits.

"Well hello to you, too. Hehehe~"

...

...

"Mmmmmh." Glimmer felt exhausted as she tried to look around.

How long had she been awake by this point? Minutes? Hours? Maybe even days? There was no clock around here, and ever since she woke up the first time, she's never been able to fall back to sleep. The pain coursing through her on a constant level was minimal, but enough to keep her conscious no matter how badly she wished she could pass out. And without any clock in here there was no way to tell how much time had passed since she woke up, or if there was a chance that she passed out at all.

Along with the strange surge of power keeping her exhausted, she also found herself stuck to a metal slap that stood her up. The strange slab was connected to a bunch of different wires, ones that connected to the small shackles attached to her wrist that pinned her to the table, all feeding up to a console a few feet away from her.

The bags under her eyes were from stress both physical and mental. Ever since this strange witch woke her up her mind felt like it was being set aflame, along with the rest of her body thanks to this constant surge of electricity that never ended. Was this all the horrible witch's doing or the power of these electrical surges alone? She didn't know, and she absolutely didn't care. She needed to get out of here before things got worse, however possible that would've been.

Taking her powers out for a test run, she tried clicking a spark of magic into her fingertips, feeling thankful to see her powers were still in their best condition. Deciding to take it a step further, she attempted to teleport herself out of the strange holding.

* _Bzzzzzzzzzt!_ *

"Ahhhhhhhh!" What few seconds of hope she felt as her powers surged were instantly shattered as a painful rush of the electricity spiraled through her, inflicting previously unknown amounts of pain throughout her entire body as she screamed. Her attempts at resistance were dashed as soon as they were raised, unable to tolerate the pain enough in her current condition.

"I should warn you, Princess." She heard Shadow Weaver speaking as she approached from the shadows behind her. "Any attempt to teleport through these restraints will only cause you pain." As if to mock her, she gave a simple flick of her finger against her cheek, giving her a small shock at the mere touch. "It seems my Black Garnet and your powers don't mix. Besides, your mother will be here soon." Snobbish, mightier than thou attitude, a lack of tact and appearing to be all-powerful?

This was definitely the same person.

"I-It's you, isn't it?" Glimmer muttered weakly, trying to put on a brave face. "The one Catra was so afraid of in Mystacor. I can tell just by looking at you. Judgemental, brash, it's no wonder Catra hated you.

"Do NOT speak that creatures name in front of me, Princess!" Shadow Weaver hissed, puckering Glimmer's cheeks tightly, sending a small painful surge of electricity around her face.

"Nnngggghhhh!" Glimmer squeezed her eyes tightly as she tried to push passed the pain. Narrowing her eyes, Shadow Weaver released her hold on her, allowing her to catch her breath.

"And don't try to get a rise out of me, either. It would be a shame if you were to die before your mother came for you."

"You're... you're lying. She wouldn't do something like that-"

"Unless it was to save someone she holds most dear." She interjected, lowering herself to Glimmer's eye level. "She is coming to surrender herself in exchange for your safety."

"No..." She... She had to be lying! Her mother couldn't risk her own life, the entire Rebellion, just for her sake! She loved her mother dearly too, and she'd do the exact same thing, but... but she... She prayed at this very moment Shadow Weaver was lying now more than ever.

"Oh. It's a shame, the toll the Rebellion has taken on your family." Every word that sounded like a resemblance of sympathy was spiced with a dashing of mockery in every word. "First, you lose your father and now..."

"S-Shut up!" Glimmer shouted as the tears dripped from her eyes. "She-Ra- no.  _Catra_  will stop you!"

" _Stop **me**_?! Ahahahaha!" The dark witch slapped the back of her hand over her own face. "Oh my word. You really give that girl more credit than she deserves!"

"She did it in Mystacor, didn't she?" Glimmer reminded, smirking as she saw what little expression she saw from Shadow Weaver drop. "She's a lot stronger than you give her credit for. If you were really some powerful witch, you would've dealt with her a long time ago, wouldn't you? But you can't, because no matter what you throw at her, she  **always**  beats you!"

"Mmmmmhh!" Shadow Weaver let out a tremendous grumble as she raised the back of her wrist. Squeezing her eyes shut waiting for the pain to follow, she was instead mess with a small chuckle as the witch lowered herself to her height once more. "Hmhmhm, I see what you're doing." She grinned behind the mask. "Trying to get a rise out of me, hope there's an  _accident_  and we lose our only bargaining chip. Clever.

_*Bzzzt*_

"Ahh!" Glimmer cried out again as she flicked her on the forehead, zapping her again.

"But not clever enough."

* _shoom_ *

Both girls turned to the door at the sound of it opening, Shadow Weaver smiling again as she saw who was approaching.

"Ah, Adora. How wonderful it is to see you." There was something strange about the sudden excitement in Shadow Weaver's voice that worried her.

"Can I begin now?" Adora asked, never taking her angered eyes off the Princess.

"Of course, my dear. Don't let me keep you." Shadow Weaver eagerly replied, floating over to her side, stopping as she was about to pass her. "Remember, she needs to be kept alive. Understood?" With an assured nod from Adora, Shadow Weaver left the room, the Force Captain turning her full attention to the Princess at hand.

"You're Adora, right?" The Princess of Bright Moon asked as Adora walked to her. "Catra's told me a lot about you, she says there's a lot of good in you! Please, please help me out of here." Adora looked at her with anger in her eyes.

This is the moment she's been waiting for, a chance at revenge. This Princess, this one single Princess, was the cause of all of her troubles. Losing her closest friend, pushing who knew how many innocent lives into harm's way for the sake of the war, forcing the Horde to commit who knew how many atrocities because the Horde didn't have a choice. Every problem, all of it, could be returned full circle to these evil princesses.

And now, she had one firmly in her grasp.

Digging through her red jacket for a few seconds, Glimmer becoming antsy at the thought it was going to be a weapon like a knife, she pulled out her famously used headband. "Do you know what this is?" She asked her, holding it right in front of Glimmer's face.

"I-It's a... headband?" She guessed hopefully.

"This is a gift." Adora replied. "A gift from somebody who truly cares for me, from the closest thing I have to a mother around here. And do you know what it does?"

Were these rhetorical questions? "It... makes you stronger." She could fondly recall the day she attacked Salineas. "I saw you use it in your last fight against Catra, it turned you into..." She looked away, unable to bring herself to say it.

And there was no need.

"A monster." Adora stated. "I'm well aware of how I acted because of this thing." She gave a solemn, regretful, face as she gazed at the headband. "I wasn't in control of my emotions... I let its power rush to my head... and... and I almost..." That was the one part she couldn't bring herself to say as she glared back at the princess. "You made me use this to hurt Catra! You've made me do a lot of things I regret doing!"

"No I didn't!" The innocent Princess insisted. "I didn't make you do anything! I didn't ask you to use that, I didn't ask you to fight Catra!"

"And yet you turned her against me." Adora was fuming with anger, the likes of which Glimmer has never seen in a person. "You abducted her, brainwashed her, controlled everything she's done up to this point for the sake of your corruption!"

"Corruption? I don't know what you're talking about! Listen, Adora, whatever Shadow Weaver told you, it wasn't the-"

"Silence!" She shouted angrily. "I've had enough of your lies! Do you know how much I've had to defend her because of you? All our past friends think she's a traitor, every good time she had with them seemingly vanished because of what you did. Do you know what it's like..." Adora teared up a little. "Do you know what it's like to defend someone... someone you care about... when the entire world is against her? Well? Do you?!"

"Adora..." What was she talking about? Glimmer wanted to understand dearly what she was talking about right now. What was making her so angry, how could she possibly help? "Look, Adora? I don't know what you're talking about, I really don't. But whatever you've been told, it's all a lie. I didn't trick Catra into helping us, I didn't cast some evil spell or whatever you want to call it on her. She chose to help us willingly!"

"...Tch... That's a laugh." Adora scoffed. "You think she would willingly give all of this up? The family she used to know? The people she came to work alongside with? You think she would ever want to give all of this up? Tell me then, why? Why would she ever want to leave it?"

"Because she was unhappy!" Glimmer retorted. "Everything I've seen with her, every problem she's had has stemmed from this place! Whatever life she had here was an unhappy one, and if you were such a dear friend, you would've noticed it sooner- Hmm!" Glimmer shut her mouth, too little to late, as she realized what she suddenly said. The same look of shock filled Adora's expression, leaving the girl stunned for the first time since meeting her.

A part of her fretted as her eyes quivered with doubt. Was she... actually right? Was she right about everything?

_"Your little friend never cared about any of us since day one." Lonnie continued to talk down as Adora lowered her head. "She didn't care about who she hurt, she didn't care about who was involved, and she didn't care about you. All that little freak ever wanted was whatever benefitted herself. End. Of. Story."_

_"Must've been pretty close then." Scorpia's stinger wagged a little with glee. "Most people I meet usually don't have nice things to say about her."_

_T-That... That's not possible..._  Adora's eyes watered at the thought. Had she truly been neglecting her friend up till now? Was she actually wrong about everything else? She knew Catra was picked on occasionally, that the girl had a harder time getting along with everyone else whenever she tried to open up to people. But to go so far as to wanting to betray the very people who raised her? Who she grew up alongside? What about all the good times they've had? What about all the moments of joy she's experienced with Catra, day in and day out?

_"I take it all_ _back! You're officially awesome!" Whooooooo!" Catra cheered as they soared through the land at top speeds. Not once since they've been taught how to use these Skiffs have they ever been allowed to ride them, much less drive them, across the Fright Zone, or anywhere for that matter. This was the first time Catra actually had actual fun within the last several months, and more importantly, a sense of freedom. "I can't believe you actually stole a skiff!"_

_"Borrowed," Adora corrected as she piloted the skiff, "please don't make me regret this."_

_What was there to regret? They were two friends out in the open world, away from the horrid Fright Zone, and, at least to Catra, they were having the time of their lives! "What's there to regret? This is awesome!"_

Did it mean nothing to her?

_"Haha, you can thank Catra!" The chipper five-year-old Adora stated, gesturing to Catra who stood behind her shyly. "She's the one who did all the work."_

_"Y-Yeah... B-B-But it was all Adora's idea!" As much as she loved the praise, she wasn't about to let her friend go without some credit. "I couldn't even tell what to do without her help."_

_"Heheheh!" Adora chuckled as she hugged her close. With an inseparable duo like themselves, there was nothing they couldn't handle!_

_...No..._  Adora's scowl tightened as she shot a deathly glare at the girl. Those moments were real, they had to be real. She remembers all the joy Catra had in this place, all the laughter, all the fun, everything the two of them did together that made their lives meaningful. There is no way, no chance, she would ever get rid of it so willingly!

"That almost worked..." Adora dried the tears from her face. "You almost got me to believe you for a moment. But I know Catra, and she's not whatever you turned her into!"

"Adora, please-"

"Do you want to know what else this headband does?" She continued. "Whenever I wear it, thanks to some immense training I did  ** _for her_** , I can suppress my emotions. So, lets say I feel guilty for what I'm about to do? Now..." At the pause, Adora donned the cursed garment for the third time within her life. She didn't so much as flinch this time around as her body was engulfed in the surrounding shadows, keeping her eyes closed until the shadows reached the jewel of her headband.

With that, she displayed her red-tinted eyes, one devoid of almost everything. "Now I'm not going to feel bad about what I do next." She stated monotonically.

"D-Do next?" The Princess gulped at how she worded that. "What do you mean by that?" Instead of answering the girl outright, Adora opted to provide a demonstration. Without batting an eyelash, she casually walked her way to the console, standing in front of it as she started to turn the device on.

"Thanks to Shadow Weaver, she was kind enough to make a few modifications to the restraints you're currently stuck in." Adora explained going on. "So, let's say I ask you a question, and I don't like the answer. And then, perhaps out of shock, or confusion, I accidentally hit this."

* ** _BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT!_** *

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Glimmer cried out in agony. In one fell swoop, the electricity around her exploded in a mad frenzy, covering her entirety until Adora lowered the settings again. That pain, the surge she felt right now, felt like  **nothing**  compared to what Adora put her through in the last three seconds alone. She felt like her entire body was being shocked simultaneously, like bolts of lightning were striking every single part of her body at the same time.

"We'll call that, "letting my finger slip"." Adora joked, barely twitching a face as she did so in an uncaring mood. "So, the way this game is going to work is like this. I'm going to ask you a question, and you're going to provide me with an answer. And every time I'm not satisfied with what you give me..."

* ** _BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT!_** *

"Aggggggggghhhhhhh!" Glimmer cried out in pain, physically cried out in pain. The pain she was feeling was so barbaric compared to what she felt seconds ago. This person, this supposed person, was the friend Catra cherished so deeply?!

"Are we clear?"

"What do you want?" Glimmer cried out asking.

"I want to know how to break the spell you put on Catra." Adora replied firmly. "By the time this session is over, you're going to tell me  _exactly_  what I want to hear!" A small portion of her anger rose at that, no matter how hard she tried to keep it down.

"I don't know anything! There is no spell!"

"Liar!"

* ** _BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT!_** *

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Her entire body wracked with pain as the surge continued.

This, was Adora's payback. This was the device that was going to solve all her problems. Watching as the princess cried out in pain, she proceeded with the electrocutions.

She didn't care at the moment what happened to this princess. She didn't care about much of anything at this moment. The only thing she cared about right now was getting what was needed to save the person she deeply cared about. The person she laughed with, cried with. The person who's innocence Adora continues to remember to this day, the one she cherished most of all.

She was going to get her answers.

She was going to save Catra.

And she had all the time in the world to hear Glimmer scream...

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**A/N: Ok, for those of you who say Scorpia might not be dumb enough to fall for that trick... She got distracted thinking there was a duck because Sea Hawk simply said duck (which lets be honest, is seriously hilarious all the same XD).** _

_**And we get some more dark Adora today, in a rather unsettling mood for her friend. I know it might seem a bit too dark but after the months of stress and moments she's been waiting for revenge up to this point, can you really blame her?...oh, you can? Crap...** _

_**Well, anyway! Hope you all enjoyed either way! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed, and if you'll excuse me, *awwwwwwwwwwwn*, i gtg to bed here T_T...** _

_**Hope to see you soon!** _


	34. Episode 9: No Princess Left Behind Part 3

_**A/N: Ok, good news bad news situation:** _

_**Bad news, still not at my A-game when it comes to writing atm. Lack of medication plus sleeping issues is making it harder to focus on the writing process and whatnot.** _

_**Good news: should be getting a pick up of medication around the end of this week or next week, and found some of my emergency medication which should give me a good day or two of writing ability ^^** _

_**So with that said, enjoy!** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

"Mmh... come on... come on..." Catra mumbled as she continued clicking away at the info port.

"Are you sure you can do it?" Mermista asked as she kept guard with the others.

"Yeah, just give me a minute, ok? I'm not exactly that great when it comes to hacking, I slept through most of those classes." Catra continued to grumble, feeling like Adora would have a much easier time with this hack than she did. Then again, considering one of those two didn't sleep through over half of those nerds classes it wasn't so surprising.

She needed to figure out where Bow and Glimmer's cells were within the prison block of the Fright Zone. She found herself saying how strange her adventures became at the start of every new adventure, and this was no exception. The one exception there was within this case scenario was the fact it wasn't an adventure she was having with Bow and Glimmer, but an adventure in order to save the two people she could now call friends.

Up to this point the plan was proceeding semi-smoothing, at least as far as it could go with this mismatched group of adventures consisting of Mermista, Perfuma, Sea Sawk, and a missing Entrapta. They managed to disable the security tower to infiltrate the door of the facility and disabled any of the guards they came across.

It did get a bit troubling at one point when Scorpia happened to come across them, apparently on a random patrol or something by Catra's guess, but thanks to Sea Hawk's attire she quickly got an idea to hide. Switching outfits and hairstyles between the two, they managed to fool Scorpia into thinking they were inspectors. Scorpia had no idea who the two were as Catra kept one eye closed, less she notice her heterochromatic feature, a bandana around her head to cover both her ears, and wearing Sea Hawk's jacket while Sea Hawk himself switched his hairstyle.

It was enough to fool the scorpion lady into opening the doors for them where they found an irritated Mermista who was smelling of bad sewage. Before Scorpia could even finish her sentence, she was easily tased with the stun batons Catra and Sea Hawk picked up earlier, knocking her out cold and hopefully long enough for the rest of the mission to proceed smoothly. At least until they noticed Entrapta missing.

Because of that, Catra was forced to proceed with the hacking job herself, muttering between breaths as she tried to recall all of her past lessons when it came to sabotage and infiltration missions like this from her days in the Horde. She might've been a bit more adept at hacking other databases in general, but hacking into one ran by the Horde proved to be a bit more complicated than she expected.

"There's no shame in waiting for Entrapta, lass." Sea Hawk commented, peeking around the corner. "I'm sure she'd love to do the hacking herself."

"Yeah, I know that, but every minute we're here the closer we are of getting spotted." Catra's eyes reflected the numerous words and coding she was inputting into the system. "We can't afford to waste... any... Got it!" With a resounding click, the others turned back to her at the sound of her announcement. Skimming through the data with her finger, she read across the various words until she found something that warranted repeating. "Ok, I think I found Bow's cell block, but I can't tell where Pinky's is." She stated. "She's not showing up in the cell's database."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Perfuma worried, trying to see the information over Catra's shoulder.

"Bad, mostly. It either means she's not in these cells or..." She shook the thoughts right out of her mind. Glimmer had to be alive, she just knew it. "Wherever she is, she's got to be somewhere close."

* _clank_ *

All four of them let out a startled gasp as they heard the sound of the mechanical doors opening near them, seeing an oversized droid popping out from the sides. It was definitely bigger than many of the past droids Catra's came across, no doubt a new model they've been working on since Catra's time in the Horde.

"What should we do?" Perfuma backed up slowly as the robot scanned all four of them.

"We should stand and fight!" Sea Hawk stated bravely, pounding his fist against his palm.

"No!" The three turned to the leader of their group. "We can't afford to fight in the hallway, someone's going to see!" Even though she was against fighting at the moment, it didn't do anything to ease her mind. If they didn't fight it it would blast them or chase them around anyway. If they did fight it, it would cause too much noise! What was she supposed to do?

"It's okay!" The chipper voice of relief belonged to a perky-looking princess by the name of Entrapta, one who popped her head around the corner with a smile. "This is my new friend, Emily." She patted her as she took in all her friend had to offer. "I reprogrammed her. Isn't she adorable!"

"...Where have you been?" Did Entrapta not get enough of crimping Perfuma's harmony at this point?!

"Where have you been?" The scientist returned the question with a casual smile as if it was a game.

Taking a deep breath to relieve the tension building up, Catra raised her hands trying to calm everyone. "It's okay, it doesn't matter. Point is, everyone is here. Now let's go!"

...

Thankfully the exploration from that point to the prison block was relatively uneventful, which is the way Catra would've preferred compared to any other alternative. That included keeping a tighter leash on an ecstatic Entrapta, one who drooled at the sight of every new technological device she spotted every two minutes. Perfuma happened to be a rather effective babysitter in that regard, especially when she took the liberty of wrapping Entrapta in a vine around her hands until they got there.

This was another place that gave Catra moments of Deja vu. The large building, the numerous cells, the silent chill creeping up on the ends of her skin. This was the place, that one special place, that turned Catra's life around for the worse. Under the false pretense that she was going through an initiation, she remembered how Kyle tricked her into blindly walking into a prison cell, closing it behind her with her inside, and how Lonnie mercilessly taunted her and mocked her, going on and on about how Catra would never be a part of their gang, never one of their friends.

To this day she still wondered what her life would've been like if she truly did pass some sort of initiation or became friends with the likes of them. Would Lonnie actually be treating her nicer these days? Would she have something in common with a young Rogelio who was more lizard than man? Would she become great friends with Kyle, a shy and timid boy like she used to be back in the day?

She didn't know, and she never would at this rate. She didn't care about making friends since then until very recently. Why would she want to risk something bad happening to her again? This was her first attempt at making friends after Adora wanted to become her friend personally, so why bother trying it again after this horrible experience?

For all she knew the next experience would be twice as horrible! The next group of friends she might try to make might shove her down a flight of stairs. The ones after that might've dangled her over the side of a building, making fun of her constantly while pretending their grip is slipping. The ones after that could even be worse! They might've physically abused her or emotionally scarred her on a daily basis, lying to a young Catra and telling her to just take it because they're  _friends_.

Nobody here was safe enough to make friends with, not like her friendship with Adora. She was the only one who cared about her, the only one who didn't consider her a freak like the rest of the kids did growing up, a detail she never came to understand since there were plenty of other kids with animalistic parts. If anything she felt like she was the most normal looking of the dozens of subspecies within the Fright Zone.

At least some things in the Fright Zone had yet to change around here, like the apparent lack of security guarding the Prison's station. They didn't seem to have any sense to get themselves a lock for the stupid doors leading up to this place, no extra security to protect themselves from a group of random people just barging in, disabling them, and wrapping them up in fairly strong vines that they couldn't escape from.

Like they did not two minutes ago.

"Bow's cell is in section B, level 20." Catra said, looking outside the windows of the station.

"Why do we need to be in here if we're going to knock out the generator anyway?" Mermista asked, finding a flaw in the logic.

"The lifts around here are run on a separate power system," Catra replied, "so we need someone to manage them after we cut power to the cells."

"Are you sure that won't interfere with the lifts in anyway?"

"Even if it does, I can handle it!" Entrapta squeaked enthusiastically. With a crack of her knuckles she began tapping away like the mad scientist she was against the computers. "I've already rerouted power to the lifts from another power source. By the time the Horde realizes it, we'll be on a skiff with all our friends back home!" Dashing away on the control panel, the curious bystanders watched as a lift grew from the upper floors above them, connecting to the floor above that. With a fit of giggles, they watched as she extended and pulled back the bridge repeatedly, finding some sort of entertainment at the incredibly advanced bridges.

"Good. Perfuma, Mermista, you deal with the generator down below. Wait until we get the lift up to Bow's cell and we're ready to unlock it. Like I said, when the reinforcements get here, we're not going to get a chance to escape once the jailbreak starts, so wait for my signal. Okay?"

"Right!" Perfuma and Mermista nodded in agreement.

"I think it would be best if I stayed with Entrapta instead." Sea Hawk suggested. "That way we wouldn't have to worry about anymore... friends... while she's busy." The girl was so enraptured by her fun that she didn't even hear what he just said.

"Good point. Alright, once I grab Bow, we find Glimmer through the jailbreak, then we meet at the base of the prison. From there it's a straight shot out of here. Everyone ready?"

"Ready!"

...

* _whack_ *

"Ngh!" Bow grunted as he continued kicking at the door.

* _whack_ *

"Ghhh!" He was running out of time, he was sure of it!

He's never met Adora in person before and based off whatever Kyle told him awhile ago he knew Glimmer was in trouble. What did Kyle mean about her  **probably**  being all right? That Adora was in a bad mood? That they needed to keep her alive for the exchange to happen in the first place? That almost sounded threatening to him!

What's worse is the lack of information he had to begin with. He didn't know where he was other than the Horde territory, he didn't know what was happening outside of these walls as they speak! For all he knew the exchange was happening right at this very moment, or maybe Catra herself was captured too! He completely forgot to ask about anything related to her, seeing how he was nabbed and knocked out immediately after returning to the Ball to find Glimmer. Was she okay to? Was she also somewhere in here? There were so many questions he needed answers to!

Yet nothing he did mattered. Every time he hit the stupid barrier it gave off a red flash wherever he struck it before rematerializing again to a solid green. There wasn't anything he could use as a weapon in here save for the bed, and no matter how hard he tried to pry it from the walls and use it as a battering ram, it was completely stuck in place!

There was no way for him to get out, no matter how badly he wished it. Whatever was happening to Glimmer, and possibly Catra, they were completely on their own.

"Bow!" His eyes widened at the sound of Kyle's voice again. "Bow!"

"Kyle?" Bow questioned, rather surprised to see the timid blond riding the lift to his cell.

"I'm supposed to be in the barracks. Lonnie made me cover her in latrine duty..." He mumbled with a sigh.

"What's going on?"

"I found out where your friend is being held!" Kyle announced, giving Bow hope for the first time since getting here. "Shadow Weaver has her in the Black Garnet chamber. She's being interrogated by Adora right now."

"Interrogated?" There was no way any methods of Horde interrogation around here could be pleasant. "What's happening to her now? Is she going to be okay?"

"Umm... Yes! Kind of. Maybe?... I don't think so..." Kyle answered nervously, rubbing his left arm trying to calm down. "Adora seemed really,  _ **really**_ , mad about her. She wants Glimmer to either erase whatever spell you guys placed over Catra or tell her how to disable the spell itself."

"Spell? We didn't place any spell over her, Kyle! Catra's working for us because she wants to!"

"I know, that's what a lot of us thought too! But..." A look of worry crossed his face as he looked away. "She's convinced Glimmer put some sort of spell over her. I don't know why but she won't accept any other answer. She's been getting a bit moodier as of late too."

"Do you know what she's going to do to Glimmer? Is she going to be alright?!"

"S-She'll be fine, I know that for a fact! She wouldn't risk doing anything deadly to her! She needs to keep her alive. Shadow Weaver is planning to ransom her in exchange for the Queen, so there's no way Adora would risk that."

Ransom? Information about Glimmer's condition? Telling him about what Adora is planning to do about her? "Why are you telling me all of this?"

"...I don't know." He shrugged. "I guess... you're the first person who's ever listened to me." He gave a small teethe smile as he said this.

"...I mean, I am being held prisoner, so... I don't know if I have a choice, but sure!" Ok, this was off to an admittedly better start.

He doesn't know how long he was going to be stuck in this cell, and he didn't know how much time he had before the exchange occurred or if something worse happened to Glimmer. So far this Kyle guy is the only other person he's met since coming here and right now he seemed the friendliest. If listening to him a little bit and talking to him here and there was a guaranteed way to help him out of this situation, then he was willing to make some new friends.

Besides, how bad could it be to listen to someone?"

...

Exiting the guard station the three awaited as the first lift came down to them. Nodding to Perfuma and Mermista, the flower princess giving her a thumbs up of good luck, quickly boarded the mechanical bridge, waiting and watching as she started to ascend a couple floors one by one. At the same time, she took a brief glance as another bridge passed by her, watching as it waited for Mermista and Perfuma at the control center, then descended further below as they headed for the generators.

This was another one of the fun memories Catra recalled having with Adora when they were kids. On the one day these cells were empty, unaware of what happened to the prisoners themselves, they found the place to be vastly empty of guards and almost no one at the consoles. Being around seven years old at the time, what better way could they spend a day they had off of lessons and training other than playing with the lifts themselves?

Taking turns back and forth, at one point setting the lifts to work automatically, they played back and forth on the fun lifts, having fun with the lifts flying them up and down, hopping between the two lifts as they passed each other. At one point they even dared each other stick their arm out and see how long they could keep it out until the lift passed by them.

Neither of them were brave enough to keep their arm out for more than 2 floors above, and yet they still laughed at the good time they were having.

It was during the ascent that Catra came across someone she didn't expect around here, and the last person she wanted to run into again in this place of all places. "You!" Lonnie shouted angrily. Surrounding her was Rogelio and several other guards, no doubt on patrol of the prison as they kept an eye on one of the two recent prisoners.

Back at the control station, Entrapta poked her fingers as she gave a nervous smile. "Whoops... That's not right." She tried making the most of the situation as she pressed another button, only for the lift to stop as it was six feet above the floor Lonnie herself was on. Grumbling to herself, as Rogelio lowered himself, she launched from atop Rogelio's shoulder up to the platform itself, pulling out her stun baton and setting the levels to maximum voltage.

"Entrapta!" Catra called down, seeing the disadvantage she was at. She wouldn't be able to handle four guys at once with the lack of space and mobility she had. Even she was aware of that. Hearing the girl scream, she and Lonnie nearly jumped as they felt the lift beginning to ascend again.

"I got the freak, you guys get whoever's messing with the lift!" She ordered, never taking her gaze off the magicat. Catra gritted her teeth as she got her own stun baton she relieved the previous guards off of. She couldn't risk using her claws during this fight without risking the chance of Lonnie getting her in one good swing.

She made that mistake too many times during training when they were kids.

Not even caring as the others ran to the lower floors, Lonnie grinned as she twirled the stick playfully in her hands. "Well, well, well, if it isn't the freak herself."

"Mmmh I'm not a freak, Lonnie." Catra grumbled, maintaining her composure and grip on the baton.

"You're right for once. Now you're a freak and a traitor." With a mighty roar she lunged herself straight onto the magicat, pressing her baton on Catra's own with full force, keeping Catra's feet pinned to the lift. "I can't believe you were stupid enough to come back here after all this time!"

"Shut up!" With a growl, Catra pushed back on Lonnie, the girl finding herself grumbling in turn as her feet slid little by little towards the edge of the lift. "I'm not your stupid punching bag anymore, Lonnie. And I never will be again!"

"Heh, is that so?" Confused by her sudden grin, she found herself caught off guard as Lonnie grabbed her wrist, the one holding the tighter grip on the baton, and lifted Catra off her feet. Catra could easily tell Lonnie's been taking stricter training regime's ever since Adora became Force Captain. "Let's just see about that then!" With a cackle, she tossed Catra behind her, the girl rolling across the floors on one of the ros of prison cells, Catra jumping to her feet as Lonnie jumped a ways ahead of her.

"Tch, you lose a couple brain cells since I last saw you, or are you normally this stupid?" Catra taunted. This stupid girl just gave Catra the greatest advantage ever! "You had a better chance on the lifts, idiot! At least there I had less balance!" Grinning to herself, she charged head first to the girl with a baton at the ready, prepared to counter any direction she tried to attack from.

There was no way Lonnie had the advantage over her! Here she had stable footing, a solid path, and multiple levels she could leap from in case of an emergency! Lonnie on the other hand was a big hulking idiot with little to no talent whatsoever. Withholding Catra's personal view of her, she was barely a little stronger in the muscle category, and she was nowhere near as fast as Catra herself was! It was because of this method of thinking she didn't consider the ace Lonnie had up her sleeve.

Or in her pockets.

"Personally, I like my chances as is." Lonnie smirked. In one swift motion, she dug through her pockets, placed something near her mouth, and then did the one thing Catra least expected. She whistled.

_*Scccccciiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-!*_

"Nggggghhhh!" All at once, Catra's entire body convulsed as an overwhelming ringing sensation went through her ears. Immediately dropping to the ground, she groaned internally as she covered her ears tightly, trying to drown out the wretched noise that made her body tingle in an almost paralyzing way. "W-What is that?!"

Lonnie continued as she watched the stupid cat squirming on the ground. Pulling her hand away from her mouth, she grinned. "Gotcha."

* _WHAM!_ *

"Ghhh!" Catra yelped as she was kicked squarely in the face several feet away. With the last bits of the ringing leaving her ears, fingers twitching as feeling returned to senses again. Glaring at the smirking girl, she watched as she casually twirled a very small whistle attached to a blue string by her right finger.

"Like it? Think of it as a dog whistle, but one for  **very**  annoying cats! Adora was nice enough to listen to my idea when I suggested it to her. Do you know how much better things have gotten since you left?"

"You...!" With another scream, she lunged straight for the girl, stretching her claws out this time as she preferred leaving a few scars this time around. Unfortunately, it was met with the exact same results as Lonnie returned the whistle to her lips.

* _Sccccccccciiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-!_ *

"Gah!" What was this horrible shock this whistle was sending through her system?! Every time she heard the stupid high pitched screeching sound her entire body instantly felt heavy and numb, barely having enough feeling to bring her fingers to plug her ears weakly. Groveling on the ground before her, Lonnie sneered as she casually kicked Catra square in the stomach. "Agh!" If the kick wasn't enough to hurt her, the way the screeching was paralyzing her nerves in addition to it did.

"Oh, this is going to be fun."

...

At the same time, Rogelio was making his own way to the lower levels as he charged towards the security station, the very ones Entrapta and Sea Hawk were busy taking care of the separate lifts, trying to maintain the one bringing down the other girls. There appeared to be a lot more of them than Entrapta originally thought, the girl getting too easily distracted by the many different scientific switches and doodads here and there she came across.

It was during that instance of confusion that she ended up hitting another switch activating one of the lifts; the very one on Rogelio's level as he came across the pathway. Noticing the lift preparing to move, he grabbed the other two guards by the hands, leaping over to the lift right before it started to move. With the momentum increased and the lift heading straight downwards, still maintaining his grip on the other two, he crashed his way through the window as the guards used his body to shield from the glass, jumping from his back towards a surprised Sea Hawk and Entrapta who watched the three crash through the window.

Without getting so much as a word out, the two guards tackled the two immediately out of the way, leaving a clear path open for Rogelio to regain control of the lifts again. Checking over the module, he noticed one of the other lifts were continuing to descend, no doubt the one their friends were still on. With a growl, he pulled back on the switches, halting the lift Mermista and Perfuma were on, just eight floors from the ground.

"What was that?" Mermista asked, maintaining her balance as she and Perfuma wobbled from the sudden stop. Without getting a reply, they were met with the lift coming back to life as it started rising to the sky once again. "That's not right!" Mermista shouted upwards, trying to grab whoever's attention was raising them back to the security tower.

"Quick, grab on!" Perfuma instructed. Using the magic she could gather in a single burst, she grew several massive beanstalks from the edge of the lift, stretching them as far as she could until it finally reached the ground level itself, halting the ascension. Despite it's strong grip, the lift continued to heave and groan, making a whirring noise as it pried a massive stalk one by one.

With a nod to each other the two girls jumped along the beanstalks, sliding down it smooth and quickly as the vines and stalks continued to snap one by one. Thankfully the two were smart enough to recharge their powers before taking on this entire rescue mission, Perfuma managing to maintain most of her magic's grip on the lift long enough for them to reach the ground level, not a second too soon either as the stalks behind them immediately broke apart, turning back to watch the lift immediately shoot upwards at top speed.

Seeing the lift itself starting to pass them, Rogelio growled as he noticed the missing pair from the lift, no doubt escaping to one of the prison rows or getting off of it in the nick of time. Looking back to the upper lifts that had yet to come down, he noticed an eager Lonnie having a bit of fun with the whistle she had Adora get made for, getting an idea as he started to descend the upper lifts that were raised above them.

...

* ** _WHACK!_** *

"Ough-!" Catra coughed in pain as she was kicked in the stomach for the third time.

She couldn't get an edge over her since the fight began, no opportunity to strike at her! Every time she got back to her feet, Lonnie was either looming over her or was already swatting the stun baton across her face. Whenever Catra tried to defend herself or found an opening, all Lonnie had to do was blow her whistle and almost instantly Catra would be doubled over in a paralyzing pain, the loud screeching noise sending shivers through her nerves to the point where her body wouldn't respond.

"See, like a dog whistle, it's a frequency that only you can hear." Lonne grinned, kicking the downed Catra again while walking around her. "It took me quite a bit of talking to convince Adora to get this made for me."

* **WHAM!** *

"Agh!"

"I kept going on and on about how I would use it  _defensively_ , to help capture you." She grinned, stepping her foot squarely on Catra's stomach.

"Ah..." Catra grunted, trying her best to push off massive boot off her stomach.

"That was a lie, of course. I had to say something to get her to do it."

"Ghhh!"

* _swiff_ *

"Ow!" Lonnie yelped as she hopped her foot away. She let out an angry groan as she rubbed her sore leg, finding several new scratch marks that tore through her pants and into her skin, a little gift from Catra's claws as she sliced into her leg on both sides. She wasn't even given a moment to collect herself as Catra leapt back to her feet, delivering a massive kick straight across Lonnie's face, and hurdling her several feet away from her.

Slowly getting back to her feet, Catra bared her teeth at Lonnie as the girl slowly collected herself, finding the whistle missing from her hands and a few feet rolled away ahead of her. Taking a quick look back to Catra, the girl scrambled towards it as Catra charged herself towards the girl. Right before Catra could land another blow, wanting to add a new scar to Lonnie's personal life, the bully managed to grab the whistle right at the last second, blowing as hard as she could as she placed it into her mouth and sending goosebumps throughout Catra's body again.

She felt such relief as Catra dropped to the ground in pain again, unable to tolerate the cruel sounds that her ears refused to ignore. Sighing in relief, Lonnie grabbed for stun baton and jabbed it right into Catra's gullet, sending thousands of volts through her body from head to toe.

* _Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzt!_ *

"Aghhhhhhh!" Now on top of the horrible pain ringing in her ears, her nerves were getting shocked from every angle as the electricity coursed through her body, Lonnie smirking as she rolled over to her knees and continued to torment the poor girl.

"Doesn't feel to good, does it?" She teased. As she said this, she noticed the lift far above them starting to descend. Getting a rather fun idea forming in her mind, she grabbed Catra by the throat, continuing to tweet her whistle as hard as she could, as she dragged the downed ex-comrade over to the edge. Her grin widened as she watched the lift descend faster and faster through the air, pinning Catra's head straight over the ledge where the bridge would rip through her.

No matter how badly Catra tried, she couldn't extend her claws through the convulsions and paralysis running through her veins. Her own body was resisting her control, she was surprised she could breathe at this point. She wasn't even able to reach Lonnie's face with her claws, the girl being smart enough to distance themselves as she watched the lift continue to fall.

"I'm pretty sure Shadow Weaver will give me a good promotion for turning in your sorry hide." Lonnie commented. "I'll be a Force Captain alongside Adora for this, I'm sure. Maybe I'll even outrank her if I report it directly to Lord Hordak!" That was when Catra finally saw the approaching lift coming down, falling faster and faster as it was just six levels above of them and coming further down. Despite her best attempts to reach the girl, being weaponless from the earlier scuffle, there was no way she could get a solid hit on the girl's face, or get her claws out enough to force Lonnie off of her. The most she could do was push her head away with her hand from the bottom of her chin!

As he watched this, he was too distracted to notice how Entrapta and Sea Hawk dealt with the two guards he carried into the room with him. What might've been a somewhat challenging endeavor for Sea Hawk, seeing how he came here without a weapon against guards with stun batons, Entrapta easily managed to knock her own guard off his feet before he could retaliate with a stun baton, swiping the guard off his feet and tossing him into the other one as they both passed out from slamming into the wall.

Noticing the small clearing ahead of him, Sea Hawk dashed wildly for the lizard boy, throwing his bandana around his eyes as he pulled back as hard as he could. The lizardman was unable to see anything around him, feeling Sea Hawk wrap his legs around his torso as he held on for dear life. The ensuing struggle was enough to pull Rogelio away from the console for a short bit, long enough for Entrapta to take over as she put an immediate stop to the lifts.

Back up top, Lonnie watched with anticipation as the lift was nearing their level, right where Catra's head was firmly planted. However, just as it was about to reach the defenseless cat's head who closed her eyes out of fear, right before it was about to ensure her head came clean off, it came to a halt, right at Lonnie's eye level. Noticing the lack of head removal herself, Catra tossed one eye out again, seeing the platform one foot right above her head, finding the timing of the event beyond words could say for relief.

It was then she also noticed Lonnie's perplexed expression as she stared at the platform in mild confusion. Right before she could get her bearings, faster than she could react, Catra punted her knee right behind Lonnie's legs, pulling the girl straight forward and slamming her head against the edge of the lift, right on the bridge between her eyes.

* _Thud_ *

"Ahhhh!" Lonne cried out in pain as she pulled herself off of Catra, squeezing the bridge of her eyes painfully. The impact was strong enough to send a shock between her entire face, leaving her in a disoriented state that Catra managed to take advantage of. In one single strike, she uppercutted Lonnie square in the face, punching the girl off of her and giving her enough time to slip her head out from under the lift, not wanting to take her chances of whether it would get up again or not.

...

"Is that the generator?" Perfuma asked as the two circled the base of the security tower for a minute.

It took a bit of time circling their way around the tower itself, seeing how the lift didn't bring them directly to the generator. Luckily for them compared to the outer rings of the floors above, the tower wasn't that hard to circle around, the two girls running in a full half-circle until they came across a strange piece of heavy machinery.

Looking back on it they realized Catra never told them what the generator looked like, though this machine seemed to fit the power. With a glowing green X in the center of what looked like a football-size battery, the machine housed nearly hundreds of different green wires, ones that housed all the way up the tower and the floors beneath their feet and towards the walls of the prison. If this wasn't what the generator looked like then there was no way they were going to find it at this rate.

"Must be." Mermista said, stepping towards the machine as she cracked her knuckles. "Heh, just give me one minute with this thing and I'll-"

"Haaaah!" Roaring with the force of mother nature itself, Perfuma shot a dozen powerful, thick, vines towards the battery-like device housed in the center of the machine, ensnaring it in a large mass of tangled vines and leaves. With a grand pull, using all of her physical strength, Perfuma heaved as she pulled the vines over her shoulder, slowly popping the wires out of the battery one by one, sending sparks flying everywhere, until the entire battery of the device ripped to shreds upon forceful ejection.

Ripped from the machine, the generator gave off a low-tone humming noise as numerous sparks and wires sparked from the cables and generator itself. All around them the living green energy slowly dimmed down to a grey dark nothingness, the power to the jail cells being dismantled

Turning back to the girl, Perfuma smiled as she raised a fist victoriously, crushing the battery just in case, as she cheered. "Haha! I did it!" Her mood of cheer and celebration was cut short as she noticed Mermista giving a small pouty face, crossing her arms as she turned away. It was then that Perfuma remembered how destroying something big was her idea to begin with. "Oh! Mermista! Did you want to rip the generator apart?"

"Yes!" She grumbled, kicking her feet a little against the dusty ground.

"I'm sorry! I-If you want, I could try to put the battery back in for a bit-"

"Don't bother, it wouldn't be the same!" She retorted puffing up her cheeks. "I get flushed on and I don't even get to blow up something big..."

"Mmmh... would you feel better if we went up to beat up some guards?"

"...Maybe..."

...

"No one's ever asked me for my help before." Kyle continued with his life's story with his teary eyes. "People don't think I can do anything right!"

"Mh-hmm. That seems tough." Bow reply, bored out of his mind as he leaned on his arm while sitting in his cell.

Oh geez, how much longer was he going to be tortured like this? Whatever pain and suffering Glimmer was going through couldn't be anywhere near as bad as this currently was. He thought if he made friends with Kyle, his problems would be over. If he somehow got Kyle to help him, it would be even better! The Rebellion could always use a welcoming defector hand, after all. All Bow had to do to cement any sort of relationship was hear Kyle prattle on for awhile about his life and struggles in the Horde.

And MAN was he regretting it!

Not two seconds did Kyle stop to take a breath for a change, having an immediate story about his life's problem, one issue after the next, one story to tie in with his previous. It always came down to how he was picked on, how he tried his hardest despite not many people acknowledging his strengths, all his constant fears of the place, and so much more that his attention span eventually dropped out and took a nap halfway through.

He wouldn't really mind his life's story either if he just gave Bow a single second to ask him a question about it! It also would help him greatly if he didn't leave off with the same problem at the end of every, with him referring to how nobody ever listened to him and how nobody ever treated him properly around here.

At the very least, he could give Bow five seconds to process a thought!

"Why am I telling you this?" Kyle asked the both of them. "I shouldn't even be here-"

* ** _Raaaaaaaanoooooo-Raaaaanoooooo-!_** *

"Huh?" The two stared up at the sound of the sirens going off, seeing the place starting to flash with an eerie red light mixed in with the green.

"What is that?" Bow's question came with an immediate answer as the two of them saw an electrical spark running through the door.

By the time Kyle realized it, it was already too late. From a simple line right down the middle, a single bolt of electricity ran through the doors, slowly causing the door to dematerialize in front of the two of them in two opposite directions. From the center, piece by piece, the door began to slowly vanish and crumble, fading to a deepening shade of red before finally disappearing completely.

Noticing the strange happening that just occured, Kyle quickly turned around, panicking at the sight of everything around him. One floor after the other, row upon rows of doors were starting to short out, the barriers keeping the cellmates confined in their blocks disappearing one after the other. Many of the inmates who stepped out of these cells found themselves in a momentary state of confusion, one that lasted for but an instant, and was quickly replaced by one immediate thought soon after.

"Jailbreak!" Dozens of prisoners shouted, some in unison, some after waking up from the sound of the sirens. All around the prison hundreds of people of varying races ran out of their cells, many of them tackling a guard or two patrolling their section, and others running for their lives after helping out a fellow friend.

"No, no, no!" Kyle squeezed his head as he backed. He needed to think up a plan fast, he needed to regroup with someone! He needed to figure out what he backed into and why it felt like it was in the shape of a person. "Ack-!" He yelped, finding Bow staring him down from behind. Instead of the untold pain and misery he was going to find himself in, he was surprised to see Bow walk right passed him, the archer trying to get a grasp on the situation, and gasping at the sight.

It wasn't just a fancy wordplay or joke being thrown around. All around him nearly every floor in the prison was being opened, exposing various people running out to either flee or fight for their lives, as well as some of the more rugged variety of people tossing others away as they charged passed them. His floor alone held about five different prisoners, none of them giving him a notice as they ran around the rings of the prison, heading straight to the stairs that could lead to possible freedom.

And that wasn't the most surprising part of it!

What really shocked him was what he saw in the middle of this entire complex, as well as what he saw three floors below his.

In the center of the complex he saw what appeared to be Entrapta through the middle, the mad genius typing away as fast as her hair would let her, doing everything in her power to keep the lizard guy off of her at the same time as Sea Hawk fought him with his bare fists.

Below them he started to see an extension of numerous vines, large stalks that scaled around the multiple flowers that allowed many of the prisoners to use them as poles for a faster escape. All of this was created by an excited Perfuma who continued to climb the various levels with her magic while an angered Mermista happily beat against several guards at once, using the many water pipes running through this place to blast the guards off the levels, many of them fortunate Perfuma littered the ground with numerous bushes for safety.

And what surprised him most might've been what he saw not four floors below his. There, he saw Catra, his friend, Catra, who appeared to be fighting off another one of the cadets like Kyle, except were he was more timid, frail, and currently trying to get out of the prison to sound the second alarms, she was pounding on Catra with stun baton.

And winning.

...

"Grrrrrrr!" Entrapta grumbled as she tried to hold the giant lizard at arm's, and hair's, length. For what little time Sea Hawk managed to pull the lizard off of the console, the two soon found themselves fighting off an angered beast without any weapons to call their own, save for Entrapta's hair that was becoming more difficult to push back with. She was barely a foot away from the beast that tried to crush her with his massive jaws.

That's when he found himself grabbed by the tail, feeling two incredibly powerful hands crushing in on his tail as he was pulled directly off the scientist. With her view clear, she watched in awe as Sea Hawk began spinning the lizard around, picking up momentum and speed, and finally flinging the massive lizard straight through another glass window. The lizard was fortunate himself Sea Hawk was a surprisingly impressive thrower as the landed a floor under his current level, slamming head first to the ground.

Rogelio hissed with his lizard-like tongue as he worked his way back to his feet. A simple tug and throw wasn't going to be enough to keep this lizard down, especially with a purple-haired geek and a sea captain with a terrible-looking moustache!

Sadly fate was less than kind to him as a large siren rang throughout the prison. All around him he watched as numerous cells were being opened on separate floors in an orderly style. He was so distracted by the recent development he didn't even notice the cells behind him starting to open up to. By the time he turned around he found himself tackled to the ground by three different prisoners, all attempting to fight off the guard in order to make their escape, buying Entrapta and Sea Hawk all the time they needed.

"Wow..." Entrapta oohed, still in wonder. "That was amazing Sea Hawk!" She was legitimately impressed in all honesty. Not many people can say they flung a creature nearly three times their size and weight off the ground and through the air like that.

The proud captain smiled triumphantly as he clapped his hands clear of dust. "That was nothing. I've been forced to wrestle a shark off of people on at least three occasions during my time on land."

"Wow!... Wait, did you say "on land"?" Entrapta asked curiously as she went back to the module.

"Well, the cantinas tend to get very rough sometimes when you're playing card games..." He mumbled regretfully to himself, rubbing the back of his head. "Especially when they find out how you keep winning twenty matches in a row..." Moving on, he ran over to the module too as he looked around the prison itself. All around him prisoners were running or fighting for their as they tried to escape. "It would seem Mermista and Perfuma finished their part of the mission."

"And according to this, just about all the cells have been vacated." Smiling, she worked her scientific knowhow as she sent several lifts across the prison. "I'm sending the lifts up to Bow and Catra and down to Mermista and Perfuma. Once we collect everyone and Glimmer, we'll be home free!"

...

* _wham_ *

"Ugh..." Catra groaned as she was thrown to the ground for possibly the fifth time by this point.

She couldn't beat her. She couldn't get anywhere close to her since getting her off of her from the lift. After managing to bash the girl away, Lonnie hasn't even dropped that stupid whistle from her mouth, and it was starting to affect Catra on a more permanent basis. Her body was getting a little sluggish, her sight waved here and there. She didn't know if it was from the beatings she was taking or the whistle constantly ringing in her ears, and it didn't matter at this point.

"You know I never did see what Adora saw in you." Lonnie continued to taunt. "You were lazy, you were incompetent, and you got Adora into just as much trouble as yourself."

"Been there, heard that." Catra muttered, rushing the girl again.

* _Sccccccccciiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-!_ *

"Eggghhhh!" This time was no exception as Catra's body shook violently, dropping straight to her knees mid-run as she clamped her ears shut tightly.

"Worst of all, you never knew when to quit." With a winning smile, Lonne raised her baton high in the air, ready to land a finishing blow that would knock Catra out for good. "I almost wish I got to see what Shadow Weaver did to you after this, but oh well."

* _ **Raaaaaaaanoooooo-Raaaaanoooooo-!**_ *

"Huh?" Lonnie raised her head as she heard the sound of the strange sirens going off. This wasn't like the normal one that was met with an instantly flashing red light, this one was mixed with a flashing green and red light, while also having a different pitch at the same time.

That's when she saw the same thing Kyle was seeing a few floors above her. Starting from the bottom of the prison, one row after the other, the cells began to dissipate on each and every floor, slowly working their way to their floor and continuing onwards. "What did you do?!"

Catra watched for herself as the floors began to flood with anywhere between five to ten people a floor, everyone scrambling or fighting back against any of the nearby guards that happened upon them after a resounding "Jailbreak" was announced. It didn't matter to her at this point if there was a lack of signal, no doubt something forced the others to destroy the generator. All that mattered to her was the opening it gave her.

"Hrrrgggggghhhhhh!" Catra growled, leaping straight for Lonnie's throat with her bare claws.

* _Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt!_ *

"Ahhhhhhhh!" It wasn't Lonnie's unfortunate scream that was resounding near them. It was Catra's. The girl was so certain Lonnie let her guard down for an instant that she didn't anticipate her hasty reaction, striking back at the magicat square in the stomach with her baton right as Catra's claw had reached her neck.

"You didn't really think that would work, did you?" Sneering as she pulled back the baton and beat her fist against Catra's face, toppling the girl straight to the ground and throwing her to the ground again. She snickered at the sight of the girl weakly getting to her hands and knees again, her tail limping almost as bad as the rest of her body was. "You really never learn, do you? Geez, and I thought after awhile you would've picked up on some-" Lonnie froze as she noticed something missing around her neck, all while she heard a small chuckle coming from the bruised and battered Catra who made her way to her feet.

"Oh, trust me. I  _picked up_  something alright." She grinned, opening her palms wide enough to give Lonnie a pleasant view of what she had picked up.

It was the whistle she had tied around her neck, now in the palm of the last person who should have it.

"Catra, don't-"

* **crunch** *

Did she seriously think that was going to happen? If she politely asked her not to that she wasn't going to bring herself to crush the small whistle in her open palms. "Whoops, my fingers slipped." Catra joked, tilting her hand enough to let the bits and pieces of the broken whistle fall in front of her. In a single breath, Lonnie watched as Catra extended the claws out of her hand, the girl lowering her brow as she glared at her everlasting tormentor. "Now THIS is going to be  _ **fun**_!"

Without giving Lonnie a chance to process the small hiss that followed it, Catra practically teleported between the two feet in front of them in her mad dash, slamming a long-deserved fist right into Lonnie's stomach that she's been waiting so long to give her. The bully found herself knocked right off her feet, dropping her Baton in the process, as she was flung through the air two entire cells away from Catra.

It wasn't anything the girl couldn't power through as she immediately rolled back to her feet, thankful Adora's increased training had her amply prepared for a fight like this. Unfortunately for her, prepared was the farthest thing she was from as she was met with an angered magicat diving right at her, smacking her across the face as she passed her.

Catra didn't give her a single second of relief as she continued her relentless assault, passing Lonnie at every opportunity that the girl managed to collect herself. From the back, to the side, forward, backward, as well as her knees and arms, Catra scratched and slammed away at each of her limbs. Disorienting the girl enough, Catra knew this is one of the few things she's always wanted in her life as she headbutted the girl straight against her tiara.

Revenge.

For every prank she pulled, Catra kicked her in the stomach. For every cruelty inflicted upon her, Catra punched her in the face. She was not holding back against this girl now that she had the opportunity to do so. It didn't matter to her if she was rushing this fight as fast as she could. She was savoring every delicious blow she dealt to her second worst tormentor, uppercutting her again before her knees could even drop to the floor, flattening her onto her back.

If she had to give any compliments to the girl, it was that she still managed to get back to her feet after everything Catra had done to her, though it was clear she was exhausted and out of breath, with several scratches across her ripped sleeves and a small cut on her lower lip. There was no way she was going to make a comeback herself.

"Catra!" She heard Bow calling out, letting out a small gasp herself as she saw Bow coming down to her level on one of the lifts.

"Bow? Ah-!" She let out a small yelp as she found the archer throwing his arms tightly around her, unaware of the injuries she's sustained to this point.

"Thank goodness! You're all right!" Finally! A bit of good news he was given around here!

"Ack-! Hey hey, easy! Easy!" Catra yelped, trying to wriggle her way out until he finally let go.

"Oh, right, sorry." He smiled apologetically. "I forgot, still not buddy-buddy yet or anything. I'm just... glad you're okay..." For the first time, the announcement of that actually made her frown. He made it sound like she still hated him along with Glimmer, like she still didn't see the two eye-to-eye. Even if she wasn't exactly that comfortable with saying it out loud as of yet, it's not like she wasn't happy or relieved to see he was okay either.

With a minor blush, shifting her eyes away as she scratched her head, she spoke. "W-Well, I mean... It's not like I'm unhappy you're okay or anything..." She mumbled, almost shocking Bow with what he was hearing he was so surprised. "I mean... I'm, well... you know... glad you're okay too and all..."

No. Freaking. Way. There was no way he could believe what he had just heard and what he had just witnessed. For the first official time since meeting Catra, there wasn't one hint of sarcasm, no lead up to a joke, no amount of wordplay or manipulations behind anything she just said. She had, in fact, not even kidding here, just said the very first legitimate positive thing about him and/or Glimmer.

And he didn't even do anything yet to earn it!

"...Wow..."

"S-Shut uuup..." Catra mumbled blushing deeper. "You think this is any easier for me?

"Heh, right..." He knew what this was like for someone like her, after all the hardships and troubles she had just to get to this level of kindness. At this point in the relationship the three friends shared, she could take as much time as she needed for all he cared. Turning back to the weakened Horde soldier, he nudged her with his elbow to get her attention. "What do you want to do about her?"

Checking at the glaring Horde soldier too, assuming how many minutes were left before the backup generator kicked in for the cells, she grinned.

"I have an idea..."

...

* _THUD!_ *

"Ah!" Lonnie cried out as she was tossed to the cold metallic floor. Glaring back at the two, she grumbled furiously as she saw Catra smirking by the doorway, looking all calm and peaceful as she grinned to her with her hands behind her head. "Youuuu!" She wasn't going to let Catra get away with this! It didn't matter to her if she now had someone else at her back, she would take them both on if it was the last thing she did-!

* _Bzzzt!_ *

"Ahhh!" Lonne cried again as she was blasted back into the cell. To her horror, in front of the two, now stood a fully solidified barrier, one that ensured she couldn't escape. It didn't matter how many times she got back to her feet, slamming on the cell door itself, the barrier wouldn't budge an inch. She pounded away with her fist time and again, all while Catra let out a bored yawn at the show in front of her.

"Awwwwhn. Perfect timing on the barrier." She teased.

"Come on, let's get back to the lift and get out of here." Bow suggested, already taking his own advice as he jogged towards the lift.

"Eh, you go on ahead, I need one sec." Catra replied, giving a small annoyed look back to Lonnie who continued to glare at her.

It was just like that day in almost every detail. The day Catra wanted to be friends with her, the day she thought she was going to take part of some grand initiation plan, and watched how it all crumbled in front of her in a horrible shatter of reality. All because of what Lonnie did.

And now, they were right back where they were almost a decade ago, this time on completely opposite sides.

"Hmm..." Catra hummed loud enough for the girl to hear, looking over the control panel on the side of the door. "Now if I remember, one of these buttons started some  _grand initiation_  we did when we were kids, right?" She didn't bother to look as Lonnie's face filled with fear and dread, having a clear picture of what Catra was about to do.

"N-No, wait! Catra, please!" Lonnie begged, sliding to her knees. "Don't!"

"I think it was... ah, here it was." She gave off the proudest smirk she ever could to the girl. "Have fun in solitude."

"No, please! IHATETHEDARK-!"

* _Thud_ *

"..." For some reason, the intense amount of amusement she was about to get out of this grand dose of irony was brought to a halt as Lonnie uttered those last few words, right before the metallic doors sealed her away in a never ending darkness, the same one she practically threw her in all those years ago. "..." She still remained silent, opting to pull open a small foot long panel that was used to deliver food to the prisoners when they were subjected to the Hole as punishment.

It didn't make sense to her as she saw it. Here she was. Lonnie. Former bully, tormentor, and person who nearly made her lose her head, kneeling on the ground in front of her so that all Catra could see were her eyes. She sputtered those last few words of fear out of her thinking Catra would've cared, trying to play whatever last minute trick she could get out of her for her own amusement.

And yet, she didn't seem the least bit amused. Here, right in front of her, Catra could see it. Tears. A pure stream of tears rolling down Lonnie's eyes, the girl looking terrified beyond her wildest nightmares, as the prospect of being trapped in terrifying darkness reached her. She was looking at the bully who subjected her to the pitch black room all those years ago getting a taste of her own medicine, and she was now crying her eyes out for the few seconds she was in total darkness.

What did she expect? Did she expect Catra's forgiveness for all those years of hate and abuse? Did she think she would take pity on the girl who harassed her constantly, all because she was scared of the pitch darkness like Catra was as a child? Did she really expect some sort of mercy out of her?!

"Please..." Lonnie sniffled, looking into Catra's loathing eyes. "Just keep the latch open... don't put me in the dark..." What was she expecting at this point? This was Catra she was talking to. The traitor, the defector. The person who thought she was always the victim and never took responsibility for her own pranks and mischief she pulled on everyone else. The troublemaker who would pick on other people herself if they bugged her out of nowhere, and the one who always goofed off from her duties.

If this stupid cell had an incineration function to it, she was positive Catra would press it on a heartbeat. So why did she think asking for mercy of all things was going to help? She just exposed her greatest fear of being in perfect darkness like this to the person she nearly tried to kill a minute ago, and that's not including all the years of torment she inflicted upon her. This was her chance. Her moment of revenge. Her opportunity of justifiable payback.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...Huff..." Catra shook her head of all the irritation she was getting out of this. "You're not even worth it." With those five words, Catra walked away, leaving the hatch open wide enough to let a small beam of light fill the darkened room. Lonnie herself blinked madly, unable to comprehend what she had witnessed. Catra... THE Catra... just did the last thing she had ever expected her to do for someone like Lonnie.

Something nice.

"...Thank you..." She muttered, sniffling. She saw it for herself and she was still in disbelief.

Catra truly has changed...

...

"You guys! You're all here!" Entrapta announced happily, watching as Catra and Bow had arrived to the security station from above as Mermista and Perfuma arrived shortly after from the lift down below.

"It's wonderful to see you again, Bow!" Perfuma ran over hugging him tightly, relieved one of her two captured allies were alright.

"It's good to see you guys too." Bow replied, hugging back.

"It's good to see you back on your feet after all this, lad." Sea Hawk smiled, patting his shoulder. "I don't want to imagine what you might've been through till now."

"Honestly, I'm alright. It's Glimmer we need to worry about-"

"Pffft, relax, how hard can it be?" Catra said shrugging casually. "Even if little miss princess somehow slept through all of this, we'll just run up to the cells to get her." She smiled a little looking as high as she possibly could towards the ceiling. "Any idea what floor she's on?"

"Catra, you..." She turned back as he placed a hand over her shoulder, a twinge of worry emanating through his eyes. "You don't understand. Glimmer's not around here."

"Then... where is she?" At the sight of his frown, Catra's heart sank a little before she even heard what he had to say.

"Shadow Weaver brought her to the Black Garnet chamber... and she's being interrogated by Adora."

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**A/N: For those of you wondering, yes, I do happen to have a future reasoning/explanation for Lonnie's fear of the dark playing into a future episode (possibly season 2). But for now still hope you guys had fun regardless. Next episode is going to be the second last to last chapter of this episode, at which point I hope the rest of you have fun with either way ^^** _

_**Hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!** _


	35. Episode 9: No Princess Left Behind Part 4

_**A/N: Yataaaaaaah! No idea what that means other than saying "Huzzah!" ^^! Haha, I feel really good about this one folks. As you can imagine with how soon i posted it after the last one, I had a lot of fun with this chapter ^^ Would've had more fun if i could've ended it, but I'll take what I can get XP that just means you guys get one more chapter tomorrow or day after ^^** _

_**It also means... at the rate i'm going...I am sooooo not finishing this fic before season 2 T_T CRAP!** _

_***sigh* well either way, I did have fun with this. and I still won't be watching season 2 until I finish it (curse you brain you traitor!) So if you can, avoid potential spoilers in the latter chapters please XP.** _

_**With that said, enjoy!** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_*Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt!*_

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Glimmer cried out in agony again as the volts went through her body.

Pain. So. Much. PAIN!

This wasn't like anything Glimmer had ever been through before. This wasn't getting blasted by some sort of mystical energy in one shot, this wasn't the result of some creature slamming a giant arm against her, this wasn't falling from some incredible height that she could survive. This was torture.

Literally.

Throughout the entire experience, possibly for the last half hour, however long Glimmer found herself here, she's been getting tortured. Every time her interrogator asked her the same question it was always met with the same two responses; "I don't know" or "there isn't any spell", and later followed by a giant burst of the Black Garnet's twisted energy being shot through her body. The tormentor asked the same question time and again, and it was never met with a different response.

What made it so much more troubling wasn't the fact she was being tortured, but who she was being tortured by.

Adora.

The Adora Catra considered to be her only friend, the same one she hated Glimmer over for losing in Salineas. The one Catra had fond memories of, not that she ever told Glimmer about them, like how sweet and kind she is. The one Catra relied upon throughout most of her life to keep her safe. She wasn't anywhere near friendship material, or if she does then it did kind of match Catra's own hardened personality, seeing how twisted Adora seemed to be, possibly due to all her time growing up in the Horde.

As for Adora herself, she was starting to lose her patience in every sense of the word. One question. She kept asking her one  **single**  question! And what did she have to show for it? Nothing. No matter how many times she asked, no matter how high she increased the voltage of these electrical shocks, she could never get a straight answer out of her.

It was actually surprising she was losing her patience as she did. She thought with her lack of emotions in her present state, seeing how she was wearing the headband, that she'd be immune to feeling any other emotions after her intense training regimen. Apparently, no matter how much she trained, it just went on to show that she could never fully be rid of her emotions, despite how hard she was trying to keep them suppressed.

She felt impatience, confusion, a tinge of worry, and most of all anger. She gave this evil princess who knew how many times to answer her one simple question and she was refusing to give it to her!

Didn't this princess feel any pain? Did she enjoy making Adora herself suffer? She took Catra away from her, brainwashed her, mind controlled her, whatever she did to take Catra away from her! She had plenty of other friends, sure, but none like Catra was. She was one of the very first friends she ever made, ever since she was little. She saw her as a sister, maybe something else, and she promised she would always be there for her when she needed it, and she knew Catra desperately needed it if she was fighting for the Rebellion of all people!

All she could process right now in her emotionally deprived state was a burning anger in her heart. "Geeehhhhhhhhhhhh!" Adora growled as she turned off the machine after long last.

"Aaaaugh-! Huff... Huff..." Glimmer panted heavily as she lowered her head, sniffling as the tears stung rolling down her eyes. "Please...ju... just stop...ehhheh..." She cried a little.

Still giving the princess the cold, scathing, look since she first laid eyes upon her, Adora walked her way over to the agonizing princess, pulling in the shadows from around her feet as she formed a giant clawed hand on her right arm. "Do you think I like this anymore than you do?!" She yelled. "All I want is to know how to free Catra from your spell!"

"T... There isn't anyyyy...egh..." Glimmer continued to cry, letting out a small hiccup.

 _How much resistance does this wicked princess even have?!_  Adora shouted in her mind. Without a care about the electrical energies keeping her contained, Adora grabbed Glimmer by the chin, forcefully lifting her head up as she glared into her eyes. "Tell me how to remove the spell RIGHT NOW!"

"THERE ISN'T ANY SPELLLLLL! Aghuh...tch...eheh..." Glimmer shouted, squeezing her eyes shut as she cried.

How resistant was this princess being?! Why was she so obsessed with keeping Catra on her side this badly?! Didn't she understand the minute she told her the truth Adora would stop torturing her? She'd be willing to let her walk away free at this rate if she could tell Adora how to save Catra! What was she doing instead?

Being persistent, that's what! Just look at her! She was acting like she was the victim of all of this, like Adora herself was the villain here! She was putting on the most pathetic display Adora had ever seen, trying to act like she was weak and helpless as she was as the tears flowed from her eyes! The way she stood held against the restraints in pain, the way she wept like this was torturing her, the way she... she was... crying... as Adora felt a small tear drip from Glimmer's face to Adora's shadowy fingertips...

The... the way she was... pretending to... She... how she was... acting... like this was actually hurting her... the... the way it reminded her of when...

_Catra continued to cry to herself silently, digging her head back into her arms as she sobbed. The blond girl tilted her head as she watched her sniffle to herself. "Why are you crying?" She still didn't give an answer. All she did was try to wave her away, letting the other girl get a good look at her small claws. "Ooooh... those look sharp." She commented. "Are you the one who scratched Lonnie earlier?" As if to answer her question the girl's sobs grew louder and the sniffling doubled._

_"Mmmmhmmmh..." She whimpered into her arms._

That... that wasn't any way to fake it... she's seen true sadness before. Real, legitimate, sadness. Her eyes wavered as her expression started to soften. Her hands began to tremble as she slowly pulled them in front of her face, looking at the way her fingers twitched before her very eyes.

"I... what..." For the first time since donning this headband after her training, she felt something. No matter how hard her training forced her to repress her emotions, she couldn't ignore the feelings that began to drown within her heart. "Wh-What... am I... What am I doing?"

What  _was_  she doing? How could she be doing it in the first place? She was a Force Captain for the mighty Horde, a fighting force that stood for Unity and peace across all of Etheria. They were supposed to be better than their enemies, not become them. Just because the evil princesses relied on underhanded tactics didn't mean they should force themselves to resort to them too.

Yet here she was, staring at her own two trembling hands as the shadows dissipated from her right hand, looking back to the state of the princess she just interrogated. This wasn't a creature of evil, this didn't look like anyone who would commit atrocities across the world for the sake of destruction.

This was a young woman, a child at that. A teenager who was the daughter of the leader of the Rebellion, Queen Angella. And despite her tears slowly beginning to dwindle, she was crying out in pain. A pain that Adora herself caused over the last two hours, all because she wanted a simple question to be answered.

What would that make them if they ended up being worse than the princesses?

She couldn't stand this immense feeling the headband was putting on her anymore. Without any hesitation, her hands shot up towards the headband itself, grumbling at the minor resistance it put up, and pulled it from her head. If she thought she was barely feeling anything before, the emotions coming to her now were all-consuming. Where a simple slice of confusion started from, she felt a giant pool of guilt washing over herself, the very same one she felt for what she had done to Catra the first time.

And now she was feeling it for her most hated of enemies.

"What... what am I doing..." She asked herself again, asking as if she herself would answer the question. Looking back to the princess she tortured, she couldn't understand. Why was she an evil princess in the first place? Why was she so obsessed with hating her? Why were her feelings drawing her to an unwanted conclusion that started to infect her mind. "Y... You... You really didn't cast anything on Catra, did you?"

"Th...That's what I've been saying." Glimmer sniffled, recovering her strength from the pain she's experienced so far at a snail's pace. After long last she felt as if she finally reached a breaking point with Catra's friend. "There isn't any spell on her, Adora. There never was! I meant every word I said about her joining us willingly."

"B-But..." It still didn't make the pain feel any better in her heart. "Then that would mean..."

"I know you don't want to think about it Adora, but it's the truth." Despite everything Adora had done to her, she could already feel the small bit of pain reeling in from Adora's eyes. "She's been working for us of her own free will, Adora. She always has."

...So... what? Was that it? Was she supposed to just accept that as an answer and move on? Was there anywhere else to move on to after this grand revelation? Did the tears starting to gather in Adora's eyes go on to say she believed her? That she had no other dilemmas or quarrels with the princess?

She still needed answers! Why did Catra want to leave the Horde then? What kind of desire did she have that was greater than her friendship with Adora? Come to think of it, what would she expect if Glimmer did tell her she was being brainwashed somehow? She came all the way up to this point, this big reveal, and now she doesn't even know how to respond! She just felt empty, like her heart was anchored down into a dark abyss.

She felt... pain. She felt nothing but pain right now. It would mean... it had to mean... Catra was a traitor... a traitor that would sell out her own family and friends, at the very least her allies. Most of all, it would mean she was willing to betray Adora herself of all people, and she continued to do so without question.

"...No... No, this has to be a mistake!" Adora shook her head in frustration. "There has to be a good reason for all of this!"

"Adora..." Glimmer muttered softly. She couldn't forgive her for what she did to Glimmer for the last half hour, but she could still see the pain growing in her eyes. She was unwilling to face the truth even when it was right in front of her.

She was living in pure denial.

"Maybe... Maybe there was a mix-up or something!" Adora paced back and forth as she tried to comprehend the situation. "Y-Yeah, I mean... maybe she's stuck, like... like she accidentally helped one of you guys and someone thought she was defecting!"

Yes, that had to be it! It made perfect sense! She went off into the woods, accidentally helped the Rebellion without meaning to, was spotted by another member of the Horde when doing it, and they thought she was defecting, so she stayed with the Rebellion for her own safety! Of course! Why didn't she think of this sooner-!

No... No wait, that wouldn't work. There would've had to be another member of the Horde out in the middle of the Whispering Woods the night she left her, and there were no other members of the Horde assigned to the place she went to. Adora made sure of it through the mission manifests.

Three times at that.

"Or... Or maybe... Maybe she caught amnesia!" Yes, that's it! It had to be right! She wasn't defecting intentionally! She must've suffered a severe head injury from when she fell out of the skiff! After all, she admitted she might have it too! And then she called Adora by her... name... "Nghhh!" Adora groaned squeezing her head, trying to make sense of this situation.

So there wasn't a spell over Catra? Fine. That still left Adora with the underlying problem of why she would work for the Rebellion, not to mention the fact she was working for the Rebellion at all! She had to have a logical explanation for all of this, something she could use to explain her actions and keep her friend from suffering any consequences or punishments! There had to be something in all of this confusion, there just had to-!

"Adora." Glimmer calmly called out, grabbing her attention. The look of pain on Adora's face was shared by the pink-haired princess, Glimmer recalling how her mother once was after finding out her father was killed in the war. There wasn't any happy way to announce such terrible news. The only thing the person could do was face the truth, no matter how painful it was to bare. "I'm sorry. There isn't anything wrong with her."

Short, simple, and to the point. This is what Adora needed to realize before she made a wreck of herself. If she couldn't get over this pain then-

* _ **Raaaaaaaanoooooo-Raaaaanoooooo-!**_ *

Both girls looked up to the ceiling as they heard the sounds of sirens going off, echoing all around them as some form event had occurred.

"What... What's going-"

"Adora." Turning towards the door, Adora saw her peer, Shadow Weaver, floating through the doorway, a look of anger seeping through her white eyes. "There's been a breach in the Prison sector. Hundreds of inmates are escaping as we speak." She pulled out the Sword of Protection from the twisted nether, pointing the hilt of the blade towards Adora herself. "Any idea who's responsible for this charade?" She asked knowingly.

Neither of them could believe it, and both would make the argument that they were in more disbelief. Adora was in disbelief that the friend she was trying to save came all the way back here to start a riot, no doubt risking her life to save this Princess for whatever reason. As for Glimmer, she couldn't believe that  _she_ , the one who seemed so spiteful of everything within the Horde, the one who refused to acknowledge or see the rest of them as friends, would come back just to save her.

Discouragingly enough, they both uttered the same words that brought bile to Shadow Weaver's throat.

"Catra!"

...

...

_*wooooooo*_

_*wooooooo*_

_*wooooooo*_

The sirens went off repeatedly as the large group of allies made their way through the corridors. Mermista, Perfuma, Sea Hawk, Entrapta, the robot Emily she reprogrammed, Bow, and last but not least Catra, were running for their lives as the various riots and prisoners ran through the hall, some several at a time, others by themselves, all running like rats through a maze as they tried to make their escape.

One that only Catra knew the quickest way out of.

So far, the rescue plan went off without a hitch. After infiltrating their way through the Horde complex, the group of friends, the word taking some getting used to for Catra, had finally made their way into the interior of the Prison block, one where numerous defectors, enemies, and insubordinate criminals were being held. Two particular criminals that the allies were trying to save were Bow and Glimmer, the first people Catra ever felt truly accepted by and acknowledge as friends.

Rescuing them from the prison itself proved to be a bit of a grueling task for the heroes as they came across Lonnie, Rogelio, and a handful of other guards that were patrolling the prison, possibly due to Adora's foresight that Catra's allies would try to rescue them ahead of time. What Catra first thought would be a smooth experience to get some payback against one of her top tormentors proved to be an entire endeavor in itself as she fought off Lonnie, all while the rest continued with their assigned mission fighting off the Horde.

Lonnie had one ace up her sleeve that left Catra powerless to stop her. It was a whistle, a specially designed whistle Lonnie had Adora get made for her if she ever came across the cat again. Every time she blew through it she felt her body go numb while listening to a paralyzing screeching sound, the whistle taking full advantage of Catra's extensive hearing capabilities. The screech itself was unbearable to the point where every time she heard it, Catra's body would cease to function, a numbness spreading through her body as her nerves were shot.

It was amazing what a good amount of science and technology could do for the Horde. Whenever Catra got to her feet to try to fight back, all Lonnie would have to do is blow the whistle, dropping her to the floor where she was too helpless to fight against Lonnie's kicks and strikes with the Stun Baton she had. It almost reached a dire end as Rogelio took temporary controls of the lifts and lowered it towards the fight the two were having, Lonnie taking pride at the situation as she pinned Catra's head right over the ledge, waiting for the lift to drop down and finish the job for her.

Catra had never found herself more thankful than she was now for Entrapta's quick rescue, prying the controls from Rogelio long enough to stop the lift over a foot away from Catra's head.

After an eventful struggle, Catra finally managed to gain the upper hand as the prison riots, caused by Mermista and Perfuma destroying the cells' generator, provided enough of a distraction for her to swipe the small whistle right off of Lonnie's neck, crushing it in her own hands with ease. There, Catra was relentless with her strikes against her former bully, leaving dozens of scars and bruises across her body by the time Bow had reached Catra after escaping from his own cell.

A part of her still wondered why she gave any bit of mercy to her former bully when she needed it most. Trying to place Lonnie's own game against her after all these years, she threw the girl into a cell right before the prison's backup generators kicked in, the barrier locking Lonnie right inside. Here, Catra decided to play a game of lock down with her, trapping Lonnie within a pitch black cell which Catra would've been more than happy to leave her after years picking on her.

At least, until she cried. This was her bully, the big, strong, tough girl that always picked on Catra, admitting to her fear, practically phobia, of the pitch darkness that the lock down would've left her in. She didn't care about Lonnie in the slightest, she would've been more than happy to keep her in the dark like her. And for some reason... she just couldn't.

She knew firsthand what it was like to be trapped in the lock down for over a day, growing a small fear of pitch black darkness herself. She found it all the more hilarious that Lonnie of all people had a dire fear of it, yet she didn't laugh. She didn't even smile for some reason. Despite her hate and contempt for the girl, she left the hatch open enough to give Lonnie some light, completely ignoring her thanks as she left her there, all by herself.

Regardless of her confusions, she still managed to save Bow, which was the good news of the present situation.

The bad news?

Glimmer wasn't anywhere near the cell blocks. She was being kept personally within Shadow Weaver's own private chambers, where Adora was supposedly torturing her.

The words "torture" and "Adora" never fit into the same sentence unless someone was personally torturing Adora, someone Catra would happily claw their eyes out for. How much had changed with her dear friend that she was resorting to torture at this point? How much had Shadow Weaver influenced her that Adora found it necessary to actually torture anyone at all?

Whatever the case, their newest priority was finding a way out of this place while also figuring out how to save Glimmer at the same time.

The prison riot, while effective, was proving to be less than useful in the long run. The prisoners, as expected, were doing their part by helping to take down the guards that swarmed the complex after the sirens went off from the generator being destroyed, but with everyone flailing about and making it every man for themselves, there was no amount of order or direction from the prisoners, the ones that were powerless to stop any of the droids that came across them, blasting them with enough electrical force to knock them out for days.

Many of the hallways were littered with one or two guards that were knocked out cold, at least one destroyed droid that someone must've ripped the legs right off of after seeing it impaled with it's own mechanical appendage. It felt like the closer they got to freedom the farther they got away from their chance to escape.

One that still had the pressing matter of Glimmer to contend with.

Noticing the shadows of various guards coming around the corner, her ears unable to pick up direct noise due to the sirens constantly blaring at her, Catra gestured everyone to follow her down the other path, barely avoiding the guards that checked the hallway or more prisoners. It was this little detour that proved to be fruitless, however, as they came upon a single hatch door at the end of the hallway, one Catra had no idea on how to open.

Taking a look at the control panel next to it, Entrapta smiled as she flipped slipped her mask back on, inserting one of the various wires to from the back of her headpiece into it as she began hacking into the system, her hair typing as fast as her tiny appendages could.

"Come on, how much longer?" Catra asked nervously, looking back and forth between her and the hallways.

"Ahhhhhh!" The rest of the group looked back to the hallway at the sound of the screams. On the other end, they watched as several of the prisoners ran for their lives through the hallways, escaping what sounded like the familiar clatter of droids and soldiers running through the halls.

"I just need a few more seconds!" Entrapta replied, never losing the ounce of brilliance or wonder she had since coming to this advanced landscape. As she said, with a few hundred more clicks she managed into input in just four seconds with eight strands of her hair, the hatch finally popped itself open for the small group, the chance of freedom within their grasp.

"The vent system will lead you guys back outside." Catra said as she ran down the hallways with the others. "We left a skiff a little ways away further out. Each of these rooms needs to be sealed and purged before you can enter the next one." She continued to add as she began working at the next console they came across. "The doors will only stay open for a few seconds, and you  **don't**  want to be stuck inside the previous room when it closes again, trust me."

"What happens if we are?" Perfuma asked nervously.

"Ever been roasted in an oven at five-thousand degrees? Something like that." Catra partially joked as the doors finally opened.

At long last, the final door to freedom actually opened before them! Wasting no time, everyone ran frantically through the door, prepared follow through each door as instructed, and bracing themselves for whatever else lied ahead of their path.

Once they made their escape from the Fright Zone they would have to regroup and prepare a new plan of attack to save Glimmer! No doubt the Horde would heighten their security to who knew how high after the Jailbreak Catra managed to come up with, and they still had to figure out how to get Catra's sword back from the Horde as well. It was a long shot but just about all of them were confident they could come up with something as long as they worked together again! After all with Catra by their side, they could easily come up with-

"Catra?" Bow called out as he noticed her missing from the group, which said a lot for the fast feline. Turning around, he saw Catra standing as she faced the door, a grim look on her face as her lowered her head a little, ears drooped and her tail not twitching as Bow looked back to her. "Catra? What are you doing? Let's go!" She really hated what she was about to do.

She infiltrated the Horde complex, managed to rescue one of her friends, and was not even a mile away from her chance at freedom. For a defector to pull this off, to come so far and finally see a goal at the end of the tunnel, was something Catra never thought anybody would be capable of, especially herself. If she left now she could look back on this day and feel proud of herself for how she managed to pull something this grand of a scale off with her own two claws.

And all the guilt she would feel for the rest of her life for leaving one of her friends behind.

"We can't leave without Glinmer," she stated, "and we're not going to get another chance like this."

"W-What are you talking about?" A feeling started to rise in his gut, something he knew he was going to regret. "Catra, we'll come back! We'll have a bigger group, we'll make a new plan, we won't leave her behind!"

"Yeah, we won't." With as much confidence as she could feel in her present situation she finally turned her back to him, stretching out her claws as she stood near the control panel. "Thanks... Bow..."

"Catra, no-!"

_*swiff*_

_*creeesh*_

All it took was one swipe. One good, solitary, strike to destroy the door's control panel and to shut the door behind her that could've lead to her escape.

...

"Catra! Catra, open up!" Bow wasn't given a chance to reach her by the time the doors closed, shouting her name as he pounded on the door. "Catra, we can still get out, we-!"

"Bow..." Perfuma called, reaching a hand for him to take.

It pained him to know the truth. It hurt to realize he couldn't stay in this place if he wanted to, not without risking everyone else's lives who would try to drag him through the doors. He needed to run in order to have another chance to save Catra and Glimmer if the two ended up captured, and to save the others who wouldn't leave his side if he remained behind closed doors.

With a heavy heart, and a pained look in his eyes, he took Perfuma's hand. letting the Princess pull him through the door just before it closed behind him, purging anything that was unfortunate enough to stay trapped within the room.

...

It brought a strange sense of comfort to Catra as Bow briefly pounded on the door and called out her name. If she was unsure about Bow and Glimmer caring for her then this was the way to prove it- by shouting out her name in worry and practically begging her to come with them. It brought something close to a genuine smile to her face, for the first time in forever.

A smile that didn't last any longer than a moment as she turned back towards the hallway. There, brought in by the sounds of the prisoners running through the halls, was the Horde. At least twenty different guards and soldiers, at least half a dozen droids pushing their way through the crowd as they all targeted her, scanning her for aggressiveness and threat levels.

With a deep breath, exhaling calmly, Catra retracted her claws, raising them to the air for the first time in a manner she had never done before. "I surrender."

The guards all stared at her, hiding whatever faces they might've held. Were any of them surprised to see the magicat surrendering, the one what was always aggressive around here and never backed down? Or were any of them confused by the strange behavior she was displaying, feeling defensive at the possibility that this was a trap of hers?

It didn't make any difference from the looks of it. With one of the guards inputting a command to the personal data pad on his wrist, Catra began to watch in horror as the droids in front of her started to charge. The red coloring coming from their cores gave her a strong impression that these people weren't willing to take her alive, not with the massive bounty she has on her head.

"I-I said I surrender!" Catra repeated as she backed up to the wall. None of the guards seemed to listen or care as the magicat seemed to cower before them, to Catra's dismay. With a bounty like hers, they could all be set for life even if they split the reward between the twenty of them. Taking initiative of the situation, half the guards began to draw out their stun batons, ready to deal with her if she tried to fight her way passed them.

They had no understanding that it would matter if she even tried. She was stuck within the Horde complex now with hundreds of guards and droids currently rounding up any of the prisoners that failed to escape in time, some of them planning to use excessive force just for the fun of it. With this train of thought, none of the other guards cared enough if Catra was surrendering or not, all of them having the same thought on their minds as Catra closed her eyes.

How much they wanted that reward.

"STOP!" A shout called out from behind the group, one that immediately called off the droids as their blasters powered down. Any of the guards foolish enough to draw their batons immediately stashed them away again, not wanting to contend with the wrath of a certain Force Captain, or the master that always treasured her so dearly.

Sure enough, with her timing never being as grand as it was now, Catra silently gasped. There was Adora, her best friend and enemy, pushing her way through the crowd with a stern expression on her face.

"Adora..." Catra muttered, still amazed at the timing. She wanted to know what was going on through that angry look in her eyes. What was her mind screaming at her at this moment? She wasn't surprised that Adora was possibly angry with her, seeing how she came all this way and started a prison break of all things, but there was a strange newfound hatred currently settled within her eyes, one that didn't disappear after she stood right in front of her.

Blinking to herself, shifting her eyes from side to side for a few seconds of awkwardness, she finally stared into Adora's eyes again to speak. "Adora-"

* _Bzzzzzzzzzzzt!_ *

"Ahhhhh-! Ungh..." Catra was too distracted in her current state to notice the small baton Adora had clutched in her hands, how she turned it on as she approached Catra, and jabbed her in the gut with it to knock her out cold. Losing nearly all feeling of self, consciousness right at the edge of loss, she felt herself slump forward, Adora catching her as she fell onto her, and patted her head softly as she rested her head on Adora's left shoulder.

She finally captured her friend.

...

...

* _shoom_ *

Slowly regaining more of her consciousness as the door opened in front of her, Catra let out a small gasp as she saw her other friend within the room.

"Pinky!" She yelled, still calling her by her nickname. The girl herself seemed to be in a horrible state of exhaustion, noticing a few scrapes here and there and the look of someone who just ran a hundred miles against their will. At least she was alive, which was one of the more pressing concerns Catra had during her entire plan to get here. It would've been rather troubling if it turned out Glimmer was either dead or somewhere else and Catra allowed herself to get caught for nothing.

Being pushed into the room by the two guards who held her in place as Adora followed them, Catra could feel the chill in the air creeping upon her. So many memories, all of them between horrible and unhappy, and never positive, this was definitely Shadow Weaver's private chambers, the last place Catra would ever want to find herself.

She kept her attention solely on her tortured friend, paying little mind to the guards as they placed her to a metallic table. The very instant the guards let go several large metallic straps tightened around her, pinning her chest, her wrists, hands, feet, and her ankles, refusing to give the girl a single nudge of space or mobility. It would've been more than easy enough for her to cut through any of these restraints after a short while, and Shadow Weaver wasn't going to give her that opportunity.

Watching the look of concern in Catra's eyes continued to disgust Adora in more ways than one. Why did she care so much for this evil princess? What made her so important that Catra would risk coming all the way back for her in an attempt to save her?

Most importantly, was she under her control or not? That was the one question Adora started to doubt through the last half hour.

"Leave us." Shadow Weaver instructed as she approached Adora from behind. With a salute, the guards who brought her here made their way out the door, sealing it off tightly behind them. Waiting for them to leave, Shadow Weaver made her way towards the ensnared creature, cupping her chin in the palm of her hand as she examined her. "Hmm... whoever would've thought you'd make your way all the way back here..." She muttered quietly for the two of them. "Adora, I need you to leave the room as well."

"W-What?" Adora questioned, rather surprised by the instruction.

"I need full concentration if I'm to properly remove the spell from Catra's mind, the slightest mistake could leave her in a vegetative state, forever." She explained.

"Spell? There's not any stupid spe-mmh!" Catra tried to argue, only for Shadow Weaver to clamp her hand around her mouth to prevent her from talking. No amount of struggling could loosen the grip over her mouth, Shadow Weaver refusing to let Catra spill a single word off from her tongue.

"The spell..." Adora turned over to the other princess in the room, the one who was weakly regaining consciousness as she moaned. "...S-Shadow Weaver, what if she's not being controlled?"

"...What?" There was no way Shadow Weaver heard that correctly.

"I mean... what if she actually is aware of everything? What if there's no control over her like you thought?"

Adora did  ** _not_**  just question her on this.

Her. Adora. Actually questioned Shadow Weaver's own judgement and words for the first time since her childhood. "...Adora, dear, you mustn't let Catra's poisoned mind confuse you." Shadow Weaver replied softly with a comforting look. "The longer we continue to allow this, the more convinced she'll be that she  **is**  doing this because she wants to."

"B-But she didn't tell me this time!" Adora retorted, looking back to Glimmer as she slowly came to. "I mean, even after everything I did to Glimmer, she still insists that-"

"The princess?" Shadow Weaver's eyes instantly narrowed at that. "Are you saying you trust these princesses, those vile creatures, over me?"

Is... Is that what she was saying? Was she, a proud and noble Force Captain of the Horde, actually questioning her own superiors? "N... No... I... I mean if we just stopped to think about it for a moment, maybe-

"ENOUGH!" Adora physically jumped in fear at the tremendous bout of anger Shadow Weaver unleashed. For the first time, no matter how much she wished to believe otherwise, Shadow Weaver unleashed a bout of anger towards her. It was around the same time Glimmer finally came to fully, gasping in shock as she saw Catra strapped to the other table, unable to get a word out as Shadow Weaver continued to keep her mouth shut. "This is precisely what I'm talking about, Adora." Shadow Weaver struggled to maintain her kind persona while arguing with the the frustration at the same time. "I can't have you distracting me while I preform my spell-"

"Don't listen to her, Adora!" Glimmer yelled over, catching all three of them by surprise that she was awake. "It's a tri-" All physical emotion she could feel was drained from the girl as her body started to give off a small red-colored aura. Using her own magic, Shadow Weaver shot her darkness straight towards the girl, keeping her mouth firmly shut no matter how much she squirmed around her own chin.

"I already have one distraction to deal with, as you can see." Shadow Weaver continued. "If you want me to save your friend, dear, then I need complete and total concentration. Now, please, leave."

Even with the orders ringing through her head, she still couldn't bring herself to fully accept this with a clear conscious. "B-But-"

"LEEEEAVE!" Shadow Weaver roared monstrously, consuming the area around Adora with darkness. This, was official. This was the very first time Shadow Weaver had ever erupted into such a rage-filled spite towards Adora herself. The one she always treasured, the one who gave Adora the kindness that she failed to give on to others, the one who was practically like a mother to Adora, had officially talked her down, almost threatened her, to leave.

Heart racing out of fear and concern, she gave her possibly-brainwashed friend and Glimmer one last look. Everything about this was starting to lack a form of sense to her, nothing coming together as it should be. After all the wait, pain, struggle Adora went through to finally get her friend back, why was it at the very last minute she found herself starting to question everything, right when she could save Catra at this very moment?

With nothing more than a single tear forming in her eye, Adora lowered her head as she walked out of the room, unable to give another look to either of the two trapped girls she left behind.

One thing came to Adora's mind as she heard the door slamming behind her. All of this started with that sword, the one sword that started all of this mess. If the sword is what caused Catra to leave her side and start this insane adventure from the very beginning, then perhaps, just maybe... it could give Adora the answer she needed to finally sort this thing out once and for all.

...

Watching the door close behind her, Shadow Weaver sighed as she released her grip on both girls, magically and physically. "Now look what you made me..."

* _whap!_ *

"Ah!" Catra yelped as Shadow Weaver backhanded her across the face.

"Adora thinks I'm mad at her now... all because of you." The dark witch began to circle around her, showing off whatever threatening darkness came to mind in the palm of her hand. "You have no idea how long I waited anxiously for your return, Catra. I'm actually very pleased by this turnout, believe it or not."

"Tch, and it took you like, what? Several months to catch one girl? Here I thought the Rebellion was rusty, but jeez, do you take forever." Catra relied with a snide grin. "Heck, you couldn't even catch me yourself! I had to walk right in myself just for you to catch me! How stupid is that?" As Shadow Weaver thought, the girl didn't have an ounce of fear of her anymore, not like she used to when Adora wasn't present in the same room with her. Glaring back, she made her way up to the Black Garnet as she brushed her hand against it in awe.

"Huff... You always did have a sharp tongue, if nothing else." She commented, seeing her reflection in the Black Garnet.

Giving a quick shot at the other princess in the room, Catra continued to glare. "So, what's up with Pinky over there? You going to let her go already or what?"

"...Come again?" That may have been the first thing she heard Catra spew from her mouth that intrigued her.

"I asked if you're going to let her go already." Catra grumbled. "You already got me, you got the sword, so just send her back home to mommy or whatever, I don't care."

"Catra, don't-" Glimmer tried to protest worriedly.

"Oh, shut UP, Pinky!" Catra yelled rolling her eyes. "Seriously, you are SO annoying!"

"C-Catra?" What was she yelling about now? Why did it hurt hearing everything she was saying?

"You think I came back for you willingly, you idiot?" It didn't matter to her if she could see Catra's rage from where she was placed, standing against the slab of metal as she struggled to get a single claw to twitch. "I came here because your stupid mother kicked me out! You think the immortal hag was happy that I lost your pudgy body at the prom? She threatened to have my head cut off if I didn't come rescue you, and now here I am trapped because of you! You can never stop being a pain, can you?!"

"C-Catra..." It would be a lie to say this didn't bring tears to her eyes.

"Honestly, Shadow Weaver would be doing me a favor if she got rid of you." She continued to insult. "At least back in the Horde I didn't have to deal with your whiny voice constantly! It's always "ooh, Catra, let's be friends", "hey Catra, let's do this together", it never ended with you! In the Horde people were at least decent enough to leave me alone for the rest of the day after insulting me. They didn't follow me and pester me around about everything!"

"C-Catra, I..." Glimmer struggled to speak as her voice shook. "I didn't mean to-"

"Seriously, if I'm about to die because of you, the least you could do for me is learn how to  **shut up**  until it's over!"

Every bit of word she said was true, and Catra had every reason to hate her for all her screw ups.

Every time she tried to get on Catra's good side, any at that, she messed up. Whenever she thought she knew one thing about her, she knew the exact opposite in reality. No matter how many times Catra pestered her to stop bugging her with these talks about being "friends", Glimmer continued to insist.

The prom itself was a prime example of everything she's done to anger Catra! Not once but twice, twice for crying out loud, Catra tried to help her! And how did Glimmer respond those times? By continuing to whine like a spoiled brat Catra accused her of being the same night, one who couldn't accept things as they were for whatever matter.

She was truly horrible, in every sense of the word! It was no wonder she didn't want to be friends with someone like Glimmer, how could she after the way she's been acting till now!

"I'm..." Glimmer didn't know what to think anymore, lowering her head down as she sniffled. Maybe what she's been through since coming here was what she deserved? Perhaps a fitting punishment for her own selfishness and greed was being a prisoner here forever? She couldn't feel anything other than utter sadness, everything within these halls brimming with despair. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, C-Catra..."

There.

There was Catra's biggest mistake.

She thought Shadow Weaver wouldn't have noticed, not with her eyes seemingly glued to the Black Garnet itself, or Glimmer who was trapped on the other side of the room, only capable of seeing the back of the slab Catra was tied against from her viewpoint. For a full second, barely enough time to blink, she saw Catra's face twitch. She twitched with a pang of remorse and regret on the corner of her eyes and the partial drop of her ears before reverting to the angry beast everybody knew Catra to be.

All of it, clear as day, for woman who had an easy view of the two from the reflection off the Black Garnet.

"...Heh...Eh heh heh...Ahahahahaahaha!" Shadow Weaver suddenly burst with laughter, covering her eyes as she rolled her head back in pure delight. "Oh, this is such precious, adorable really!"

"W-What...?" Glimmer stuttered as her voice wavered from sadness.

"I truly can not believe what I am seeing here. It's quite a marvel, if I do say so myself." Shadow Weaver chuckled as she made her way back to Catra. "Do you actually  **care** for this pathetic princess, Catra?"

"Wh- What? Don't be ridiculous!" Catra would've shot herself in the foot if she could at that, realizing her mistake as her voice cracked, and praying Shadow Weaver didn't pick up on it. "I could care less about the pink idiot!"

"Oh, really?" The way Shadow Weaver spoke with curiosity as she neared Catra's ears started to send panic towards Catra's heart, doing her best to maintain her demeanor. "Then you don't mind if I do away with her right now then?" At the proposal, she drew her hands in front of Catra's face, showing off the dreaded red lightning that Catra had come to know.

"Why would you bother wasting your breath on that loser?" Catra spat, trying to maintain her expression. "She's a waste of time for you and the Horde, and you know it!

"Then you have no problems if I destroy her right now, do you?" With that, Shadow Weaver turned her back to the girl as she floated passed her. Drawing toward the defenseless princess who tried to pull at her restraints, Glimmer began tremble with fear as she watched the dark witch drawing nearer, generating a vast amount of lightning within the palm of her hands with every step she drew nearer.

She tried to teleport again to no avail. The moment she gathered a storage of her energy she quickly felt it being ripped away from her soon after, the Black Garnet's hold on her overpowering her. She had no means to pry herself from the enchanted bindings either. If the magic itself wasn't keeping her in place, the restraints over her wrists definitely did.

She had no means to defend herself like this, no reason to hope. All she could do was close her eyes and wait for the inevitable-

"STOP!" Catra shouted. The very moment she uttered her first letter, the lightning gathered around Shadow Weaver's hands disappeared. When Glimmer opened her eyes again she was met with a sneering Shadow Weaver, one who casually floated backwards until she saw the Catra's face again.

There was so much beauty she saw at this moment, so much joy to be had at the face Catra was pulling. She didn't smile, she didn't frown. All she did was keep her head lowered, refusing to let Shadow Weaver see her tormented expression.

And that was more than satisfying for her.

"Just stop... please..." Catra muttered. Shadow Weaver wasn't the only one finding herself in disbelief.

There was Glimmer, the emotionally fragile girl at this time, who heard Catra actually beg for someone else for the first time in her life. She begged one single word in an attempt to possibly save someone else, and it was for her of all people. She actually did care about Glimmer like Shadow Weaver thought.

"Ahhhahahaha! Oh, I thought I'd never see the day! I might actually start to cry at out beautiful this this!" Shadow Weaver taunted, forcing Catra's chin up with her own hands as the girl grimaced. "You actually made yourself a friend! Someone other than Adora, and an enemy at that! I wish I could record this moment forever-"

"Just shut up." Catra ordered bluntly. "You already got me and the sword, you don't need her anymore so just let her go already." Catra didn't care anymore. She was about to die and that would be the end of her life. The least Shadow Weaver could do was refrain from drawing it out. "Just finish me off and get this over with."

"Finish you off?" She repeated. As if what she said at first wasn't hilarious enough, the next thing she sputtered did. "Oh, Catra, Catra," she taunted patting her head, "why would I ever want to do that?"

Catra didn't know if she should be concerned for the first time at good news or anxious about it. If it was coming from someone like Shadow Weaver, most likely the latter. "Because that's... what you've been trying to do the entire time... isn't it?"

"Oh, Catra... " The girl attempted to bite her as she pinched her cheeks. "You think far too simply." At this, she began to siphon a direct channel of the Black Garnet's energy into her hands, creating a red beam of force in the process. "Haven't you ever once thought of why I bothered to put a bounty on your head, Dead  _or_  Alive?"

"That was... one of the things I was curious about until now..." She muttered back.

Drawing the rest of the energy she needed for her power, she went on. "Because of my dear Adora, of course. She's so attached to you and everything you do that, eventually, I decided to make this more interesting for the both of us."

"I-Interesting?" Now she was starting to get a little worried, for the first time since losing her fear of the wicked witch. "What are you going to do to me if you don't plan on getting rid of me?"

"Why,  _fix you_ , like I've always said." Without warning, she grabbed Catra by the throat, crushing it enough in her grip to let her breathe, but making it painful for the experience. "I'm going to shatter that feeble mind of yours until you're nothing but an obedient little doll to me." Yes, there it was! That elegant twinge of fear growing beyond Catra's eyes! "I'm going to crush your grip on reality enough so that you  ** _never_**  disobey your superiors again! You'll simply walk, talk, and do as you're instructed as for the rest of your years, without a single smile or frown on your face, like a simple, little, doll."

Catra grumbled as she tried to bite at her hands again as she tapped her on the nose. "That's insane! Adora would never let you get away with-"

"Oh, Adora," Shadow Weaver interrupted, putting on a pitiful display of regret as she clenched her chest where her heart should be, "I tried so hard, but the Princess's wicked magic was just too strong, and their spell destroyed every bit of her mind in the process! Please, forgive meeee!" Catra couldn't believe what she was hearing. She actually thought out every detail to the very end! Even if it meant adding further torment and misery to Adora's own life, as long as Catra was the ultimate victim here, Shadow Weaver would happily allow it.

"Oh, and trust me Catra, I'm sure she'll be angry for awhile. She might avoid me for a few weeks, go a year without smiling at me. But eventually, like all good children, she'll start warming up to me again, fueled by the rage inside her, burning for vengeance against the  _evil_  creatures of Etheria who destroyed the Catra she knew!"

Leaning in again as she brought her face an inch away from Catra's nose, she finished. "And do you want to know the best part? When I'm done with it, you'll still be in there. You will be nothing more than a prisoner within your own mind, watching helplessly from the window that is your eyes, at everything you do."

"Geh..." Catra growled, attempting to lunge at her forgetting the restraints that held her back. She would allow her to manipulate herself, make her look like an idiot as much as she wanted to if it meant succeeding in her missions, but she would NEVER allow her to manipulate Adora's heart like that! "You went all this way for some crummy plan like that? Why don't you try and earn it and we'll settle it right here, you ugly freak!" The room went silent between the two as she said this. Of all the people in the world, Catra remembers the fateful day she laid eyes on Shadow Weaver's face.

And the disgusting horror that lied behind the mask.

"Oh, Catra..." With her arms raised to her side, she floated another foot off the ground as her magic pooled together. "I'm almost going to think about missing you."

* ** _BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT-!_** *

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Catra screamed bloody murder at the endless rain of torture that was directed straight at her head.

All around her, squeezing her eyes shut in pain, was an endless torrent of pain and agony. From the tips of all of her fingers, enshrouding the girl in pure and eternal darkness in turn, an endless stream of her magic shot forth, the witch directing her magic straight to Catra's skull, making sure it was as painful as possible as she used every ounce of her power.

This was a pain unlike anything Catra ever felt before. All around her, even though it was directed at her head, she felt a terrible agony passing through her constantly. It felt like her skin was being ripped apart and stitched back together from the inside out. It felt like her body was being burned alive in a fire and she was being doused with a pot of boiling hot water to put it out! Nothing in the world ever compared to the pain she was feeling at this very moment, the blisters she could feel peeling back at the ends of her mind as she tried to resist what little of the magic she could.

"Catraaaaa!" At the same time, Glimmer watched on in horror from where she was, unable to turn her eyes away at the pain that Catra was screaming throughout the room. The pain of it didn't sound like anything Adora put Glimmer through herself. By the sounds of it alone, whatever Glimmer went through was clearly a godsend in comparison to whatever pain Catra was being inflicted with. It almost felt like Adora was giving her mercy, Catra screamed so madly.

She couldn't allow this. Catra came all the way to save her, acknowledged that she actually cared about Glimmer and most likely Bow, and now she was suffering the consequences of it. She was trying to do the righteous thing for one of the few times in her life since Glimmer met her, and she was paying the price.

She refused to accept this!

Grumbling to herself, Glimmer began to harness any magic that still remained within her body, groaning at the mere fraction of pain the red lightning inflicted her with compared to Catra's own. She couldn't allow her to suffer like this, she didn't deserve this! Every attempt she tried to pull herself out of the binding through her magic brought her a rake of pain she could feel scraping against her innards. She didn't care if she died trying at this point, she couldn't do nothing for crying out loud!

"Come ooooon!" Glimmer shouted to herself as more of her magic materialized around her. With one attempt, the Black Garnet's energy pulled her back. With a second attempt, she managed to morph her body partway through her teleportation, only to end in failure as she was brought back into the confines of her holding again. Every attempt she tried ended in failure, every push she shoved with her magic was all for naught.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH-!"

And she couldn't give up!

With a deep final breath, she pushed. She didn't care what would happen, she didn't care if this ended up ripping her body in half! All she cared about was saving Catra in this one moment she needed her most!

With every ounce of magic she could gather, every breath she could save for herself, Glimmer shouted, channeling the magic she had with everything she had, ignoring as her own body distorted in the process, until the impossible happened. With her magic in hand, she finally pulled herself out of the red restraints as she finally teleported, resulting in a small explosion of dark energy from where she once was.

As for Shadow Weaver, this was it! She could feel the last bits of resistance of Catra's mind fading, finding it rather amusing how much tolerance she had to this pain to begin with. She would commend the girl for her valiant effort, however pointless it was, by the end of all this. When the last of her resistance faded, she would give one grand shove of Catra's consciousness into the dark recesses of her mind, trapping her there for the rest of her days!

* ** _FWOOM!_** *

"What-?" In a large explosion of light, Shadow Weaver turned back as she saw a miraculous burst of light grow behind her, the witch unable to stop the magic as the power continued to surge through her fingers. Appearing from the grand ball of light herself, she watched helplessly as the Princess of Bright Moon burst forth, pulling back her enchanted fist with all her might for one final strike.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

* ** _CRASH!_** *

And it was that one single strike that was needed to stop the evil sorcerer of darkness. With a solid blow straight across her masked-face, Glimmer struck her with everything she had, slamming her straight to the ground with a thunderous crash, knocking the witch out of her own state of consciousness in the process, and dismantling all the darkness and power she had gathered around Catra, snuffing it out for good as he collapsed.

Glimmer panted heavily, never feeling as exhausted as she had at this point, and never feeling as good as she did now because of it. She saved her friend when she needed it most, and she proved her friendship to Catra at long last.

"Catra!" Barely paying a wink to the downed witch, Glimmer quickly ran towards her distressed friend, the one who seemed to be out cold as well. She wasted no time removing the restraints from her one after the other, fretting endlessly at the possibility she was too late. It was with the small tremble quiver in Catra's eyes that she realized she was awake, watching worriedly as she opened her blue and yellow eyes weakly. "Are you okay? Do you know who I am?"

"...Who... Who are you...?" Catra muttered in confusion, feebly pointing at her.

"No..." Glimmer's eyes started to water as she covered her mouth. She was too late... she failed... Catra needed her most in this one moment of distress, and even after all the positive thoughts, all the hope that she could muster in this bleak situation, she couldn't save her friend completely from Shadow Weaver's magic! Catra was... was gone... "C-Catra..." Glimmer whimpered, It would be the first of many tears she would shed for the rest of her life, living with the knowing-regret that she failed to save her-

"Pffft! Tch ahahaha!" Catra bellowed out with laughter. "Oh man, you should've seen your face, Pinky! You were like "oh no, I'm too late," hahahaha-!"

"Oh thank gosh!" Glimmer instantly cried, hugging herself into Catra's stomach as she cried heavily. Catra let out a small cry as Glimmer threw her arms around her torso as she sobbed into her chest.

"Ack-!" She yelped. "Hey, easy, easy! I'm pretty sore you know!" She grumbled a little, giving an irritated look at the girl. "...Pinky?" Catra questioned again, noticing as she continued to cry loudly. For one of the few times of Catra's life, she felt an actual sense of guilt for what was, in fairness, a pretty cruel prank. Her ears drooped around her as she scratched the back of her head, feeling awkward for one of the few times in her life. "H-Hey, Pin... Glimmer, hey, come on, it was... it was just a joke..."

It did nothing to soothe the tears draining from Glimmer's eyes. Even as she looked up towards her good friend with tears in her eyes, she couldn't get a single word out as she continued to sniffle, feeling overjoyed for the first time to be at the butt of one of Catra's jokes, and drowning with the continued sadness that she almost lost her dear friend.

Seeing how the princess was truly remorseful, the very person she never wanted anything to do with since first meeting her, she did the one thing she had never done before.

She threw an arm around her warmly in a small hug, trying to give her a soft smile as Glimmer tried to dry off the tears. "H-Hey, I'm... I'm sorry, okay? Now come on, you're embarrassing me." She chuckled a little. "I'm the one who's supposed to be saving you, remember?"

"Hmph..." Glimmer smiled in reply, wiping her own tears a little as she helped Catra from the metallic slab. "Y-Yeah... heh... sorry for ruining your moment." She lightly joked. Turning to the door, she gave an knowing nod to her certified friend, holding her own side with one arm as she walked to the door. "Now come on... we need to get out of her asap..."

"Yeah, yeah, sure..." Catra replied, turning her peaceful gaze from the limping princess to a downed witch who she gazed with fury. "Just.. give me one second." She didn't bat an eyelash or hesitate as she hopped off the foot of the metallic slab, making her way over to the terror of darkness as she stretched her claws out.

Opening the door, Glimmer looked back with panic in her eyes, seeing Catra lifting their tormentor by the scruff of her neck, pulling back her sharpened claws ready to strike. "W-What are you doing?!"

"What do you think I'm doing?!" Catra hissed back, continuing to glare at the mask of her most hated enemy.

"I'm going to kill her!"

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**A/N: You know the hard part about making a legitimate evil plan for a villain? Loop holes/critics. I don't mean like "Nerrrr that's so dumb! hashtag you suck at writing!" types (though those are still annoying), I mean like Cinema Sins pointing out the flaws of logic and whatnot in a story XP** _

_**People think writing a creative piece is easier said than done (not that I can speak for myself), but it's actually easy to miss a flow of logic when you write as much as I do, so it's common for something not to make sense in a grand plot line. At that, i question how many people will possibly, if any, find an issue with Shadow Weaver's "grand scheme" up above XP? Personally I think it's good, but chances are one or two things didn't make sense (aside from Shadow Weaver's magic not being able to affect catra's mind like I was told in the past, which I do question since it's unknown if that's for memories only or includes consciousness...)** _

_**Either way, had a lot of fun! Hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!** _


	36. Episode 9: No Princess Left Behind Finale

_**A/N: ... for those of you with weak constitutions to feels, I urge you...** _

_**Turn away.** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

"We're almost there!" Sea Hawk announced as the final corridor opened.

They made it! It was the first thing on everyone's mind as they raced through the last doorway!

There were many touch-and-go situations since this mission began. From getting spotted by Scorpia at the start of the mission, Entrapta's curiosity getting her lost and confused at least three separate times throughout the complex, Lonnie and the rest of her goons coming across Catra and her friends within the prison block, finding out Glimmer was somewhere else entirely, and, finally, Catra sacrificing herself to go find Glimmer, even if it meant surrendering to the guards so they would bring her to them.

If anyone said at the start of this mission that they were one-hundred percent confident that things would go off without a hitch, you would know someone was lying. This is where they've been for the last several hours. This is the nightmare they willingly walked into after Bow and Glimmer were captured at the night's end of the Princess Prom, and this was them finally running free from said nightmare as they were about to wake up to a wonderful conclusion for their day.

It didn't mean they would be leaving the moment they boarded the skiff or anything. There was still Catra who they had to wait for, on the chance she actually managed to get Glimmer back and were currently escaping with their lives through the complex. But with time of the essence they needed to get the skiff up and running on standby, to make sure they were prepared for when they eventually saw them running out of the place.

Provided they managed to at all at this rate.

"The skiff's a short run from here!" Sea Hawk added, being the last one with Catra to drive the skiff before the start of the mission. "Just a little further!"

_*chink*_

_*chink*_

"Huh?" Entrapta turned back as she noticed one of their  _friends_  missing from the group. It wasn't any particular friend of theirs that was missing, it was actually one Entrapta had made herself halfway through the mission.

Literally.

Turning around she let out a gasp as she saw Emily again, the robotic ally she reprogrammed after everyone made their way through the entrance. The poor bot was stuck as the last of it's capables were jammed into the port on the side of the corridor the group escaped from, struggling as it mechanical gears whirred in order to escape.

"Wait. Emily!" Entrapta cried out, making a full U-Turn as she rushed right back into the corridor to save her trapped friend. The girl was so preoccupied about rescuing her comrade that she had forgotten the one warning Catra had given her as she reached Emily's side, and was about to become the victim of it.

"Huh! Entrapta, no!" Perfuma shouted in terror as the rest of the group turned around. The last thing they got to see was a confused Entrapta turning back to them before the doorway to the vents closed off completely, giving off a small blast of greenish flame before the last of the shutters had finally sealed completely.

None of them could believe what they had witnessed, half of them staring in complete shock at whether they were just hallucinating at that moment. Nothing they could tell one another would convince themselves otherwise, no words could be said to comfort any of the distraught friends.

Everyone had witnessed, first hand, what it truly felt like to lose a friend for the first time in years. The great, dear, friend they knew since first meeting her, the person that had her own funny quirks to her, was no more.

The Princess of Dryl, Entrapta, was no more.

...

...

"W-What do you mean you're going to kill her?" Glimmer nearly choked to say, still trying to recover from her injuries.

"What do you think I meant? I'm going to tear out her throat and watch her bleed to death!" Catra growled, huffing at the chest.

This was it. This moment, right here, was the greatest reward Catra could ever ask for after all of her years of pain and torment.

She didn't dislike Shadow Weaver, she didn't hate her. She  **LOATHED**  Shadow Weaver and everything she represented.

Ever since Catra was a child, practically from the day that she learned to walk, Shadow Weaver had always been a pain at her side. From petty insults to downright physical abuse, the shadowy witch was a monster to no end. She did everything in her power to make sure Catra regretted her existence, and almost every other day of Catra's life, she did.

Growing up she could never figure out why she hated her so dearly. Did she do something to offend her when she was little? Did she just not have Shadow Weaver's respect after all of her own personal struggles, after all the hard work and effort she put into her training to impress her? It took what felt like forever for the young magicat to get an understanding, but eventually, she realized the darkest truth Shadow Weaver had to offer.

There was no reason.

She simply hated Catra. End of discussion. It was the one conclusion Catra could come up with after so many years of hate and abuse. She didn't bother trying to warm up to her anymore during her early teens, she didn't try to impress her anymore to get a small prick of respect from her. Why should she when Shadow Weaver was barely aware of her existence? Why bother wasting her time trying to gain any sort of attention she had to offer? All she gave Catra was neglect and scorn, something she got enough of from the rest of her allies.

And, especially now of all times, she finally had revenge in her grasp. The person who made her life a living nightmare since day one, the person who put Catra through incredible pain seconds ago in an attempt to destroy Catra's sense of self, to trap her within her own body until the day she died. There was no mercy Catra had anymore for someone as wretched and vile as this woman. Shadow Weaver had to die.

She  **deserved**  to die!

"Catra, don- Ngghh!" Glimmer groaned as she leaned against the doorway, holding her right side. The amount of energy she spent trying to break out of her confines, every bit of strength that was drained from her during Adora's torture, it was all amounting to the state she was in now. She didn't know if she could teleport in time to stop Catra or if that would make Catra jump the gun and slash Shadow Weaver's throat immediately. All she knew was that this was wrong. "Y-You can't..." She struggled to say.

"Of course I  ** _can_**! Watch me!" Catra yelled back, pulling back her clawed hand as she prepared to strike. She was going to go as long as she possibly could without washing her hand after this. She wanted to keep Shadow Weaver's scent on the tip of her claws for as long as possible, to savor her trophy every day of her life.

"No, I mean- mmhh... I mean you shouldn't!" Glimer clarified as she leaned a little further against the doorway.

"What are you talking about? Of course I should!" She seethed with anger as she looked at the unconscious witch. "After everything she's done to everybody? Everything she's done to  **me**?! She deserves to die, she needs to die!"

"Even if she did, it doesn't mean you should though! What would you have to gain by killing her?"

"Uhh hello? Happiness? Payback?" Thinking about it alone brought a malicious grin to herself. "What else is there to lose?"

"But what would be the point? Agh..." At the sound of the recent thud, Catra shot a look back to her fallen friend. The Princess appeared to be wracked with pain as she collapsed to her knees, keeping her hands against the walls in order to pull herself back to her feet on a moment's notice. "You kill her. Fine. Then what happens?"

"She'll be dead, obviously."

"And then they'll just replace her with someone else!" Glimmer stated. "They could replace her with someone more vicious and cruel. You wouldn't gain anything by killing her."

"Tch, you don't know that." She scoffed. "For all you know they wouldn't find anyone to replace her."

"Even if it did, that still wouldn't make things right!" She needed to get through to her! She hated Shadow Weaver herself, there was no mistake about that, but she couldn't allow Catra to go down this line of reasoning. There was only one path these thoughts took someone to, and it never had a good ending. "You kill her? Fine. What then? Are you going to kill anyone else?"

"If I have to."

"So anyone's fair game, then? All the soldiers? The officers? Adora?"

"Knock it off, Pinky, Adora's nothing like her." Catra hissed, almost challenging her to say something else about Adora.

"She is when she tortures you!" Glimmer snapped back, catching Catra by surprised. It didn't matter if Catra wasn't standing right in front of her, it meant nothing if she could see it in her tears. She knew Glimmer would never lie about something this important, not when it concerned her best friend. "You think Shadow Weaver did all of this to me? Adora had a hand in it too!"

"Y... You don't know that!" Catra brought her clawed hand around Shadow Weaver's throat. Why was Glimmer picking now of all times to be a major buzzkill? Catra was screaming in her mind to let her have this one last thing in the world! "I-It could've been anybody! It could've been one of Shadow Weaver's illusions for all you know!"

"You're saying her illusions managed a device meant to torture people through interrogation?" Glimmer turned back towards the device in question as Catra did, seeing it set up right next to where the princess was being held. "She used that- Mmh... She used that on me, Catra. It wasn't some illusion, it wasn't anybody else. It  **was** Adora."

That... That's impossible. No, there was absolutely no way Adora actually tortured Glimmer to get information out of her. Interrogate? Maybe. But she was never one for anything violent at this degree! She remembered how her friend almost cried just because she squished a single butterfly one time that somehow wandered into the Fright Zone, how Catra had to talk to her for five minutes to convince her it wasn't that big of a deal.

Even if she did torture Glimmer, as horrible as it sounded, did it... really mean anything? "Y-Yeah, well... M-Maybe she had a good reason for it-"

"She thought I placed a spell on you of all things, Catra!" Glimmer shouted. "She was being tricked by Shadow Weaver into thinking you were brainwashed this whole time!" She grew hopeful as she saw Catra's ears drooped, the cat's own body betraying her.

"I know that, I know, but... B-But it doesn't mean she's evil! She just... S-She was probably under orders! Torturing someone doesn't mean she's evil-"

"And how does that make Shadow Weaver any different then?" Catra realized that she had fallen into Glimmer's trap just now, eyes widening with shock as she listened to Glimmer's words. "How is anything she did to you any different than what Adora did to me?"

The girl began to pant, the shouting back and forth taxing what little energy she maintained after her mighty rescue. The injuries she obtained throughout her experience left her exhausted enough. Right now she was running on fumes at this point, and there was no telling how much longer she could last at this rate.

She hated Glimmer now more than ever at that moment. She wanted to shout and scream at her with every fiber of her being, to tell her all the million and one reasons she was wrong about what she was saying! And yet, no matter how far along a comeback came for her, feeling a clutch take it's hold over her heart, she realized...

She was right.

She couldn't make the argument of Shadow Weaver torturing her all throughout her childhood or Glimmer would just remark how it was probably Lord Hordak's orders to toughen them up. She couldn't say anything near as foolish as saying Glimmer didn't know what Adora was really like as she had just met her because her two friends spent barely an hour together and half that time involved torturing someone! She wasn't given the gift of time to formulate a comeback either, knowing every second they wasted here meant another chance of them getting spotted.

And Glimmer, the friend she saw wheezing out of breath, still struggling to stay awake... she wouldn't last much longer if she was recaptured and kept here.

"I know... huff... you don't want to hear it..." Catra could hear her perfectly despite her weakened breath. "And I'm not saying... I'm not saying Shadow Weaver doesn't deserve to be held responsible... huff... B... But this isn't the way... not like this...Ngh..." Glimmer clutched her side as she felt a spike of pain along her right abdomen. "Please, Catra... please..." There was no telling what Catra was thinking as Glimmer watched her from the door, her hair blocking her eyes from Glimmer's point of view.

Anything she did at this moment, anything she thought, Glimmer would be too powerless to stop. The adrenaline that kicked in during her rescue was finally on it's last legs. If she tried to so much as shout for another minute, she swore she was going to pass out from the lack of energy she had left. Everything, from here on in, was Catra's choice.

"...AaaahhhhHHHHHH!" With a mighty roar and a fire in her eyes, Catra pulled back her claws in anger, Glimmer watching in fear at what she was about to do.

"Catra, no-!"

_*swiff!*_

_*skreeeek!*_

"Mmh..." Glimmer couldn't bring herself to open her eyes, closing them before the final blow was struck. All she heard was the sound of Catra approaching as her other senses kicked in a little higher. She failed. She failed to reach her in time. After everything they've been through, Catra's hatred was still stronger than the bond the two of them had, three counting Bow. She would much rather sacrifice their petty friendship for her moment of revenge, she knew now what would always come first when she had to choose between the two.

She flinched a little as she felt Catra lifting her up to her feet, throwing her left arm around Catra's head as Catra held on to Glimmer's right side. Whether for added comfort or assurance, she could feel Catra's tail wrapped a little around her too, to help make sure the girl stayed by her side as they prepared to flee.

"You really know how to ruin things, you know that?" Catra grumbled. Opening her eyes at the strange comment, the Princess of Bright Moon was in shock and awe at what she found around Catra's bloodsoaked claws.

Nothing.

There wasn't any blood, no torn skin, nothing save for a barely chipped tip of her three middle claws. Confused by the outlook, Glimmer looked back right as Catra began to run with her, refusing to let Princess Dweebus slow them down any longer so she could stop to look at whatever fascinated her. While she couldn't see up close, she saw enough to tell there wasn't any blood pooling around Shadow Weaver.

It didn't mean anything close to forgiveness for the magicat. She's going to remember this day as the one time she almost got to destroy her greatest enemy, her greatest tormentor at that. She would never openly admit the lack of blame she had on Glimmer's involvement, but she was never going to tell the girl how she was feeling.

All that mattered at that moment to Glimmer was the one thing that brought a small smile to her face, a sense of comfort she could feel without worry or regret.

If ever the time came, Catra would always choose her friends over her own hatred.

As the duo left, the scene slowly panned back to the interior of the Black Garnet chamber. So Glimmer didn't want Catra to kill her? Fine. She would be mad at her for awhile over it, but fine. She wanted her to leave without doing anything, however? There was no detail or pleading in that regard, and with that note stuck firmly in the recesses of her mind, Catra happily did the one thing that would torture Shadow Weaver for the rest of her years.

She gave her three new permanent scratch marks over the face of her mask, ones she would look at every single day for the rest of her life, and remember fondly how close she came to beating Catra again.

And lost.

...

...

**_*Wooooooooo!*_ **

**_*wooooooooo!*_ **

"Huff... huff..." Catra and Glimmer panted as they continued to run side by side through the hallways.

They were running out of time, time they wasted a good portion of alone as they remained in the Black Garnet chambers for longer than they should have. With every minute that passed them there was another chance that the rest of the gang was forced to leave, that another corridor would close itself and block off their escape. There were at least four separate occurrences throughout the run here that Catra nearly lost her tail after running through an enclosing doorway!

She ignored as she ran passed the remains of other destroyed droids and knocked out guards through the rioting that the jailbreak had caused, one which happened in no small part thanks to Catra's planning. It was a shame she never bumped into any of them since fleeing Shadow Weaver's private room as she could definitely use the help right now!

At least Glimmer seemed to be okay, all things considered. She was still weak and having trouble trying to keep her footing, forcing Catra to do most of the running for the both of them as she held onto her. In addition, she also had the pleasure of not running into any guards.

Yet.

The minute they did she knew they would be in trouble. She wasn't going to be able to contend with them while also keeping Glimmer on her feet and safe at the same time. With how long they've been in this place already she found it fortunate enough that they didn't bump into any of those stupid droids! There would be no protecting herself from those in her current state, especially with the added exhaustion she herself was feeling after Shadow Weaver's magic inflicted her with untold pain.

That last sparkle of hope they needed came to an end as they came across the last corridor. It was the last one that was still open, the one that could send them on their way to freedom. How badly they wished it stayed open long enough to cross through, because by the end of it all, they found it closing on them by the time they crossed halfway through the hallway.

"No!" Catra yelled, frustrated. There were no keypads or data terminals to hack the door open with either, not that it would work with the lockdown happening anyway. "Any chance you could teleport us through it?"

"Mmhh.." Glimmer held her side at this. "I might pass out after if I do." She warned.

"Fine, I'll carry you the rest of the way after! Now let's go!" There was no joking in her voice as Glimmer nodded in agreement. The sooner they were out of the Fright Zone, the sooner they could get back home to rest.

Grabbing onto Catra's hand, the Princess closed her eyes as she focused the last remaining ounce of her energy, focusing with as much power as she could draw out. "Mmmhhhh!" She moaned to herself, Catra watching as the blue aura of energy started to build around her. After this, there was definitely going to be carrying involved, but at least hey would be safe.

* _rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrttttttttttttt_ *

"Ahhhhhhhh!" Glimmer cried out in pain, almost dropping to the floor if not for Catra's quick reflexes grabbing her. Neither of them understood what happened, Glimmer wincing as she teared up from the pain she was suddenly enveloped in. Without warning, right as her powers were ready to burst forth, a red, sickening, aura fell upon the weak princess, disabling her magic as it brought about more pain.

"Glimmer!" Catra cried out, holding onto her. "What happened?"

"Mmh... I don't know... I can't... teleport..." She muttered weakly, pulling herself from Catra to lean against the nearby wall. As she worked on catching her breath, Catra stared back to the locked corridor in dismay. They were so close to freedom and now they were the furthest ones from it! They needed to come up with a new strategy and fast! Find another exit, hide somewhere until it was safe to run again, or-

* _skreeeeeeeeee-_ *

The two of them turned down towards the hallway as they heard what sounded like group of claws scraping against the metallic walls, a noise they were in common with time and again whenever Catra scraped her claws against something. Looking down further in the hallway, both girls felt their hearts skip a beat, unable to maintain the horror that slowly approached them.

There, drawing further and further, the sparks creating the only source of light around her until she came under a ceiling light, was Adora. Force Captain. Best friend. Shadow Weaver's pupil. They were one and the same, all giving off an irritable glare as she stepped out of the darkness. From it, Catra and Glimmer could see her already wearing the headband around herself, gulping as she had two arms covered in pure shadow, forming the gargantuan monstrosities that nearly ended Catra's life the first time they fought.

Catra was in no shape to fight her. It didn't matter if she protected herself at this point or did so while protecting Glimmer too. She already exhausted herself from the long journey she made trying to rescue Glimmer and Bow in the first place, the agony she had to power herself through from Shadow Weaver's magic.

If they fought right here, right now, it would be a total slaughter.

"A... Adora-"

"Hnnngghhhh!" With a beastly growl, rematerializing the shadows in her right arm, Adora pulled back and released a powerful shadowy tentacle straight ahead, aiming right towards Catra herself.

"Adora, no-!"

* _creeeak_ *

* _ **CRASH**_ *

That... happened... Opening her eyes nervously from fright, Catra was met with a curious and confusing sight, one that didn't provide the answers until she turned around again. There, Glimmer and Catra saw the doorway to freedom, one that promised them an escape route straight out the door, one that Adora had made herself after she ripped the metallic blockade straight out of the wall. Looking back to her friend, she was unable to tell how she was supposed to be feeling or what, watching as Adora casually tossed the wreckage of the door over the side of the stairs they were next to, and began pulling away at her headband.

"You're... letting us go?" Glimmer panted, doing her best to keep herself off the wall.

"No." Adora replied firmly. It was then that Catra noticed the string over Adora's chest that ran all around her from her shoulder to her left thigh. Trailing the string itself, Catra's jaw dropped as she removed the last thing she needed from her back, holding it out in her hands, still in its sheath.

The Sword of Protection.

"I'm giving you a choice of us." She told Catra directly, ignoring the other princess in the room.

"A... Choice of us?" Catra repeated, looking between her, Glimmer, the opened pathway, and finally back to Adora again. "What choice?"

"I'm talking about  _us_ , Catra." The magicat watched as a pained expression grew over Adora's face, the Force Captain looking off to the side in discontent. "Catra, I... I can't keep doing this anymore. I can't keep being the only one who wants you back like this while defending you at the same time. It's... it's not fair..."

"But... But Adora, I'm-"

"Just... stop!" She snapped angrily, ignoring the tears forming in her own eyes. "I... I just can't anymore with you, Catra! Not like this! You keep saying you're not under their control, and you continue to work for the Rebellion? Are you under their control while working for them or working for them because you want to? Which is it?"

"N-None- the first one- second? Look, Adora..." Catra scratched at her head furiously, trying to find the right words to say. "I'm not under anyone's control. Shadow Weaver lied to you since day one about all of that! I don't know what else she's said, but practically everything she's said has been-"

"I don't want to hear it anymore, Catra, okay?!" Adora yelled again. "If you were telling the truth, then that... that means you never cared about who you left behind, and if that was the case, then you didn't care about... me..." Adora swiftly wiped her teary eyes against her sleeves. "What did I do, Catra... What did I do to make you hate me so much?"

"Adora, it's... it's not like that, ok?" Catra struggled to reply as tears formed in her own eyes. An inch at a time, she felt like her heart was slowly being pulled between two different directions, one that would've resulted in pain no matter which way it went. "I don't hate you! You're my best friend!"

"...Best friend...?" Adora's expresion boiled with rage as she shot a look towards Glimmer. "Then what does that make them?"

"H-Huh?" Glimmer mumbled, doing what she could to stay out of this conversation until she was directed personally.

"What?"

"I've been here for weeks, Catra, almost months." Adora reminded, doing what she could to maintain her composure. "And you never came back for me. And yet they've been here for more than a day, and you send a party out to rescue them? What am I supposed to say to that?!"

"A-Adora, no, it's..." Catra struggled to find the right words but nothing came out. Everything Adora said, however far stretched it was from the truth, was still accurate. Adora's been here for almost several months now, and she never came back for her. Glimmer and Bow get kidnapped, and she sets out to rescue them, albeit after some coaxing from Glimmer's diary. She was looking like the enemy from every angle Adora shot at her, and she had no way to counter it. "I swear, this changes nothing between us!"

"Then I want you to prove it." With a firm look on her face, she lowered the sheathed sword over to her side, extending her left out dearly for Catra. "I need you to choose, right here, right now. Come back to the Horde, and I'll let you keep the sword, and I swear I won't let anything happen to you. But choose... them... and I'll let you walk away... but don't..." Adora's eyes watered as she said this. "Don't ever come back, then..."

"Adora..." Catra sniffled quietly to herself as she took a step forward.

"Cat-ggghhhh..." Glimmer groveled in pain, holding onto her side again as she gritted her teeth. She braced herself against the wall again, finding it near-impossible to maintain her stance.

"Glimmer?" Catra turned back, slightly worried.

"If you come back, I promise you she can still leave." Adora added, noticing the concern she had over one of Catra's new  _friends_. "If her safety is all you need at this point, she can go. I'll see to it personally she and all your other friends are sent home safely."

This... This wasn't fair. Catra finally made some new friends, actual people she was willing to consider friends for the first time in forever, and now she had to choose between the two of them? Why did it have to be this way? Why couldn't it be both?! This wasn't being stuck between a rock and a hard place, this was being stuck between two wildfires for crying out loud! Whichever one she went with she would regret forever!

And yet... she deserved it... For being such a  _great_  friend like Adora pointed out, she never bothered returning to the Horde just to come back for Adora. Who cared if she thought she was being under the Rebellion's control? She should've known Adora would keep her safe.

In fact... looking back on it... why didn't she come back since day one? She got the sword, she got her escape. Did she really do all this because a sword with an annoying personality told her to? The same sword that brought her no end of misery ever since she plucked it from the grounds of the Whispering Woods? The stupid hunk of metal that never let her transform into She-Ra to begin with whenever she needed it since she found this stupid thing?!

"Catra?"

When Catra turned around again, she didn't see Adora, not the same one that stood there a moment ago. In fact, save for her and herself, she didn't see much of anything that resembled where she was a second ago. All around her was a white empty void, that had had a strange warmth to it as she stared at her other friend.

Adora, this Adora, was her. The five-year-old girl with her hand extended out and an enthusiastic smile on her face. She was unaware of herself at that point in time, for lack of care or concern, as Catra stood on her own two feet, resembling the same five-year-old self she was when the two had met for the very first time. It felt just like that day again, with Adora meeting her out of nowhere, with a smile on her face, all while she asked Catra the following question.

"Do you wanna be friends?"

Catra... stepped. One step. Two step. Closer and closer. This was Adora. She was her friend from years ago. She was  **still**  her friend from years ago. She stuck by Catra's side through the best and the worst of times growing up, and now Adora was asking her to stick by her side after all of this.

Outside of this realm of reality, Glimmer winced in pain as she watched this. She didn't know what Catra was thinking as she stepped closer to Adora, watching as the Force Captain's smile grew more comforting as she neared. She barely had the energy to shout, she had no energy to plead with her. Slumping further to the ground she was still trying to understand what Catra was doing.

Was she doing this for her sake? For all their sake? Was only doing this because she cared about them to? Was she going to accept the deal in exchange for the rest of their safety? What difference would it make if she did? They would be on opposite sides again, they would be forced to fight each other no matter how badly one side wanted to or not!

Or... or is this what Catra really wanted? Did she truly want to return to the Horde, return to the one person she cared about most in this world with little care about those surrounding her, depended on her.

Those who considered her friends as dearly as Adora did.

As for Adora, she felt... warm. Catra, her closest friend, was drawing near her. She was reaching out to her in this instance, in this hour that Adora needed her most, like a true friend would. She would make sure she kept her safe. She wouldn't allow Shadow Weaver near her if she truly feared her, and she would promise her friend Hordak wouldn't lay a finger on her. She would get her out of this trouble, somehow, and then everything could go right back to normal.

It was just like that day for her too. Paying little heed to the surrounding white void she found herself in, she saw Catra, the sincere five-year-old girl, coming towards her, wanting to accept her friendship. To accept her friendship, to offer her friendship. Adora swore she would never let Catra leave her side again for this long, never by herself like she did all those weeks ago.

She felt the tears flow freely from her eyes as Catra finally grabbed her hand. Without missing a beat, Adora quickly pulled her in, embraced her, cherished her. She threw her arms immediately around Catra, the five-year-old blonde crying tears of joy as Catra threw her own arm around Adora's neck. Never has Adora been so happy to see a friend return to her. It was a new memory that she was going to cherish forever as she cried happily on her shoulder, neither of them paying attention as Adora's tears did this.

Catra was finally home.

* _sniff_ *

"I've missed you..."

"..."

"..."

* _sniff_ *

"...I'M SORRY!"

With that, the realm of fantasy was shattered. In that instance she let her guard down, in the moment she welcomed Catra back with all her heart, her world of dreams came to an abrupt end. The magicat, her friend, reached her arm over to Adora, and embraced the second thing she came across.

Her sword.

Slipping it out from Adora's grip, Catra hastily ran back over to Glimmer, picking her up in her other arm as she made her way back to her feet. She couldn't believe what she had done. Glimmer couldn't believe what she had done.

She used her.

Catra accepted them.

And she ran at full speed out the corridor, making their escape into the darkness.

Glimmer was still in shock as she tried to help in the running, refusing to let her drag her down, or drag her feet along the entire way as it happened. Still... how was Catra doing all of this? She tilted her head as far as she could, trying to look into Catra's tearing eyes. "Catra... are you... ok-"

"Shut up!" Catra yelled, focusing solely on the path ahead of them. "Don't you dare say a single word!" It was here as they made their way out of the building at long last that Glimmer could finally see Catra's face. It was filled with absolute pain, and wrought with turmoil, as the tears flowed endlessly from her eyes. "If you say anything,  ** _anything_** , I will drop you and run right back in, I swear!" She shouted furiously.

She was in pain. An emotional pain that outweighed any form of torture or suffering Glimmer had been ever been inflicted with, or Catra for that matter. All the pain Catra had felt in her life didn't compare to the pain her heart was racing through as she ran across the Fright Zone, doing everything to make their escape.

She stabbed Adora, her greatest friend in this world, right in the heart. The weakened Princess struggled to look away from her, not able to contend with the pain she felt coming off of Catra herself.

Catra didn't betray Adora for her selfish desire to get the sword back.

She did it because she needed the sword's power to keep them safe.

She did it because Glimmer needed her right now.

She did it because it was the right thing to do.

And that was the greatest pain she ever felt in this world.

And Adora took the brunt of it. Everything went deaf around her as she saw dozens of guards run passed her, saw Force Captain Scorpia standing ahead of her as she instructed the guards to give chase after them. She remained motionless in that state of utter disbelief, unable to come to grip with reality until she saw Scorpia lowering herself a little, looking at Adora worriedly as she shook her shoulders.

"Adora!" She finally heard her calling. "Adora? Adora! Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"

"...Ah...Ahhhh...AHHHHHHHHHAHAHAAAA!" Adora finally snapped as she screamed.

She threw her arms around Scorpia tightly, crying into her carapace, the Force Captain finding herself caught off guard, yet embracing her warmly all the same. She didn't know what happened to throw Adora into this emotional state, she didn't know what kind of pain was inflicted upon her just now, and for the time being, she didn't care. All she could do was throw her own arm around the crying Force Captain, glaring down the darkened hallway that the others ran off, patting her head as she tried to soothe her mourning friend.

Catra had finally made her decision. She showed Adora what she truly meant to her in this one hour of need. She saw her as something secondary to everything else in this world. She stole the sword, she stole the princess, and she stole a part of her heart that she ripped out in the process. Throughout it all, Adora was screaming the one line throughout her mind without end.

_How sad do I have to be until you're finally happy?!_

...

...

She wasn't sure how long she kept running for at this rate, the tears having dried themselves away by now. Glimmer could finally manage on her own feet at a slow enough pace, Catra slowing herself down to ensure she could keep up with her. Most of the machinery that made up the Fright Zone was starting to fade from their surroundings as they came across a more rocky terrain. They didn't know where any of the others were, and stopping to ask for questions was the last thing they could afford to do.

No more than half a mile behind them, they could see it. Dozens upon dozens of Horde soldiers running after them from the distance, all with various weaponry to disarm or permanently put down the two escaping princesses as they ran for their lives. The duo didn't know what else they could do except run. Run, run, and keep on running until they finally made it out with their lives.

It was at this bleak hour, when Catra started to question every sense of the word hope, that she finally saw them. A ways away from them, in the air, she spotted the skiff, the very one being piloted by Sea Hawk himself, where the remaining princesses sat watching.

"There they are!" Bow called out. Looping around the duo as the Horde chased after them, they flew. Right by their side, right as they were running, Perfuma lowered her hand, helping Glimmer out first as Catra pushed her towards it. Waiting until her friend was safe, Catra threw her hand towards her, taking Perfuma's strong grip as the princess finally helped her over the side.

With the two returned by their rightful side, Sea Hawk blasted the skiff into the air, wanting to distance themselves as far as possible from this terrible place and the army who slowly came to a halt as their prey escaped their grasp.

Catra herself shot one last look back at the terrible place. She hated the Horde. She hated everything they made her do since day one, even more after the terrible events of today. She needed to find some way to make up for what she did to Adora, find some means of possibly bringing her into the Rebellion! If she could finally see how Catra was on the right side, then maybe-

"Where's Entrapta?" At Glimmer's question, Catra suddenly turned around again, facing the remains of the group. Here she was met with the very faces of all of her allies, save for one, who returned her gaze with a look of nothingness. There was no joy at the rescue, no sense of pride at their escape. There was just... emptiness...almost... pain.

"Where is she?" Catra repeated, looking all around as if she was hanging from the side of the skiff.

"She..." The two turned to Bow as he replied solemnly. "Entrapta... Entrapta didn't make it." Tears immediately rushed to Glimmer's eyes as Catra's was filled with a newfound fury.

"What... What do you mean she didn't make it?" She shot back in the direction of the Fright Zone itself. "D-Did you leave her behind? Come on, we have to-"

"Catra." Mermista cut off, taking her full attention. "Catra... she's gone..." Mermista said, flicking the tears out of her eyes.

"I heard you the first time, big deal!" Catra yelled. "Look, I got the sword now! With or without She-Ra, we can just turn back and-"

"Catra!" Perfuma yelled as her eyes filled with sorrow. "She's gone. She's really... truly... gone."

"..." Catra didn't know what to do. None of them knew what to do as she dropped to her knees. It happened like she said she would. They would go in there. They would try rescue their friends. And someone would die trying as a result.

The entire day had been summed up in those three things.

Pain.

Terror.

Sadness.

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**A/N: Soooooooo, writings not the best atm as pills wear off, and groggy as this chalks up to writing about 17k words in one day...HOOFTAH!** _

_**Hopefully the chapters' crummy writing isn't too distracting- i'll delete/re-edit the chapter better if it is.** _

_**It's fair warning now, this iiiiiiiiiiisn't going to be the saddest chapter/episode...** _

_**So, uhh...if you enjoyed that somehow, uhhh... leave a like, fave, follow, and review, and hope to see you soon...** _


	37. Episode 10: The Beacon Part 1

**_A/N: Writing quality might be a little bit stale for awhile guys (least this chapter). Aside from having to come back to this thing on like 6 separate occasions (which is bad since I ALWAYS forget something or where I left off Xo), it might be a little choppy here and there. Also because it's the latter half of the first season, as I haven't seen anything of the 2nd half more than once months ago (for the simple reason that I am TERRIFIED of rewatching episode 11 X*[!)._ **

**_But with that said, thanks to all the feedback last chapter guys! I can tell it was a really big hit! I hope to continue to impress you with even more fun-filled chapters here and there as we're now 3/4 episodes away from completion!_ **

**_With that said, enjoy!_ **

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

_"Y-You what?" Shadow Weaver's expression somehow more noticeable with the mask on._

_"You heard me, Shadow Weaver. You are to take this child under your watch and train her as you are with the others." The mysterious stranger repeatedly himself as the six-year-old Catra stood behind his leg, sticking her tongue out at the bossy lady._

_She had never felt so proud of herself before than in this very moment. Still not understanding why it was happening in the first place, she was finally getting something that she wanted for the very first time! After all the hardships she's had to endure with everyone picking on her between the other children and the staff, especially Shadow Weaver, she was finally getting something close to a reward on her end, a prize, if you will_

_Honestly, she was rather surprised by it too. After everything leading up till now, she thought her miserable six-year-old life could only get worse and worse. From the horrible initiation prank that Lonnie and her friends pulled on her, to finding out there never was an initiation to begin with despite allowing Adora herself to join their gang, and then finding out Adora was going to be taken to another sector within the Fright Zone for better training and lessons, Catra thought her fate was to have a miserable life from this point forward._

_Why did the world hate her so much? Why did people bully her on a constant basis? She was nice, sincere, just like Adora told her she was! She's tried plenty of times to make friends with others, to show them how she wasn't the freak that they claimed she was, and what does she get out of it? Nothing! Nothing but more hate and scorn for the simple crime of living! And there would be no Adora to protect her anymore from the savage children that always bullied her._

_Life was unfair in every sense of the word!_

_Which is why it became surprising when the unthinkable happened. After taking one too many bullyings in her life, finding another piece of disgusting gruel flung into her hair, she had finally had enough. She didn't care anymore about how the children saw her, she didn't care about being the nice girl in front of anyone, and she didn't care if she got in trouble this time. Why should she if she constantly got into trouble anyway when she didn't do anything? So when she walked up to the bully who threw the food at her, pulling back her tray as she did, her life changed forever._

_She started a small brawl that escalated into a full-fledged Food Fight throughout the entire lunchroom. During the war of the gruel, tons of other children directed their attention to the brat that started everything, trying to beat on her and throw food at her while the rest of the children played around like a bunch of idiots. It was during that scuffle that Catra learned a little about herself, like how painful her claws could be when she stopped caring about who she hurt and how nimble she could be when her main focus was to survive._

_At the end of the brawl the entire lunchroom was in disarray. Unsurprisingly, everyone surrounding her pointed her out as the cause of the entire Food Fight that took place, even though it was perfectly clear that the fight started when someone threw food at her. As punishment, she was forced to mop the entire lunchroom from top to bottom, a taxing job on any six-year-old when your lunchroom was the quarter of a mile long and wide in all directions._

_Thankfully her savior came in the form of a mysterious cloaked stranger, one the guards seemed insistent on respecting, after she finished spending the first hour getting one-tenth of the entire room. As opposed to being outraged and peeved like all the other adults surrounding her because of the food fight, he was actually impressed._

_She didn't realize during the scuffle that she ended up breaking two kids' noses and sent thirteen others to the medical wing of the children's sector covered in scratches and bruises marks. To Catra, all she was concerned with was staying alive during the fight, doing whatever it took and injuring whoever else was in her way as she tried to stay alive. To the stranger, he found this to be a glorious opportunity that couldn't be wasted._

_This child was strong. Stronger than most of the other kids that have been training in this sector. For a child of her size and age to do what she did to half a dozen other children twice her size and several years older was unheard of. She proved her worth as a child of the Horde at that very moment to him, and he wanted to mold that into a very powerful soldier, a weapon, at his disposal. All it came down to was figuring out how to persuade the child into advancing her lessons, to find out what the child would want in exchange for her dedicated services._

_Ironically, his desire to advance her training and Catra's personal desire intertwined quite nicely. He was going to advance her training, and Catra was going to be with Adora again. And the best part?_

_According to the stranger himself, Shadow Weaver had no say in the matter._

_"B-But My Lord, she is far too... delicate," Shadow Weaver glowered as she saw the insect taunting her, "for the training you recommend. She'll never-"_

_"My word is final, Shadow Weaver." The stranger boldly said. "You are to take this child under your wing, and oversee her training along with the rest of the children."_

_"What's going on?" A young blond child asked as she walked into the door's line of sight._

_Seeing the child passed Shadow Weaver's flowing robe, Catra let out a squeal of pure delight. "Adora!" She ran straight passed the two adults as she ran straight into Adora's excited arms._

_"Catra!" The two friends happily embraced each other in a warm hug as they laughed, overjoyed that they got to see the one friend neither of them thought they would ever see again. As she hugged, Catra peeked over Adora's shoulder, seeing the annoyed-looking Lonnie crossing her arms, glaring at her as Catra hugged Adora. For one of the first times since meeting her, she did something she and the rest of the goons had ever seen._

_Catra glared back._

_Watching the two meet each other again like this sickened Shadow Weaver. The freak wasn't worthy of being a member of the Horde. She had no discipline, no sense of respect for her peers, and cried at the slightest sign of aggression. She was a mockery of everything the Horde stood for, and she had the audacity to use Lord Hordak as a means to reunite with Adora?_

_"You are not to interfere with her training without my say so, and you **will**  bring her up to speed along with the rest of the children should she need it. Are we clear, Shadow Weaver?" Lord Hordak wasn't asking for her approval or her consent. He was ordering her._

_"...Crystal..." She seethed. With his word as law, the master of the Horde made his way down the halls again, disappearing into the darkness. She would never challenge Lord Hordak's rule directly, but it never meant she had to agree with it._

_It was on that day that Catra officially learned two very important facts about life: The kind and the weak would always be punished and suffer, and the vicious and the strong would always be rewarded..._

...

...

Words couldn't be spoken. Thoughts couldn't be formed. What could anyone say in a time like this? Everything that happened within one night, everything that was gained, everything that was lost, it was just horrible. Nobody said a thing the entire trip back home, not with everything that weighed on everybody's mind. If this one night could be summed up in just one word, it would be a miracle. But miracles don't happen in this reality. That was the hard fact of life.

That was the reality of war.

Coming up to the Whispering Woods, with Sea Hawk piloting the skiff, everyone remained silent for a bit. There was Mermista, the Princess of Salineas. Perfuma, the Princess of Plumeria. Glimmer, the Princess of Bright Moon, and her best friend Bow. Finally, there was Catra, the one who was She-Ra, the Princess of Power.

Someone was missing from this group of friends, someone very dear to all of them. She was a perky and energetic girl, one with her own array of quirks that always made people laugh. She took science to a whole nother level with her integrity and ingenuity, making fascinating weapons and robots for the war against the dreaded Horde. Unlike everyone else, she was the only one who didn't return on the mission to save Glimmer and Bow.

Her name, was Entrapta, the Princess of Dryl.

And she was gone.

Nobody was sure who was taking this the hardest. Do you blame the Princesses who wanted to go? The Horde that caused them to go through the vents that ended her life? Surely something could be said about the fact they did it to rescue Princess Glimmer and Bow in the first place? Or, perhaps, the blame lied with the one called Catra, the one who organized the entire plan from start to finish. The very one who hasn't said a word as she stared out to the side ever since the news was dropped.

Fearing what sort of doubts and regrets were filling her mind, Glimmer attempted to relieve her burden as she walked over to her. Catra gave a small shiver as she pat her right shoulder, saying nothing as she continued to stare out. "Catra?" The girl's ears twitched at her name. "You should know, it... None of it was your fault..." How was she supposed to tell what was on her mind? After all, until today she showed no acknowledgement that she would accept her or Bow as friends, so there was no way to tell what thoughts ran through her mind.

"...I know..." Catra coldly replied before glaring at the rest. "It's theirs!"

"Excuse me?!" Mermista's rage boiled almost instantly at the accusation, rising straight to her feet as she squeezed her fists intimidatingly. All other eyes turned to one another nervously, the atmosphere surrounding the group of friends already intensified by just those four words.

"I told you right from the beginning that, if we went out to rescue them, one of us would die!" Catra reminded angrily.

"It was your friends too that we went out to save in case you forgot! Don't act like Entrapta was your friend only, we all feel guilty!" Mermista retorted as the magicat took a step closer. "And don't forget it was your brilliant plan in the first place that we went by!"

"M-Mermista-!" Glimmer spouted, trying to get a word in edgewise.

"Friends, please!" Perfuma tried to help as she stood.

"Oh, I'm  _sorry_ , did you have a secret plan we didn't know about?" The magicat accused poking on Mermista's chest aggressively. "Or were you just going to have everyone else to do all the work?"

"If you want to talk about work, maybe we should be looking at the girl who left us in the vents in the first place! Real nice to know you had our backs to the very end in case something went wrong!"

"Guys, please, don't do this!" Bow's voice was as silent as the rest of theirs between these two.

"I was off to rescue Glimmer, you idiot! I couldn't leave her behind! Besides, no one forced you to trust my idea if you had a better one!"

"You're right, we shouldn't have trusted your idea," Mermista shot back, "because if we didn't, then Entrapta would still be alive, wouldn't she-!"

"AHHHHHHHH!" With a beastly roar, Mermista found herself tackled off the skiff by the ferocious feline, Catra pushing her straight to the ground and then leaping right over her. The mermaid princess sprang right back to her feet, rubbing away the small scrape on her right cheek before squeezing her fists. She didn't care if she was fighting outside of her element, she was  **not**  going to let this girl pin the blame entirely on her.

As for Catra, she stopped caring. She didn't care if she was one of their so-called  _friends_ , or a princess in general. She warned everyone from the very beginning that if any of them went to the Fright Zone that they would die, and did they listen? No! They ignored her warnings. Whether or not Mermista and the rest considered Catra a friend or if Catra considered them, she still had the decency to give them a thorough warning, one they chose to ignore.

Growling angrily, Catra extended both her claws, preparing to scratch the lights right out of Mermista's eyes at that very moment. Without any hesitation between the two girls, they ran right for each other with a fury in their eyes. Mermista would pummel her into submission or Catra would scratch her until she went limp. Whichever way it could've ended didn't matter not three feet away from each other, the two girls found themselves suddenly raised several feet into the air by a thick, strong, pair of vines wrapping around their arms and legs.

"Enough!" Perfuma yelled with her hand raised, tears still fresh in her eyes. Mermista huffed and puffed in place as Catra struggled to do everything to break herself free, unable to squirm her arms and claws out of her holdings.

"Nggggghhhhhhh!" Catra continued to growl, the remaining friends watching her and Mermista as they fumed. It's not like they couldn't understand why they were so upset, they just knew better than to start placing blame on each other. Nobody was at fault, or everyone was. There was no middle ground for this scenario. "Ghhhhhh!" The mad cat was practically trying to bite her way at the vines.

If anyone else had doubts, it was perfectly clear, to Glimmer, that Catra harbored the most self regret.

"We never should've formed the Princess Alliance." Mermista finally said as Perfuma lowered her to the ground.

"Mermita's right," Perfuma agreed wiping away another tear, "being together makes us vulnerable."

"Maybe there's a reason the Princess Alliance fell apart in the first place, Glimmer." Mermista was steadfast in her belief.

"What? No, you can't think like that!" Glimmer voiced as a more cooled-off Catra was lowered from the vines, still huffing. "We've accomplished so much more as a team than we ever did alone-"

"And we lost a dear friend in the process." Perfuma curled her legs upon the skiff as she hugged herself. "We did one mission together, and we lost one of our own."

"You rotten ingrates!" Catra yelled, finding it very tempting to pull her sword out right now. "I saved your kingdoms and this is the thanks we get?!"

"You  _helped_  our kingdoms, Catra. You didn't save them. Our kingdoms will never be safe as long as the Horde is at large." Mermista narrowed her eyes, ready to defend herself as she crossed her arms. "And what's that philosophy  ** _you_**  always had? Scratch someone's back and they'll scratch yours?" Catra was repeating to herself not to attack this princess without end in her mind. "Well we repaid you by saving Bow an Glimmer, and Entrapta lost her life paying you back."

"Aghhhhh-!" Ok, NOW she's had it! She didn't care if Perfuma got in the way again, she was more than willing to claw her too if she got in the way! She was not going to be the one held responsible for all this mess! So with a killer instinct in her eyes, tail spiraling out of rage, she ran straight for the blue-haired princess, preparing to scalp every strand of hair right off her head-!

"Stop." Glimmer solemnly pleaded, stepping in front of Catra as she embraced her in her arms. Catra's deathly scowl slowly dwindled along with her expression as she felt Glimmer's warmth around her, unwilling to continue the fight if her friends were going to get in the way, no matter how badly she hated Mermista right now. "Just, stop. We've lost enough, ok?"

There was truth and pain in her voice, one Catra could feel within her own heart as Glimmer patted her back. Everything about this mission went wrong, regardless of the end result. Fighting about it between the three would lead to more conflict, more feelings being hurt, more friends they would lose. What happened today wasn't anything they could control. Seeing the mermaid herself, Catra could see tears in her eyes too as she looked away, the mermaid doing the best she could to wipe them whenever they formed.

All around them everyone was in pain, she could tell that now. Those who cried and those who were filled with sorrow, faces questioning if they were to blame themselves or not, many others struggling with themselves to come to terms with what happened. Nobody was happy about this outcome, nobody else was throwing blame at each other like Catra was. It was the loudest silence Catra ever heard, one that made it clear to her who was at fault for all of this travesty.

The Princess of Salineas had nothing more that she wanted to do with this place.

"Sea Hawk, take me home."

...

...

One by one the friends and allies they worked so hard to attain left their side, the ones who were still amongst them.

Upon returning to the seas, Mermista wasted no time returning to her kingdom, the barrier that protected this great land having been opened for her arrival. Mermista didn't hate Catra, her attitude was a different story. She knew she was hurting as much as the rest of them were, but it also didn't give her any excuse to take it out on them. To put the faith of her kingdom in the hands of someone like that, with a symbol of the Rebellion? She wanted no part of it, not if it came to risking the lives of her own citizens.

Passing through the Sea Gate itself, the barrier reformed itself with her crossing. Here, it would stand to protect her people for the rest of their days, however long or short they may be at this point. As long as her people were safe, that's all that mattered to Mermista anymore. Her citizens, her kingdom, all of it meant the world to her, no matter how little she showed it. Seeing the guards at their posts to greet them, she raised her silver trident to the air, allowing the waters beneath her to pull her into the sea, the one home she would never let the Horde take from her.

Dropping off Perfuma was more of a hassle in and of itself, with many tears being exchanged by her and the others as she bid them farewell. She told them how she harbored no ill will towards them, how she would always wish the best for them, and that she wished them the greatest of luck for their future adventures. They were some of the best friends she's ever made, and she would never forget their actions or their kindness.

She wanted to maintain the alliance, she truly did, but there were too many people involved to risk that. It wasn't a matter for her own life that troubled her so much. It was the lives of her people. Within the center of the kingdom, a short ways away from the Hearts Blossom, she grew a memorial, one representing one of her dearest friends that they had lost, Princess Entrapta. It was people like her she wanted to protect, people like her she couldn't risk getting hurt again.

She could never return to the alliance and leave their people without a leader. She was willing to risk her life for them when the trouble came to find her, not when she went to look for trouble. It was here that she would remain, crying over the loss of a friend that would never return.

And then, there was Princess Frosta, leader of the Kingdom of Snows. It didn't matter to her if she went on the journey or not with the others, it didn't make a difference if she fully accepted the Princess Alliance yet. They already proved their worth and their arrogance by trying to charge headfirst into the Fright Zone.

That kind of foolishness, the blatant disregard for what could happen to themselves or their kingdoms if one of them perished, was something she could never be a part of. This was the kingdom raised by her family for generations, and she would be miffed if that generation ever ended with her! She would not let her kingdom fall because of their negligence, to watch from above as her kingdom melted below her.

Now now, not ever!

With her mind set and her magic gathered from the runestone, she raised her hands to the air as she preformed her own work of magic. Focusing on the protection of her kingdom, with the determination to keep her castle safe, she created the largest barrier that she could raise, forming a mountain of ice that grew right over the castle. The Horde would never melt it down, they would never blast it apart. If the Horde dared to make enemies with the Kingdom of Snows, she would see their blood freeze before their very eyes, and shatter them herself.

In the end, that left Glimmer, Bow, and Catra, to keep to themselves as they traversed the great stairs leading up to Bright Moon. There wasn't much else that could be said between the three as Bow helped walk Glimmer up the stairs, Catra walking from behind them with a mental scowl.

She found this to be typical, absolutely perfect. Time and again, everyone kept trying to get her to open up, to see them as more than allies that fight alongside each other, and to think of them as friends. No matter how many times she pushed them away or wanted nothing to do with them, they kept coming back to annoy her until she eventually found it within herself to say yes. And what happens next? She immediately loses a friend not even a day afterwards!

She was right back where she started with all of this, and she had even less interest in making friends than before.

"Glimmer!" The trio looked ahead as they were greeted by the Queen of Bright Moon, Queen Angella herself, running towards her daughter. She wasted no time throwing her arms around her daughter, hugging her tightly as she pressed her cheek warmly against hers. Never has her mother been so happy to see her before, leaving an awkward feeling in Glimmer's mind as she checked all over her. "Are you hurt?" With what few scrapes and bruises cleared, she continued to squeeze her daughter tightly, never wanting to let her out of her arms ever again!

It was so beautiful that it almost brought tears to Bow's watery eyes, the archer almost let out a sniffle it was so touching!

"Mom, you're crushing me," Glimmer groaned, hurting more from the hug itself than the injuries she sustained.

"Ohhhh!" Bow couldn't help it. Who cared if it ruined his dignity? So what if Catra facepalmed as a result? He had to be a part of this! With open arms, he ran over to the huggable duo, embracing the two in a group hug. That just left one thing as Angella raised her head again.

"You." The Queen casually made her way over to the nervous Catra as her ears lowered.

"Oh, great, here it comes." Catra mumbled. "All right, get it out of your system. "Oh, how I endangered your daughter", "oh I was being reckless", what was I thinki-!" Well... that was a new tactic. She wasn't given a hard scolding like she expected, she wasn't given thirty lashes for endangering the rest of the Princess Alliance, yet, and she wasn't berated about everything she did wrong.

The Queen, who appeared to have it out for Catra since day one, was hugging her. Not once in her life had she ever been hugged this tightly by a mother, much less one who squeezed her face against her like she did Glimmer. Like with Glimmer, Bow found the sight to be beautiful and touching, barely resisting the urge to let them have this moment for themselves. Even Glimmer was smiling a little at the scene, finding it nice and touching to see her mother being so comforting to Catra for once.

Compared to anywhere else in the world right now, it was great to be home.

...

...

**_The intro starts with Shadow Weaver in the Black Garnet chamber spying and glaring at a image of Catra. Than the image dives into the water of her scrying spell._ **

**_~ We're on the edge of greatness ~_ **

**_Where we have Catra at Bright Moon looking both determined and forlorn out into the distance._ **

**_~ turning darkness into light ~_ **

**_A scene of kid Catra and kid Adora training together in the fright zone under Shadow Weaver. Before being replaced with a image of Adora glaring at a heart broken looking Catra who's on her knees across a battlefield._ **

**_~ We're right beside you ~_ **

**_But than Glimmer and Bow teleport to Catra side raising her spirit back up, as shown with her surprise blinking when Gimmer offers her a hand, than she smirks accepting the help as she takes the lead ahead of them._ **

**_~ Ready to Fight! ~_ **

**_Catra raises her sword, transforming into She-Ra in a glorious flash of light_ **

**_~ (fight, fight, fight fight) ~_ **

**_Then She-Ra rushes off into battle with Glimmer and Bow following right behind her._ **

**_~ We're gonna win in the end! ~_ **

**_Mermista rises out of a tide, blasting Horde soldiers with water._ **

**_~ We must be strong, And we must be brave ~_ **

**_Perfuma burst from the ground, capturing and tying up Horde soldiers with vines._ **

**_~(we must be brave) ~_ **

**_Frosta rides an entire wave of frozen water, freezing Horde tanks in their tracks._ **

**_~ We're gonna find every bit of strength that we have ~_ **

**_The scene shifts to Hordaks throne room where the evil shadowy figure sits upon his throne, his red glowing eyes being the only noticeable part of him, surrounded by notable members of the Horde, consisting of Adora and Catra's squadron, Shadow Weaver, Adora, Scropia, and even Entrapta._ **

**_~ and never let go ~_ **

**_The scene shifts to an epic clash between Catra and Adora, the She-Ra gritting her teeth as she presses her sword against Adora's electrical baton, as the Force Captain herself grins with chaotic excitement as the red jewel from her headband shines._ **

**_~ (Oh ah Oh) ~_ **

**_Adora and Catra push each other off as they back up into their friends- Entrapta and Scorpia for Adora, and for Catra Bow and Glimmer._ **

**_~ We must be STRONG! ~_ **

**_The scene ends with a final shot of both sides looking across the field, a transparent image of Catra and Adora's faces filling the sky as the colors are split between them;_ **

**_A majestic darkness shining into light upon Catra's side, and a horrid light seeping into darkness on Adora's half._ **

...

...

"...Mom! Cut it out! You're embarrassing me!" Glimmer yelled, squirming in her grip as the Queen hugged her for the eighth time by now. And that was between the last two minutes they walked across the bridge to the castle itself.

Everyone felt a little more at peace to be within the safe haven that was Bright Moon Castle. With the morning sun giving off a glorious new day and the early birds flying across the beautiful sky, you would think there was nothing wrong with the three main heroes. Within the confines in this castle the three could rest easy knowing they were safe, save for one pressing issue none of them had yet to mention to the Queen.

"I will not cut it out." She replied with authority, her two personal guards standing proudly behind her, as Glimmer struggled out of her grip. "I've been beside myself with worry." It was during the small struggle out of the Queen's arms that Angella noticed something troubling. "You... usually teleport out of my embraces. What's going on?" She asked squishing Glimmer's cheeks.

"N-Nothing!" The princess insisted, shifting her eyes away nervously. "I just need to recharge. That's all." It amazed Catra that a liar as bad as Glimmer could somehow get away with it.

"Of course. Guards, carry my daughter to the moonstone chamber at once." The Queen's order were followed immediately as they stepped forward.

"I don't need to be carried," Glimmer insisted with hands at her side, raising suspicion along with the Queen's hand, "I can walk. You're embarrassing me."

She was her mother, and a Queen at that. Someone with such regal authority and a title like hers was nowhere near capable of being so blind to an obvious suspicion as hers. Her daughter was hiding something, and she needed to find out." Fine," the Queen replied copying her mannerisms, "then you have time to tell me what happened. I received word of Entrapta's... loss..."

All three of the friends went silent at the news, looking away from the Queen with their own pained expressions. They didn't need a reminder of the events they witnessed just hours ago. All of them were still trying to grieve with the fact inside of themselves, and reminders like these weren't helping. They still needed to think about the Princess Alliance as well, Entrapta's death being the cause of it's destruction.

Even knowing this, the Queen refused to let them come up with a story on the spot, raising a brow at the seeming silence between the three of them. "Bow, Glimmer, Catra? Someone tell me what happened."

"...It was my fault-"

"The thing is-" Both Catra and Bow tried to speak at the same time.

"Leave my friends alone!" Glimmer ordered stepping forth. "Give us a minute."

"A minute?" The Queen's suspicions continued to rise with every response, as was her anger. "You were being held by the Horde. I have been going mad, telling myself awful stories about what could've happened to you." Her mother hoped to get through to Glimmer about how worried she was. Doesn't she understand this wasn't some trip to Mystacor or someplace more relaxing? This was the Fright Zone for crying out loud!

"Jeez, Mom, relax." Glimmer crossed her arms nonchalant, passing her mom off with a wave. "I'm fine. We'll talk later." She didn't give the Queen any chance to continue their shenanigans as she walked off ahead, hoping to avoid anymore words between the four of them.

"This conversation is not over!" She gruffed, standing at attention to Bow as he bowed. It was when she noticed Catra scratching the back of her head as she walked that she grew an idea. "Catra, wait!" She ordered, stopping the nervous cat as she turned around.

"Y-Yes?" This was one of the few times the Queen ever wanted to talk to Catra, The last two times she ever talked to her it had to do with the claw marks scattered all over the castle and the other time about Catra grooming her arms at the table. She nearly jumped as the Queen placed a hand on her shoulder, for once in her life comfortingly.

"Catra, I beg you. If you know anything going on or notice anything suspicious, be sure to tell me right away." She begged. "Can I trust you?"

"Eh... Y-Yeah, of course." Catra gave a small reassuring nod. Somehow the Queen's smile didn't bring any extra comfort to her as she patted her head softly.

"I knew I could count on you." With another smile the Queen made her way down the other hallway, allowing Catra to go about her business.

The situation became more pressing to the magicat as she chased after her friends. If the Queen trusted Catra personally with something then they needed to know about it, especially when it concerned them too. She didn't find herself having to travel that long or far as she rounded the corner of the hallway, finding an already-glowing red Glimmer and a worried Bow looking over her.

"Glimmer!" The magicat ran her way to her side to check on her.

"It's starting to get worse." Bow commented. It was during the flight here that the rest of them became aware of Glimmer's strange Glitching issue. With at least four occurrences between the last two hours, there was no telling what affect it was having on the girl or what it could lead up to. "Does it hurt?"

"No, not much." Glimmer replied shaking her head.

 _Gee, great work Catra. Now when your friend explodes you can tell the Queen why!_  Catra grumbled in her mind. "I need to tell your mom about this, Glimmer. She's trusting me to-"

"No!" Glimmer interrupted, turning to her as she rested her hands on Catra's shoulders. "Catra, please, don't tell my mom."

"But she'll know what to do! Glimmer, I barely know what the Black Garnet did to you. You can't teleport, you're already weak from... Adora... and this keeps happening."

"No! My mom has enough to worry about as it is, I don't want to give her more to worry about. Okay?"

"But..."

"Besides, I always feel better after I recharge, so..." The other two looked beside themselves unsure. Bow didn't want something more tragic to happen to one of his friends, but how was he going to argue with the Princess who had first say in the personal matter? "Then it's agreed." She continued. "I'll recharge, stop glitching, and my mom will never have to know."

Catra moaned as she looked down the other hallway, the same direction the Queen herself took not long ago. She was trusting Catra, she gave her personal trust, to tell her if something was going on with her daughter. This is the first time her Highness ever showed any sort of trust towards Catra since coming here, at least on a personal degree. She was nice to her, she showed her compassion for one of the first times. How was she supposed to betray her trust right now?

Then there was Glimmer, one of the last few official friends she had in this world aside from, hopefully, Adora, and Bow. She was one of the last few people she could trust, however little after the events that happened. She was giving Catra her trust not to let her down or to betray her in any way, and Catra was supposed to turn her back on her and betray her? Like she did with Adora?!

She could never betray a friend like that.

Not again...

...

...

The Fright Zone.

A terrifying realm of machinations of horror and destruction.

It was a fitting name for the army the rest of Etheria came to know as the Evil Horde, the savages that laid waste to anyone and anything in their path. Within the center of this mighty land of nightmares gone wild lied the magnificent technological marvel known as the Citadel, the throne of the mighty Lord Hordak himself.

From within these halls, Lord Hordak saw everything. He oversaw the efforts of his Horde army, the soldiers who were trained since birth to fight for him unquestionably. It was thanks to his brilliant scientific mind that he managed to achieve these accomplishments, creating weapons and war machines that could decimate an entire village within the blink of an eye. Nobody usually came to this unholy place directly unless they either reported to Lord Hordak himself, or if they were in a vast amount of trouble.

Like a certain Force Captain, known as Adora, came to be.

Within the wonder of the Citadel she stood, alongside Shadow Weaver, as well as the several other Force Captains behind them, as they awaited Lord Hordak's judgement. Failure was rarely tolerated within the Fright Zone, failure that could cost the entire outcome of the war so dearly. Not once in Adora's life has she ever seen Lord Hordak in person, not from up close anyway, since being promoted to the grand title of Force Captain, and it was unsettling to know her first encounter could very well be her last.

"Not only did you lose the princess known as Glimmer," Lord Hordak's voice echoed throughout the surrounding darkness, "but I've learned that you've also lost the Sword of Protection as well." Adora frowned as she lowered her head at this. There wasn't any necessary reminder about who was at fault here.

"The enemy knew us from the inside and out." Shadow Weaver respectfully replied. Hordak was one of the few individuals in the world that she would never dare to cross, not with the power at his disposal. "They sabotaged our Prison Block, and the ensuing riots distracted everyone from-"

"Silence!" His voice boomed as his shadows danced across the room, drawing in closer to the guilty party. "I wanted your explanations, not your pitiful excuses. That very sword could bring the downfall of the Horde itself. It's champion can cleave our armies in two if she was ever to master it's power. What I want to know is who is responsible for this, Catra, getting her sword back."

"...It was my fault, Lord Hordak." Adora admitted as she stepped forth. A look of concern and worry crossed Force Captain Scorpia's face and Shadow Weaver's eyes at this. All of them could feel Hordak's shadow drawing closer by the second. "She- I mean Catra, used my own emotions against me. I thought I could bring her back if I gave her the chance, and..." Adora closed her eyes in pain, still recalling the events in her head every moment of her life.

How could she have been so foolish as to trust Catra of all people? The best friend she's known since childhood, the very one who was at Adora's side wherever she went. The person who could easily turn her back on the Horde, the very people who raised both of them, without any worry or care about who they hurt.

It was thanks to Adora's desire to bring her lost friend home that all of this happened. Prying open the sealed corridors for their escape, offering Catra the chance to have the sword if she came back to what Adora considered Family. She never thought in a million years that someone as close as her friend would take advantage of her, pretending to accept their friendship as a means to steal the sword right out of their grip. She thought she saw her old friend once again in that moment, watching as she slowly came back to her side like the good old days.

She can see now that she was very mistaken.

"I have no excuses, my Lord." Adora shook her head as she kneeled down on one leg, placing her fist against the metallic floors of the room. She didn't raise her head as Lord Hordak made his appearance through the darkness, feeling his shadow cross over her as she approached. "The fault is mine and mine alone. I accept any and all punishments deemed necessary."

"..." There was no telling what went through the mind of the Horde leader. At times he was known to be crazy with whatever plans or ideas he came up with. At others, he was known as a superior genius who's technological prowess exceeded any form of magic known across Etheria.

The one constant that always remained, though, was that he was always calculating, always plotting. Every second of his life he considered every action and detail right down to the very last decimal. Nobody could ever match wits with a superior being such as him, not against a foe who was always ten steps ahead.

"...Uhh excuse me, Lord Hordak sir?" Scorpia spoke as she stepped forth with a small smile. "Hi, Force Captain Scorpia. Umm not that a person as great as you need reminders or anything," Scorpia commented waving her claws, "but I would like to point out... it's also because of Adora that we captured Princess Glimmer and the Sword in the first place." Adora shot Scorpia a look of surprise as she continued to kneel, offering a small smile that she still had one friend who had her back. "So, doesn't that kind of... I don't know... cancel each other out?"

"..." The master scratched his chin as he looked down upon the blonde Force Captain, contemplating her every word.

"I mean, no one's ever managed to acquire a prize like the Princess or the Sword before, and this is just after her third mission. Most of the other Senior Cadets and troops haven't been able to accomplish that in over a decade of service."

"It would also go on to merit," Shadow Weaver added taking a floating step forward, "that many of the soldiers and cadets around here have a soft spot for the young Force Captain. If any... thing... was to happen to her, it could cause a small bit of backlash against our troops' morale."

Scorpia, Shadow Weaver, and the other children she grew up alongside. These were the last people in Adora's life that she always knew she could count on to have her back. They were the only ones who had yet to betray Adora, not to an extent that Adora has discovered yet. Without their recent input Adora was sure she wouldn't be kneeling for as long as she has been, not alive at least.

"...Force Captain Adora, Shadow Weaver, the both of you are to remain here. The rest of you are to leave at once." Hordak ordered. No questionable expressions were given to the leader as everyone nodded respectfully, Scorpia having a slight twinge of worry within her mind as she left. Once the room was cleared Hordak returned his attention to the Force Captain kneeling before him.

"I have considered your judgement Adora. Despite your recent failure, your efforts to the Horde have earned you a second chance to prove your worth. Therefore, I am giving you one week." He stated holding up a finger. "I am tasking you to find or obtain a significant contribution to the Horde, one that outweighs your recent blunder. Do that, and you will be cleared of all charges. Fail, however, and my judgement will be your end. Understood?"

"Y-Yes!" Adora raised her head in appreciation. "Thank you Lord-" By the time she could so much as turn to him again, he was gone. There wasn't a shadow nor a trace that he ever existed within this room in the first place. Returning to her feet, she examined her surroundings as she tried to figure out where he disappeared to. Perhaps it was best left unresolved for now, given the circumstances.

"You have done well to earn Lord Hordak's mercy, Adora." Shadow Weaver complimented patting her shoulder. "Not many people have earned that privilege."

"... Shadow Weaver?" Adora's voice wavered a bit as she spoke to her. "Did... Did you know that Catra wasn't under the Princess's spell?" Behind her scarred mask, Shadow Weaver grimaced.

Why on Etheria was someone like Adora so obsessed or concerned with an animal like Catra? The girl has been nothing but a pain to the both of them, one who almost cost Adora her own life if not for Scorpia speaking out for her. She would still show concern to her old friend after everything that's happened. The very person who stabbed her in the back, the one who defected to the Rebellion purely out of greed.

The very one who left three scarring reminders across Shadow Weaver's mask and lived to tell about it. She would see that wretched girl bleed if it was the last thing she did!

"I'm afraid I'm as surprised as you are, my dear." Shadow Weaver feigned ignorance, one that Adora was starting to question. "I didn't think she would willingly try to join the Rebellion. What other conclusion could I come to other than a work of brainwashing?"

"But if Catra defected to the Rebellion willingly, then..." Panic crossed Adora's mind. There would be no means of pleading or begging she could come up with that would spare Catra from Hordak's fury. "Then she really is a traitor..."

Defection and traitorism was the one thing that was never tolerated in the Horde. No matter what the excuse was or any attempts at trying to make up for it, there was almost no way out of getting punished for such a crime. Adora was lucky enough to get a slap on the wrist for everything she did. There was no telling what sort of consequences would occur if Catra was ever captured by someone other than herself, provided whoever captured her did it alive in the first place.

"I know it seems hard to accept, Adora, but if Catra truly is in her own state of mind, then you'll have to accept it. Whatever her reasons are, there is no way she can get away with what she's done..." As she turned away, Shadow Weaver contemplated as she pressed her fingers together. "Unless..."

"Unless?" That single word gave Adora the spark of hope she needed right now in this grim situation. Noticing the small pause emanating from Shadow Weaver's person, Adora quickly ran to her side, wanting to know what other way there was to save Catra's life. "Unless what?" Watching her mater's eyes narrow, Adora felt a small chill in the air as she lowered her face towards Adora's.

"Unless, my dear... someone  **else**  made the rules around here." Shadow Weaver's hint didn't go unnoticed by the Force Captain whose body started to feel heavy.

"W-What... What do you mean..." She was wrong. She had to be wrong, right? There was no way the mother-figure of her life was actually suggesting what Adora thought she meant. It was with a lean into her ears that Shadow Weaver whispered the terrible truth to her pupil.

"I mean, if something were to  _happen_  to Lord Hordak, then who else would be there to replace him...?"

This. Was. Insane!

Insubordination and betrayal was one thing. This was an entirely different thing all on it's own. She wasn't talking about just getting rid of Lord Hordak or making him change the rules around here. She was talking about actually  ** _replacing_**  him and everything that he ruled with an iron fist! Talks like this were enough to warrant a death penalty, even if someone was joking or gossiping about it. No one would so much as think of doing something so horrendous, not to a glorious leader like Lord Hordak.

And here she was. Her master, her mother, the person that raised her since she was saved by the Horde as an infant, talking about overthrowing Lord Hordak's rule and managing the Horde for herself. Was this some sort of hilariously awful joke she was trying to give Adora? Because she would much rather believe that than what she was actually saying!

"Y-You can't be serious..." Adora tensed as she backed away.

"Adora-" Shadow Weaver gently stroked the side of Adora's face in comfort.

"No!" Adora swatted her hand away in disgust. "You can't... I can't let this happen!" She started to run pass her teacher as the grave news was still settling in. "I need to report to Lord Hordak at once and-!"

"All right, go ahead." Shadow Weaver's words stopped Adora in her tracks, surprised that she was unwilling to put up a fight or resistance to what Adora wanted to do. "Tell Lord Hordak about my idea, send one of the very few people you have left into the deepest, darkest, hole in the Fright Zone." She said knowingly as she neared Adora. Adora kept her back to her as she made her way over, processing everything that she was saying with a grain of salt.

"Send me to a prison, or watch me get executed because you thought it was the right thing to do." Shadow Weaver grinned behind the mask as she rubbed Adora's shoulder. "Send the one person who still cares deeply about you, who gave you her trust, who showed you the ways of the world, who treated you as her own daughter, somewhere she'll never be seen again."

"B-But..."

"Besides," her mentor whispered as she leaned her head closer from behind, "think of alllll the good you could do if you were in charge. You could be as peaceful or violent as you wish, you can help all those who come to you in need. And I'll be right here, by your side, whispering in your ear for guidance."

Everything that ever was and has been has lead up to this moment. Everything from the time of day, the situation at hand, all the training she put Adora through, all the lives she had to snuff out to ensure perfection on Adora's behalf, all of it was for her little star to shine. Even as Adora's face filled with dread she knew she wouldn't dare to oppose her or challenge her on this, and not out of a matter of love or mercy.

She would do it because she's all she had left. There was nobody else in Adora's life that she cared about, other than Shadow Weaver. She wouldn't risk losing the last of the closest thing she had to family around here. Every event Shadow Weaver manipulated from the day she raised her has been for this moment, to ensure Adora would come to see her as the motherly figure she's known her to be, and to keep her from ever betraying that  _love_  Shadow Weaver infected her with.

Even the kindness she's shown on Adora's behalf was an act. She needed to raise Adora to be perfect, in every sense of the word. She needed to make sure she had just the right amount of kindness in her heart so she would never risk her exposing Shadow Weaver's evils to Lord Hordak. The very fact that she was still standing her instead of running for the ruler of the Horde was proof of her unwavering devotion to her.

Adora needed her. She made sure of that in every possible way.

"You'll see, sweetheart." With a small tug she pulled Adora towards her, patting her head as she continued to stare off into space. "All that I do, all that I will do, has only been to make you happy."

And it was during this small exchange, during this seemingly innocent hour of peace, that a lone pair of glowing red eyes spied on the duo from the vents, as she recorded every little detail her purple hair could allow...

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**A/N: Yeah, not the best start to a chapter at this rate but like I said, bit choppy here. Weekends are usually a sore spot to write but it gets better over the week.** _

_**With that said, hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, follow, fave, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!** _


	38. Episode 10: The Beacon Part 2

_**A/N: Another slow bit to a chapter with some rough edges, but I'm slowly coming around (I think).** _

_**I think my biggest issue at this moment is my overwhelming fear of episode 11, 1 because of how freaking depressing it is and knowing I'll have to watch it, and 2 because of any and all attempts I'm going to have to make to make the feels hurt as much as possible XP (I aint trying to make people sad on purpose, but let's face it- the best kind of fanfics are ones that make you feel something. So being able to match possibly one of the SADDEST CARTOON EPISODES EVER is going to be a challenge Xo...** _

_**That and my college finals eating up to my time, either or.** _

_**So with that said, enjoy!** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

"...I can feel you watching me." Glimmer said as she lied under Bright Moon's Rune Stone with her eyes closed.

"I am not." Bow replied, his eyes watery as he watched his friend in worry. He needed her to be okay, he prayed for her to be okay! So when he saw her opening her eyes knowingly, he gave a nervous smile as he backed away from her, sitting a few feet away to give her the space she might've needed to heal.

As for Catra, the magicat was currently leaning against a wall with her arms crossed, staring off into thought.

The morning had taken a serious toll on everybody since the morning sun had risen. Despite rescuing Glimmer and Bow from the Horde's clutches and retrieving the Sword of Protection, the reward did nothing to outweigh the loss of Entrapta's life. There was so much guilt and regret over the loss of their beloved comrade, the very one who used to make everyone smile with her quirky antics and helped those she could in their time of need. It was the beginning of all the terrible things to come thereafter.

How terrible could it get after losing one ally? For starters, there was the fact the Princess Alliance had disbanded. Entirely. Everyone was wracked with guilt and regret for the loss of Entrapta's life, everyone's consciousness weighing them down to the bottomless pits of despair. It didn't matter that Catra lashed out against everyone, thinking it was their fault at the time for not listening to her before. No one was innocent or guilty in the wake of Entrapta's death, something she knew even after attacking Mermista in anger.

All of the Princesses of Etheria, those who were with them and those who weren't, returned to their own separate kingdoms in response. They didn't hate each other for what happened, but they couldn't risk their lives while they had their own kingdoms to look out for. This was the very first mission that the Princess Alliance did as a whole, and it resulted in tragedy. Who's to say the next one two of them wouldn't die? Or three? Or all of them?! They couldn't risk leaving their kingdoms leaderless or defenseless, and withdrew from the Princess Alliance for good.

In the end, this left Catra with a fountain of guilt. She should've forced them to stay away from the Fright Zone, she shouldn't have been so eager to join them after reading Glimmer's stupid diary of all things! She knew how risky the challenge was and she still went out of her way with the rest in order to rescue the two people she now called friends, and this was the price she paid for it.

And it still wasn't the worst part of the mission. No, the worst part of the mission came to the very end of Catra's and Glimmer's escape, where they came across the one person Catra considered the closest of friends.

Adora.

The girl she had left behind, the friend who's had her back in the Hord even after she left. She was tired, stressed, exhausted of all she had to put up with and she still wanted to give Catra a chance to come home where she belonged. She offered her an ultimatum between choosing to flee with Glimmer without resistance, or to come back to the Horde with Adora, along with the promise she would get her sword back too. It wasn't a choice of which option she chose, it was a decision that would determine who Catra saw as her real friends.

The decision Catra made continued to sicken her to this very moment. She presented the three of them with a third option, one that betrayed the sanctity of trust Adora had for her, one that practically stabbed Adora through the heart. Feigning her friendship to the blonde Force Captain, she stole the sword right out of Adora's hand when her guard was down and took a mad dash down the exit with Glimmer in her hands. She used Adora to get both things she wanted, showed Adora how little she meant to her in that moment of choice.

She betrayed the very friend who's defended her since day in order to protect the injured Glimmer, and not a moment goes by where she doesn't regret it.

"Ah." Catra looked back as she heard Glimmer sigh with relief. The Princess of Bright Moon had a warm smile again as she leaned up from her floating altar, giving a big stretch of her arms as she recovered under the stone's magical gaze. "See, I told you. Just needed to re-"

_*rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrttttttttttttt*_

"Ahhhhh!" Glimmer cried out in pain as her body glowed with a deathly aura of red. The princess felt like she was being torn apart and pushed together simultaneously, crying out as she clutched her chest in agony until the effects finally wore off. "It didn't work!"

This was the third issue that came about after Glimmer's rescue.

After allowing herself to be captured in order to find Glimmer, Catra was tortured by Shadow Weaver's dark energy as she intended to turn her into a living doll, one that would obey her every word without question. Watching her friend cry out in pain, Glimmer summoned up the greatest amount of magic she could possibly muster, breaking free of her restraints as she teleported to her friend's side at the last second, and blasted the wicked witch away with her strongest blow. While it was one of the greatest rescue's Catra's ever experienced, it came at a cost.

"Work? I think it made things worse!" Bow stammered.

"Glimmer? Are you up there?" Catra looked over the side, letting out a small shriek as she saw Queen Angella coming across the bridge.

"Your mom is coming!" Catra announced.

"We can  **not**  let my mom see me like this!" The worried princess swatted away at the small glitching sparks that surrounded her.

Catra shook her head furiously. "Glimmer, we have to! She really needs to know!"

"What? No!" The princess panicked. "Catra, please, you can't let my mom find out about this!"

"I have to. She made me promise to tell her if there was something suspicious going on, and I think your glitching problem more than qualifies!" Catra replied, looking back as the queen started to fly up.

"But Catra, you can't!

"Why not?"

"Because... Because she'll want to know every detail then!" Glimmer quickly came up with. "I'll have to tell her every single detail about what happened, and that includes Adora!"

Catra looked crossed at the comeback. It didn't matter if she had no part in Glimmer's interrogation. If the queen found out that it was one of her beloved friends that did the torturing she might end up blaming Catra in part too, which is especially troublesome after how kind Angella has been to her since this morning. "I'm sorry, Pinky, but I don't have a choice. I need to tell her about this!"

"Tell me about what?" The queen asked as she flew in ahead of Catra.

"Your majesty, there's something really important you need to know." Catra took in a deep breath as she prepared her reveal and for any misgivings the Queen had for her after. "The-"

"Oh, say, Catra, before I forget, I was wondering if you were planning on joining us for dinner this evening." Angella asked curiously with a smile as she turned around to her.

"I-... Ehh what?" Catra's ears and expression dropped at the announcement. It's not like she hasn't eaten with the queen on a handful of occasions during breakfast, lunch, or dinner, but this was the first time she's ever inquired about Catra possibly eating with her this time. A part of it could be attributed to Catra's lack of manners and then some, not to mention the somewhat stale relationship she already had with the queen. "You... actually want me at dinner tonight?"

"Why, yes." The queen nodded clapping her hands together. "And Bow too, of course. I feel like I haven't been giving you a fair chance since we met, and after saving my daughter and her friend, I felt like this would be a good chance to get to know each other better. I'd also like to know what your preference is for dinner tonight, so I can make sure the chefs prepare everyone's favorites."

"You uh... you don't say..." And this was the final problem Catra found herself dealing with since this morning. Ever since she's returned with the queen's daughter, Angella has been the friendliest she's ever been with the girl. Hugging her upon her return, patting her head when she promised to tell her about anything suspicious. It almost felt like a dream to see her so nice to her, having gone an entire day without raising her voice once to the girl.

"That... uh... does sound pretty good..."

"Mh-hm." She nodded. "Oh, I'm sorry for interrupting you like that. Now what were you going to tell me again? About something important?"

"Uhh..." Taking a look passed Angella, she could see the worried looks and pleading hands of her two friends, begging her not to say anything. Noticing the perplexed look on her face, Angella turned around to see what was causing the uneasy look only to find Bow and Glimmer casually looking away from the conversation, minding their own business.

Catra's never felt so conflicted in her life as much as this moment. Getting on the queen's good side has always been a constant struggle for the magicat, and now she had a golden opportunity to take advantage of her kindness to try to warm up to the grateful Queen. On the other hand, if she did tell her then she would risk ruining whatever friendship she had with Glimmer and Bow in the first place, and she was in no position to start trying to make new friends after her fallout with Adora.

What choice did she have?

"That... um..." Switching between looking at the queen's smiling faces and the worried looks of her friends, Catra finally gave in. "That the... Princess Alliance had a bit of a falling out after we got back, because of what happened to Entrapta." Both her friends sighed silently in great relief at this. "They're um... They might not exactly be on the best terms with us at the moment."

Compared to all the other times Angella would question Catra at length in confusion and irritation, here the queen simply smiled as she patted her shoulder. "I'm sure all your friends and allies will return after they've had time to mourn Entrapta's... passing." It was beyond strange at that moment. For some reason, it almost scared Catra more to see her acting friendly and polite to her instead of bitter and off-putting like she used to be. "Now, as I was saying. Glimmer, are you feeling any better?"

"O-Of course- I mean jeez, mom, can't you give a girl some privacy when she's recharging?" Glimmer replied smiling nervously as Bow did. "Anyway, we were just leaving."

"Leaving? But I just got here-"

_*thunk*_

_*thunk*_

_*thunk*_

"...And why is Catra banging her head against the wall?" She asked upon finding the source of the strange pounding.

" 'ish is how I 'eal with 'eadaches in the 'orde." Catra muffled into the wall during the brief pause in reply.

"I... see... Well if you really have a headache, I do have some medicine for it." She offered.

"Trust me, not for one like this..." Catra groaned turning her head a little.

"Yup! See? She's perfectly fine!" Glimmer insisted grabbing Catra's shoulder. "Good talk mom! Gotta do it again sometime. Bye!" She sputtered, pulling her friend in a hurry as she and Bow ran from the room.

"Wait, Glimmer-!" Her mother tried to stop her, too little too late. She knew her daughter was still recovering emotionally and mentally from everything she's been through in the Horde,though she just wished she had a little bit more time to spend with just the two of them. "We didn't even get a chance to talk yet..."

...

...

"SHE WANTS YOU TO  ** _WHAT_**?!" Scorpia gasped in disbelief.

"SHHHHHH!" Adora shushed placing a finger to her mouth. "Not so loud!"

"But Adora, this is huge!" Scorpia fidgeted with her claws as she tried to calm down.

It was times like this where Adora was thankful that the hallways were usually so barren and empty. Away from any cameras they could come across save for the droids that patrolled this place, being somewhere the Horde guards usually didn't patrol too often. It was the perfect place to panic while pacing back and forth without raising too many eyebrows.

As Catra was dealing with her own dilemmas on the other side of the world, Adora was dealing with her own situation ever since Lord Hordak passed judgement on the girl for letting Catra get the sword back and aiding in their escape unintentionally. She had one week to provide Lord Hordak with something that could contribute to the Horde, anything that would be equal to or greater than the loss of the Princess of Bright Moon and the Sword of Protection, or she would face Lord Hordak's judgement.

Personally, it didn't matter to her if she met her end for her past mistakes or not. She regretfully trusted her friend to come through for her, to return to her side when Adora offered her the chance to come back to the Horde where she belonged. This single act, one she was tricked out of by losing the sword and the princess, may have very well cost them the entire war in general. If she lost her life as punishment or was imprisoned till the end of time, either punishment would've been appropriate to make up for what could eventually lead to the Horde's downfall.

And somehow it wasn't nearly as bad as Shadow Weaver's proposal following his sentence.

"You're talking about overthrowing Lord Hordak, the big guy himself!" Scorpia said much quieter.

"I know, I know, and I wouldn't even question telling him if it wasn't for the one who told me the idea." Adora rubbed her hands anxiously as she walked back and forth. "I can't turn in Shadow Weaver after all she's done for me, and I can't tell Lord Hordak about it or I risk losing the one of the last few people I have in my life!"

"But Hordak said you needed to find something better than the princess and the sword, right?" Scorpia reminded with a small smile. "If you tell him about how his second in command plans on betraying him, I'm sure that'll more than make up for it!"

"Ugh, Scorpia, you don't understand." She moaned. "Shadow Weaver has always been there in my life, ever since I could crawl. I can't betray her after everything she's done! Besides, even if I did do it and Hordak does forgive my past crime, that still leaves Catra in danger if the rules involving defectors remain in place. You know as well as I do what'll happen if she gets caught again."

"You mean the friend who turned her back on you and betrayed you?" The scorpion girl's face contorted with anger. "The very one who stole your sword away, who took advantage of you?" At this, Adora stopped her pacing as she stood in place. Scorpia could never understand how a friend like that could easily turn their back on their former associate like Catra did. Leaving her best friend all by herself, pretending she was still her friend in order to get everything she wanted, and then ditch her at the last second anyway. A part of her almost wished she was captured by this point for hurting her friend like this.

That was when she noticed a small tear forming in the corner of Adora's eyes, the girl holding herself as she thought about everything Scorpia said. It pained her a little to see her cheerful friend riddled with guilt and sadness, knowing there was almost no one else Adora could turn to. With a small smile, she gently pulled Adora in a little bit, giving her a small hug as she patted her back. "Hey, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that." She apologized.

"But it's true..." Adora sniffled a little.

"No it's not." Scorpia tried to assure in a positive attitude. "I'm sure there's a good reason for everything she did, you'll see. And hey, whatever you decide, I'll be right behind ya, okay?"

Adora wiped a bit of her tears away as she smiled up to her hulking friend. "Thanks Scorpia." She doesn't know what she would do with herself if she didn't have one more friend watching her back, being the last person she could trust in this world that was still in the Horde. She needed to tell someone about this secret before she exploded, and it was comforting to know she could truly trust in someone like Scorpia to be by her side.

"...Ugggh!" And to grumble about right after. "And now I have this to deal with!"

"What, you don't want me to help you?"

"No- well... yes, but...Mmmh." She scratched her head at the piling frustration building above her. "Now I  **really**  need to figure things out before it's too late. I don't want to risk you getting into trouble too."

"Hey, it's fine with me. I'm sure you'll come up with something great!"

"Yeah, but-"

_*clack*_

_*clack*_

_*clack*_

The two went silent as she noticed one of the droid bots enter the vicinity, staring passed the two as if they didn't exist. "But... that...  _thing_ ," Adora redirected her choice of words in case the droid was spying on them, "is still a pretty big deal." She gestured with her head as the two began walking down the halls, hearing the droid following from behind.

"Well, I'm sure that...  _it_  will be okay in the end." The other Force Captain continued to remain optimistic. "With the two of us working together, I'm sure you'll think of something."

"Yeah but I don't even know what that something is!" She grumbled again scratching at her itchy head. "I can't  _do that_  to them, I can't turn in *that person*, and I don't want you to get involved if things get worse! Ugh, this day has been so annoying!" With a growl Adora released all of her pent up anger as she kicked the nearby large pipe that they were walking alongside.

_*thud*_

"Ow!"

"Are you okay?" Scorpia ran around her, checking on her foot. She noticed Adora's vacant and confused expression as she stared at the pipe itself.

"Scorpia, that... that wasn't me..." Adora whispered, slowly walking over to the pipe. Placing her ear over it, she lightly tapped around the large metal vent, checking for something.

* _thud-thud_ *

"Um are you trying to make some music or some-"

"Shh!" Adora kept her ear to the pipe as she continued to knock against it.

* _thud-thud_ *

* _thud-thud_ *

* ** _Clunk_** *

That was it! Edging closely to the pipe's ventilation hatch, she carefully inched towards it, trying to remain as silent as possible while also staying out of the line of sight the inside of the hatch had to offer. She noticed how the droid itself seemed to be trailing her movements, something it had yet to do until she started examining the pipe itself.

Brushing her leg against the pipe, Adora stood firmly right on the side of the hatch as she gestured her fingers Scorpia, counting down from three as she told her to prepare. Nodding in return, the scorpion carefully made her way over to her, waiting until Adora prepared to do whatever it was she was doing.

"3... 2... 1... NOW!" With a yell, Adora hastily threw the hatch of the door open, both her and Scorpia preparing themselves for whatever monstrous invader rolled itself out of the vent. Their looks of aggression and defensiveness flipped immediately once they saw the face of the perky princess that tumbled out of the pipes, shaking her head of the small daze she had before looking back to her two verily confused captors who found her.

All Entrapta could do was offer a sincere smile to the two as she waved to the both of them, using the magical hair she was blessed with. "Hiya!"

...

...

"Maybe it's like a cold!" Glimmer guessed as she and Bow tidied up the room. She needed to come up with whatever explanation she could to keep everyone else from panicking about their situation, specifically Catra who was still torn between keeping Glimmer's secret quiet and telling the queen the bad news while she still liked her as much as she did. "I've never been sick before. Having an immortal mother has some advantages."

"You're mom's actually  _immortal_  immortal?" Catra was amazed by the statement. "I thought that was just a title she took because it sounds good? Which raises the question, why hasn't your mother charged head first into the Horde if she's immortal? I'm pretty sure she could wipe out the entire army by herself in that case."

"She's not invulnerable, Catra, she's immortal." She remarked. "I'm pretty sure she needs a head to survive and I wouldn't see her getting very far breathing underwater without magic. Even if she was, that still risks her being captured you know."

"Point taken." Catra shrugged back.

"Now for a follow up question... what do you do when you're sick, Catra?"

"Run and hide until we're not sick anymore." She watched as Glimmer and Bow eyed each other in confusion over this. "What? Shadow Weaver had an annoying policy over it. You take care of yourself or you were punished for getting sick in the first place. Not to mention the rest of the Horde looking down on it." A little bit of anger built up as she saw her reflection in the glass of the sprout-looking lamp hanging next to her.

"Okay, well, let's approach this like a cold. Now let's see..." Bow rubbed his chin in thought. "Um... Lots of liquid and, uh... rest. Huh! I'll make soup!"

"Great, and I'll nap!" Glimmer added cheerfully. "I bet when I wake up I'll be as good as new! I just gotta let this thing run its course." Catra couldn't tell if it was enlightening to see their misplaced optimism or depressing. The only thing she felt out of the entire situation was annoyance. "...Ugh, why did I have to make my bed so high?" She groaned. She would have to make a mental note to herself to get a very tall ladder or a regular bed after all of this was over. "Give me a boost?"

Nodding over to her, Bow helped Glimmer onto his own shoulders as she tried to stand, hoping to get enough height in order to reach her bed from there. At the same time, Catra looked over her, brooding over everything that's happened because of this hunk of junk, and all the problems that ensued after touching it for the first time.

She defected from the Horde, praised as a hero and into loathed as a person in a village, almost drowned because of the unexplained visions of her memories that pop up at random periods of time, went on a feral rampage of confusion by a virus infecting her sword, almost brought the entire downfall of Mystacor itself after being possessed by Shadow Weaver's magic, ruined any chance of a relationship she had at the Princess Prom with Princess Frosta, went on a rescue mission to save Glimmer and Bow that resulted in losing Entrapta, and finally, possibly brought about the end of the much-needed Princess Alliance all by herself.

And she still couldn't get this stupid sword to work!

* **crash** *

Twitching her ears at the fourth attempt the two took to get Glimmer onto her bed, she sighed. "Okay, seriously, you guys. You can't let this thing run through its course." Catra said helping Glimmer to her feet. "It's getting worse, your mom's eventually going to find out, and I guarantee she'll be angrier at me because I didn't tell her."

"I'm not getting worse, Catra-!"

* _rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrttttttttttttt_ *

"Ahhhhhh!" Glimmer cried out as she doubled over in pain. As if to prove Catra's point, her entire body lit again with the painful red aura, lasting an additional second longer than before. "Huff... Okay, maybe a little."

"Look, Glimmer, you got sick because of whatever dark magic Shadow Weaver made with the Black Garnet. What you need is magic to break magic, and your mom's the best chance you have of that."

"But Catra-"

"No, Glimmer. Your mom's already suspicious enough as it is. If you're that scared, I'll go tell her myself." Catra offered as she walked over to the door. "She's trusting me to let her know, anyway."

"No, please! I..." Glimmer started to panic as she chewed on her thumbnail nervously. She couldn't afford to have her mom find out about all of this, not with all that's happened! Her mom worries about her enough during her missions to practically ground her for weeks to months on end if she helps someone in their time of need. Here, she'd risk her mother never letting her leave her bedroom again until the war was over she would be so much in panic! "I... W-Wait! Wait!" Glimmer rushed over to the door, slamming it shut right as Catra propped it open.

"What now?"

"Y-You said magic is needed to fix it, right?"

"Yeah...?" Catra raised her brow with suspicion.

"Then why don't we have She-Ra help us instead!"

"...You're kidding, right?" This was either the greatest joke Glimmer's ever told her or the dumbest thing she's ever heard in her life.

"No, seriously! Remember? She healed the Heart's Blossom in Plumeria!"

"Err... No she didn't. She stopped the machine from sucking out its energy." Bow reminded.

"Ok, well... she fixed the Sea Gate!"

"She repaired it's engine, Glimmer. And you're not a machine, you're a person."

"Bow, stay out of this!" She yelped.

"But he's right, Glimmer!" Catra took the archer's side without question. "I can't even get this stupid sword to transform me over half the time when I call on it. What makes you think it'll do so much as that this time?

"Uh... well... maybe it just needed a good recharge!" She proposed. "Think about it. You've never transformed into She-Ra more than once a day, right?"

"Yeeeah...?"

"So, maybe it'll work now! You haven't tried it since we went to Salineas, right?" Blinking at the curious suggestion, Catra took out her sword from it's sheath again, examining blade from the hilt to its blade with wonder.

This thing never worked whenever she needed it to. It didn't work in Salineas when she wanted to prove to her friend she was telling the truth, it didn't come back after she revealed herself to the kingdom of Plumeria, and it took her several dozen tries in one day to get it to work once when she first arrived at Bright Moon. The chances of it working now weren't just slim, they were astronomically small.

Then again, maybe that really was the key to using it's power? Like the princesses needing their own rune stones, maybe this thing really did have some sort of cool down period? It wouldn't hurt to try at least and if it didn't work, she could always go to plan B. "If this doesn't work, you have to promise me we'll tell your mother right away. Deal?"

"Deal!" Glimmer agreed with a nervous smile crossing her fingers looking hopeful. In reality, she was shouting in her mind that this worked now more than ever, crossing her fingers in doubt as she prepared to run away first thing if this sword didn't transform Catra into She-Ra again.

Taking a deep breath as the two backed away from her, Catra called out, "For the Honor of Grayskull!"

_ All around her lights of a dazzling displayed danced across the scenery as her entire body shimmered with a sparkling glow, save for her eyes that remained pure light. With the humming of her sword, she brought the sword to her face along with her illuminated hand, crossing them side by side until they formed an X in front of her. _

_ With a silent breath, she began pulling the sword and claw against each other on opposite ends, scraping her claws against the mighty blade which danced with a sparkling light. As she did, little by little her outfit changed into a majestic white color, growing little by little along her body as she pulled the blade away from her claw. By the time her claw reached the end of her sword, her entire outfit had finished changing, now sporting a white colored vest with a yellow light image bursting from the center of a light-blue gem, along with a white colored short skirt across her waist. _

_ Finally, she brought her empty hand to her face. She held it there as a golden light enveloped both her wrists, forming a beautifully golden set of bracelets. As a final piece, slowly pulling her hand away from her face as her helmet changed to a golden color, the spikes on the end growing several inches longer as they curved out against her form, just as golden pads stretched from the shoulders. _

_ With this, her transformation had come to an end, and She-Ra had been formed. _

The room continued to fill with a brilliant white light until her transformation was complete, leaving her viewers to stare off in wonder, and Glimmer with relief, at the success in transformation. Seeing herself donning the outfit of the mighty She-Ra once more, Catra let out a small gasp, looking over herself entirely with disbelief like she had done the first time she had donned the outfit.

"I-It worked!" She was still in shock as she continued.

"You did it!" Bow cheered with the raise of his fist.

"Oh, thank goodne- ehh I mean, I knew you could!" Glimmer smiled, feeling an immense pool relief washing over herself at that very moment.

Personally, Catra was stunned and slightly disappointed. This was actually the very first time she wished she didn't get the sword to work so she could tell the Queen right away about Glimmer's predicament. At the same time, a part of her was ecstatic that it actually worked after the last several straight months she went through of not using it. After all this time of never using the sword, unable to comprehend how to get this strange creation of the First Ones' to work, it finally threw her a bone as it transformed her once again.

"...Ok, this so does not count." Catra stated, still wishing she could've told Glimmer's mother instead.

"Nope! A deal's a deal!" Glimmer replied proudly, grabbing Catra's hand as they marched down the hallways. "You transform into She-Ra, then we try my idea for awhile. No ifs, and, or buts." With the princess's mind made up, Catra reluctantly allowed her to pull her across the halls, continuing to mope to herself about her present situation as Bow followed behind.

If things worked out, she could eventually heal and save Glimmer's life, possibly winning more points towards her mother being forever nicer to the young She-Ra. If not, she would have to tell her immediately about Glimmer's situation and hope she doesn't get angry about Catra not warning her sooner.

And at worse, they completely fail and Glimmer either ends up exploding from whatever the glitching issue is doing to her, or Catra ends up blowing her up herself by accident and then explaining to her mother why Glimmer is currently in twenty little pieces.

And strangely the latter somehow seemed less likely to leave Catra with an angry mother to deal with to her...

...

...

_*munch*_

_*munch*_

_*munch*_

"Mmh!" Entrapta squealed in delight as she continued to feast. "Oh, 'eah, dish ish 'ood!" She complimented through her full mouth, eating bite after bite of the delicious food brought into this room. It was amazing how much better food tasted when you went over a day without eating anything, save for any scraps and crumbs you could find within the ventilation shafts.

...Well hopefully they were crumbs.

* _shoom_ *

It was at the sound of the door opening up that she greeted the return of her two favorite, and only, captors, having returned to the interrogation room after the last half-hour of solitude. "Oh hey, it's you guys!" Entrapta beamed as she grabbed a large plate of ham that was still roasting on the table with her hair, stretching it over to the two who brought her here in the first place. "Either of you care for a bite?"

"Ooh!" Scorpia squeaked, smelling the delicious scent of freshly roasted ham. Taking a brief look to the friend in front of her, Adora gave her a small nod with a smile, assuring her it was okay. "If you insist!" The Force Captain cheerfully accepted as she grabbed the entire plate, loading the roasted ham by it's bone as she dug right in walking into the room. Mentally rolling her eyes playfully at the girl's antics, Adora made her way over to the table itself, sitting in the chair across from Entrapta with a curious look in her eye.

"So, Prisoner-" "Adora began as she leaned her arms on the table.

"Entrapta!" Scorpia corrected, still eating the ham.

"They're the same pers- never mind." Adora shook the thought out of her head. "Anyway, Entrapta, Lord Hordak as tasked me with your... interrogation, to put it gently."

"I'll say!" The purple-haired princess wiped her lips delicately with a napkin held in her hair. "You guys really know how to treat your enemies!" That went without question. After all, ever since she was captured by the insidious Horde, at least with these two, they've been nothing but nice to her! They brought her to a cozier room than those prisons she's seen, they didn't bother to lock her in the restraints when they made her promise to stay here, and not ten minutes after did she find a handful of guards suddenly bringing in a buffet of food for the starving scientist.

This place was awesome!

"Heh, well, the way I see it, I don't think we have to be enemies." There was a small, saddened, look on the blond's face. "I just want to ask you some questions first, if you don't mind."

"Hey, go ahead, I'm not going anywhere!" She replied, happily digging into another serving of food. Adora looked over to her friend, finding it rather surprising that a princess, one that recently broke into the Fright Zone to rescue two prisoners, was being so cooperative.

"Okay then. First thing I want to know; what were you doing in the vents when we found you?"

"Oh, I was just waiting for my friends!" She answered happily. The lack of hesitation or pause was enough to convince Adora she was telling the truth. "They had a lot of trouble trying to find me the first time around, so I thought, you know, they'd have an easier time if I waited in one spot."

"You were abandoned by your friends?"

"What? Oh no, no, not at all!" Entrapta chuckled at the notion with the wave of her twin-tails. "I'm sure they'll be here any minute now to rescue me, just like they did with Glimmer and Bow."

"That's what I used to think." The interrogator plucked a single grape from a fruit bowl, squeezing it softly in her hands. "I thought Catra was someone I could trust, someone who would come back for me as soon as they disappeared."

* _squish!_ *

"And she's never shown the least bit of interest in getting me back." There was a strong silence in the air as Adora wiped her hand of the squished leftover.

"Oh... I'm sorry to hear that. But she's been really nice to me though!" Entrapta listed off all the good times she's had with the magicat. "She's always been funny with her nicknames like calling me a geek and a weirdo, or threatening to claw my hair out if I touch her again, and..." A small decline started to form over Entrapta's smile. "The way she hates my inventions and robots I keep making for the Rebellion... Keeps shoving me away if I get too close to her..." Scorpia was a little disheartened to hear this as she returned to the table, her ham chewed down to the bone.

"And the way they abandoned you after she got her own friends back."

"They're coming... Ooh!" The scientist's despair instantly brightened as she grabbed Scorpia's tail in her hair. "Your tail secretes some paralyzing agent, right? Mind if I study a sample of it? I'm still trying to figure out how you intoxicated Mermista at the Prom."

"Hey," Scorpia yelped pulling away her tail, "you can't touch a woman's tail without asking! And I didn't mean to intoxicate her at the party, I was surprised as you were when it happened."

"Hmm... it must've been a combination then of the Kelp Juice she had and the other substances she consumed before you stung her." As Adora walked around the table, Entrapta began detailing her theories into the small tape recorder she smuggled in with her hair, donning her red-eyed mask. "Possible breakthrough in case 1-I.M., Data Record 1-0-3. Apparently the paralyzing agent might not have been the entire cause of Mermista's intoxication at the ball. Will have to experiment for further analysis after my friends come back to rescue me."

"Entrapta..." Adora shook her head as she sat against the table, looking apologetic to the tragic scientist. "They're not coming back for you. I don't think they ever cared for you to begin with."

"Of course they do!" The Princess's optimism began to wane as she defended herself. "They'll be breaking down those doors any second now and then we'll all go home!"

"Are you sure about that? Are you sure they even care enough to come back for you?" Adora stroked a portion of her hair softly, still glum about her own experience with Catra. "Do you see the Rebellion willing to risk their lives to save one princess alone?"

"Well... statistically speaking, they would stand to lose more if- I mean yes, of course they will! After all, they... they're my friends..."

"Then where are they? Glimmer and Bow weren't here for more than a day and they came back for them. How long have you been here for?" It was hard to tell what was going on through Entrapta's mind as Adora stared at her mask. Unlike Shadow Weaver's there weren't any slits or openings through it to let them see her face. All Adora had to go by was the small silence in that moment, waiting and watching for any sort of response.

"..."

* _click_ *

"Fright Zone log, hour 45. Still no sign of my... friends. By the first hour in the previous rescue, we were already infiltrating the prison block... two-thirds into our last mission." Adora picked up on the small sniffle the scientist let out. "They... they always said we had each others' backs, that... That we were a team. A-Assuming they knew I was still hiding, they should've picked me up... seventeen hours and forty-two minutes ago..."

* _sniff_ *

"Entrapta-"

"A-And now I'm being interrogated because they... they consider the risk outweighs the reward... outweighs my life... a-and now I'm... Now there's a thirty-two percent chance I'll b-be tortured if they don't res...rescue me-"

"No, no!" Adora offered a soft smile as she flipped Entrapta's mask, seeing the tear-stricken face of the mad scientist. "Entrapta, we're not going to do anything to you. We want to be your allies, your friends." She helped remove the small trail of tears from Entrapta's face with her sleeve. "Do you know how helpful you would be if you were to join us? The Horde needs people like you, people we can trust!" Shifting her eyes away, she saw Scorpia standing opposite of her, giving her a comforting smile with a nod.

"...You just want my inventions." She accused, wiping her other eye with her hair.

"We want your help. The Horde accepts all forms of allies, I mean look at us. Scorpia has a stinger and claws, I have a headband that lets me control shadows, we don't care about past alliances or enemies. We all stand united in the Horde. We care for each other, and we wouldn't let an ally fall into the wrong hands, no matter how much we feel about them."

"...Hmm..." It was a rather tempting offer by this point in the conversation. "Catra did say there were a couple times you came back for her... and not the other way around... And I've made more progress on my work in secrets here than I did in my entire life out there. The Horde technology gives me so much more to play and work with."

"Yeah!" The other Princess nodded with enthusiasm. "You wouldn't have to worry about working alone either if you didn't want to. You could be working alongside our science division. Running the science division!"

"Hmm I usually prefer to work alone on my projects. I mean Emily's the most advanced bot I've ever built!"

"Er... Who's Emily?" Adora asked.

"Oh, where are my manners! I'll introduce you!" The once downtrodden scientist instantly filled with excitement and glee as she stood on her feet, clapping her hands. "Emily, here girl!"

* _rrrrrrr_ *

"Uhh what is-"

"GET DOWN!" Without any warning, Adora found herself tackled to the ground, narrowly avoiding the massive laser that blasted at her through the all. "I gotcha, I gotcha, I gotcha!" Scorpia repeated endlessly. As she tried to squeeze out of Scorpia's hold, Adora watched as the three-legged bot made its way across the room until it was standing right next to Entrapta's cheery side like a trained animal.

Rising from the ground, the two stared in awe at the massive hole melted into the wall, nearly half their size in radius, along with the other three walls the robot blasted through. This wasn't just a technological marvel, this was an amazing display of a scientific genius! A genius named Entrapta as she petted her companion like a dog.

"Wow... Hey, Entrapta, do you mind waiting here for a bit while we talk?" Adora requested. With a nod from the potential new ally they've created, Scorpia followed Adora behind as they exited through the doorway, one that didn't seem to matter given the new exit Entrapta *built* with Emily's help, and locking the door behind them.

"Way to go, Adora!" Scorpia congratulated, roughly patting her on the back.

* _thunk_ *

"Ow."

"I think she totally bought your performance."

"Performance?"

"Yeah, she thinks you really meant all that! I mean, I might've found it a little harsh to lie like that, but I'm sure it'll be enough to impress Hordak and get you off the hook!"

"Scorpia, I didn't lie about any of that." She took a moment to open the hatch to the interrogation room, watching as Entrapta continued to play around with Emily like a child, wiping any dust it collected with the cloths she had at the table. "I know what Entrapta's going through right now, being abandoned like that by her own friends. She's in a lot of pain right now and she didn't even realize it until now."

"Oh... Well either way it was nice of you. I still can't wait to see Hordak's face when you turn her in."

"I don't plan on turning her in, Scorpia." Adora replied, turning her back and leaning against the doorway. "She's only one princess. I need to make up for losing one princess, one soldier, AND the sword. All those things alone isn't going to clear my crime, I need something as big as all three."

"Oh yeah. Well maybe Entrapta can build you something big enough to impress him then?" She suggested, smiling back as she watched Entrapta and Emily play. "She made a bot out of whatever she found lying around, right? She's gotta be able to create something good."

"And then let her think I abandoned her after? I really do want to make friends with her, Scorpia, and I do mean it." Adora's face hardened without her knowing it.

She officially hated people that abandoned others. She never wanted anyone to feel that sort of pain again until she figured out what to do with Catra and where she was in her life. With a new princess possibly on their side they were one more victory towards the war efforts and one step closer to pleasing Lord Hordak and escaping his judgement.

She wasn't going to use people just for her own benefit either. She was going to make her allies, make her friends, ask them for help, and assist them to the best of her abilities. She wasn't going to abandon them like Catra, judge them like the Horde, and she wasn't about to manipulate them for her own personal gain.

Like Shadow Weaver..

 

_**...** _

 

_**...** _

 

_**...** _

 

_**A/N: You know two things that always bothered me about this show (the 2nd being this episode specifically)? 1, you can never tell how much time has passed in the show XP I mean it, especially in here it's relevant when, according to Entrapta, it's been nearly 2 days since they all left, yet I'm pretty sure it's only been one morning in Bright Moon since the crew returned. At least there it's easier to imagine it took a day bringing everyone back on the skiff I guess but even then like when they're traveling to distant locations, you can never tell how much time has passed.** _

 

_**The only logical idea i can come up with is that it's weeks inbetween since the missions/adventures they go on are most likely the result of the Alliance Meetings held every week.** _

 

_**The 2nd issue i have with this particular episode is also something I find kinda off-putting, only about this episode alone: does anyone else think everyone got over Entrapta's passing a little too quickly? I Mean up till now Adora has shown having some grievance with the sword still and not being able to unlock it's full potential (and it probably has been over a day) but still. If I found out my friend died I'm pretty sure I'd still be mourning over a full week.** _

 

_**Then again, considering they're in a war and they acknowledged they've already lost people, I guess that gives them a pass?** _

 

_**Oh well, show is still pretty awesome ^^. Anyway, leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!** _


	39. Episode 10: The Beacon Part 3

_**A/N: I think I can summarize this episode as my least favorite episode of the first 13. Not that it's genuine bad or anything, but honestly when it gets down to it, it's literally a whole lot of walking and talking. Which I don't have a problem with either (especially since my fic's been nothing but that half the time since I have a lot of separate chapters per episode XP), but because of that it's kinda hard to find a good spot to leave a potential ending/cliffhangar on XP.** _

 

_**Anyway, enjoy!** _

 

_**...** _

 

_**...** _

 

_**...** _

 

 

 

 

"Ha!"

* _swiff_ *

"Grrr!"

* _swiff_ *

"Haha!" Catra cheered as she swung her sword again for nearly the hundredth time.

It was a rather momentous occasion for the young magicat, and why wouldn't it be? After the last several weeks to months since her last transformation in Salineas, the infamous She-Ra, the one Catra could never get transformed into, was finally back! She was the amazing and hopeful symbol of the Rebellion again after all of this time!

Sure, she didn't bother trying to transform after her last attempts. Having met Adora at the edge of Salenias, she tried to transform. She tried so hard to return to the heroic figure when she needed it most, when she needed to show Adora that she was telling her the truth about everything she said. Yet, no matter how much she tried, no matter how many times she repeated the sacred phrase, she could never transform. The form never came to her and she lost the only chance she had to bring Adora over to their side.

Since that day, she's refrained from ever using the sword's power, save for a natural weapon that could cut into things. It was barely any better than her claws at this point, except she didn't need to worry about breaking it against most of the stuff she struck against, and it was the second closest thing she had to proof that she was, indeed, She-Ra. Regardless of whatever spite she had for the stupid blade that never answered her call, carrying it alone proved to have its advantages.

She almost forgot how good it felt when she transformed into She-Ra too! Whenever she donned the incredible form her state of being improved in a variety of ways! She could run faster, lift objects almost five times greater than what she currently could, and jumping around had never been so much fun! With her already-heightened agility giving her a greater boost than most people, she could leap a good ten to twenty feet in the air!

Considering all she's had to put up with up to this point, she found it all the more reasonable that this sword should gift her with amazing abilities as such.

"Okay, we've seen you swing around the sword for the last ten minutes." Glimmer said, continuing to stand in the same spot patiently for awhile now.. "Any chance you could get on to the healing?"

"Uh...Yeah, of course." Catra's reply didn't come without a nervous tone behind it.

Outside of her incredible might, she's heard of the many whimsical and fantastical tales of what She-Ra's been able to do. From staring down the mighty Whiteback with her sheer strength of will, to healing the environment with the stroke of her hand, She-Ra was renowned for preforming miracles across the world over!

Which is extremely unfortunate for Catra's case because, outside of the few times she's managed to transform it into a shield, thanks to the events of Mystacor at that, she hasn't been able to preform any of said feats! She hasn't even mastered transforming into She-Ra yet, what were her chances of preforming some sort of miracle to heal Glimmer on her first try?

"I just got to um..." Catra examined the sword from every angle, tapping on the jewel embedded in the center of the hilt. "Maybe... it's... voice activated." Raising the sword flatly against the top of Glimmer's head, she gave it a soft tap as she tried to get it to work. "Heal! ...Uh... Restore! ...Maybe I have to use the edge instead?"

"Heh, uhhh who's ready to stop messing around with sharp objects?" Bow chuckled nervously as he sat at bench near the window. It might be crazy to some people, but for  _some reason_ , he was having a nervous panic attack at the idea of hitting Glimmer with anything as sharp as a sword. "Hey, look, I am!" He announced raising his hand.

"Maybe if you point it at me?" Glimmer suggested.

"Or, unpopular opinion," Bow added, running between the friends, "we don't point the dangerous sword Catra doesn't know how to work yet?"

"It's fine, relax." Catra grinned, easily brushing off Bow's nervousness. "For all we know, anything I try isn't going to work."

"Annnnd for all we know, you could end up blasting a perfectly symmetrical hole into our dear friend's stomach?"

"Maybe it's like a motion." Glimmer guessed with a shrug. "Like a jabbing motion? Or a strike?"

"Like a stab!"

"Yeah!"

"Do you want to get hit with a sword?!" The archer stammered, having the only bit of common sense around here.

"Would you relax already?I told you I got this!" Catra assured confidently.

"You also said you wouldn't be able to transform a minute ago."

"Yeah, well... S-Shut up!" Catra's vein twitched with annoyance. "I just need to focus entirely on healing, that's all." With that frame of mind, Catra focused her breathing as she raised the sword above Glimmer's head. "Ok, just concentrate... Concentrate... Concentrate..." Catra muttered to herself.

"Am I the only one who cares about sword safety around here?" Bow asked covering his hand over his eyes, opening his fingertips to grab a nervous peek.

"Shhh!" She-Ra shushed, maintaining her stance. "Okay, come on... concentrate..." She truly had no idea what she was doing at this point. As much as she didn't want to agree with him, Bow was right. She barely had a clue on how to get this sword to work when she wanted, and she's never preformed a magnificent feat such as this. With a deep breath, she closed her eyes again as she prepared for whatever miracle was about to be preformed.

 _Come ooon... heeeal..._  There was any number of ways this could've turned out.

It could end up the way Glimmer prayed for at this point in which she was fully healed, nobody got hurt, and her mother would never have to find out in time for the dinner she had planned tonight. It could also end up the way Catra wanted in which she preformed whatever miracle she could and it meant she could do anything with the sword once she preformed this simple healing magic. And it could possibly end up the way Bow expected in which he'd have one less friend, another one in jail forever, and he would get executed for no apparent reason.

He'd much rather stick with either of the two others in the room than his own.

As she concentrated, Glimmer started to notice a faint blue glow emanating from the sword, one that caused her to speak out in excitement. "It's working!"

"Huh?" Catra popped one eye opened, trying to maintain her concentration while looking at the blade itself. Much to her surprise, as Glimmer had stated, the sword was indeed glowing, giving off a vibrant sky-colored blue as it sparked with energy. "Hey, it is!"

"Yup! Told ya you could do it." Glimmer nodded with enthusiasm. "I'm pretty sure I feel something-"

_*rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrttttttttttttt*_

"Ahhhhhhhh!" It was with the cry of agony that everyone finally realized what that  _something_  was. It wasn't a miracle being preformed or a magical spell of healing washing over her. It was an aura of pain and misery, a red aura that swept across the Princess of Bright Moon without mercy. The princess's experience with this aura of dark energy continued to torment her with an increasingly painful detail each and every time these flashes of pain were brought up. A part of her wondered if she would've been dead by now if she wasn't half-immortal like her mother.

Collapsing onto the cushion behind her, Glimmer gasped for breath when the aura finally dissipated, leaving a worn out face on the princess and a worried look shared with her close friend, Bow. At the same time, it left a look of defeat, uncertainty, and disappointment on the one known as Catra, who almost looked sickened with regret.

"It... It didn't work..."

...

...

* **clunk** *

"Phew." Adora sighed in relief, wiping the last drain of sweat from her forehead as she backed up.

* _rrrrrrrrrt_ *

Adora watched as the bot's laser fired in-between the crevices of the last stone block she placed, ceiling the wall in place at long last. It was nice knowing they had a bot to help them with repairs, even if it was the same bot who ripped a hole in the wall to begin with.

"So... sorry again about the wall." Entrapta apologized, scratching the back of her head with her own hair. Adora gave her a natural smile at this all the same.

"Hey, don't worry about it." She replied.

Twenty minutes ago might've been a grand, momentous, occasion for the Horde, as well as one of the most stressful mornings in Adora's life leading to it. The girl was in an emotional wreck after everything that's happened between the Princess's escape and Catra reclaiming her sword. Out of her contributions to the Horde and her efforts, Lord Hordak decided to take leniency on the girl for allowing them to escape and gave her one week to contribute something as good or greater than what she lost.

Almost immediately after that she was given a sly suggestion from Shadow Weaver how if someone were to  _replace_  Hordak that nobody would have anything to worry about, and Adora could spare Catra's life given the policy regarding defectors and traitors within the Horde. She didn't have much care for her own life if her actions lead to the downfall of the Horde itself, but there was still a geyser of care that the Force Captain had for Catra herself.

Naturally, it also left her with an overwhelming sense of worry and fear, finding herself stuck between two situations that she had to tell Scorpia about. It didn't matter to Scorpia what she picked, knowing Adora's good-nature heart, as she promised to stick by her side whichever path she decided to go with.

That was when they happened upon a purple-haired scientist, the Princess of Dryl, known as Entrapta.

They were relatively surprised to find her in the vents of all places. As opposed to anyone else who would've locked her up immediately or interrogated her harshly, Adora took sincere pity on the girl. To her, she found Entrapta to be another victim of circumstance, seeing how Entrapta was left behind by her allies who came here to rescue Glimmer and Bow in the first place.

She also saw the potential she had to offer to the Horde with her scientific ingenuity and her technical capabilities, such as the bot she named Emily, who was capable of blasting a three foot hole into the walls of the interrogation room. Even if she didn't want to join the Horde, she couldn't let Entrapta be harmed by her fellow allies, knowing what she was going through after being abandoned by the people she thought were her friends.

Fortunately, convincing her to join their side didn't seem that much of a stress either since she was infatuated by the Horde's technologies and sciences she's seen since coming to the Fright Zone. To her, it was like a toy factory, finding each and every little thing to be an absolute dream to play with.

"You're not mad?" Entrapta was rather surprised by the lack of anger emanating from the girl.

"I already told you no one's going to judge you on your faults around here." That was Adora's philosophy with the Horde and the one she was sticking to. "Honestly, I'm actually amazed. You built an entire bot on your own while living in the vents for the past two days!" Adora squatted in front of the robot as she examined it's sensors, patting the bot like Entrapta had done earlier.

"Sure did! Not only that, but she's better than ever!"

"I'll say." Scorpia tested the durability as she tapped the last stone block placed before leaning against it. "I don't think we've had anyone whose managed to make a hole in the wall of this size before."

* _ **crash!**_ *

The hole in the wall that was repaired came tumbling down soon after as Scorpia accidentally pushed right through it, coating the room with a small bit of dust and debris that the other two girls shielded their eyes from. When it finally settled, they saw the aftermath of Scorpia's accident as half the wall was in pieces again, the girl slowly pulling herself out of the rubble a little sore from the debris. "...I can fix that."

"Not only is she stronger, she also has increased weapons capabilities and she's affectionate, too." Entrapta added, patting the bot's head again which gave off a joyful hum. "Who knows how much more powerful she could be if I just had access to the First Ones' tech. I don't suppose you have any here, do you?"

"The... First Ones?" Adora rubbed her chin at the question.

"The First Ones! You know, advanced technology left behind by a lost civilization? Makes modern innovations look like children's toys? I've been attempting to integrate First Ones tech into my experiments for years, but my understanding of their code is still rudimentary." The scientist explained as she pulled out a data pad. Her hair hastily clicked away at the research and details of everything she's found and how little of it. "If I could just find the key to their language, there's no telling what I could build!"

"You mean... if you found something like that you could make machines more powerful than this?"

"Are you kidding?! Such a find could yield almost unlimited power!" Entrapta squealed, shaking Adora by her shoulders with excitement.

 _So if I could find something to bring back to her... I could atone to Lord Hordak for what I've done, and I wouldn't have to think of overthrowing him!_  Adora already had a dozen thoughts forming in the edges of her mind, thinking of the possibilities this could mean.

"Do you know where I can find any of this First Ones' tech?"

"It's buried all over the planet." Entrapta replied as Scorpia continued trying to repair the stacks of blocks she knocked over. Despite her best efforts, she was having trouble trying to reinsert the blocks in the same fashion as Adora did, the smoothed edges making it harder to stay in place. "It gives off a signal that can be traced. Lately, I've been tracking the strongest signal I've ever seen. It must be a massive stash!"

"Where?

* _rumble_ *

The two were caught by the sound of the blocks coming apart again, looking back to see a struggling Scorpia trying to grab the many pieces that started to fall again. "Huh..." After failing to catch five out of the seven blocks she could, she quickly decided to back herself up to the wall as a means to hide it, hoping nobody else would notice.

"...Anyway, Entrapta," Adora continued, "if I found any of this stuff, do you think you'd be willing to help the Horde then?"

"Are you kidding? I'd be eternally grateful!" She was a scientist above all else after all! How could she possibly pass up the hundreds upon hundreds of inventions she could make if she ended up with a single piece of First Ones' technology?!

Without hesitation, the scientist quickly plucked out another data pad from her hair, calculating and inputting the various codes and details one would need with finding the First Ones' tech. "I've triangulated the signal to somewhere in the Whispering Woods. The whole shifting landscape thing makes for complicated variables, but I've created a map that's accurate within two quadrants."

"And where would I go to find this map?" Adora was trying to contain her own excitement, trying not to seem overeager for what could potentially be a treasure trove of resources.

"Right in front of you!" Entrapta revealed, handing over the fully functional data pad she spent three seconds processing. "Like any good scientist, I carry everything I need on my person." Thankfully for her, the data pad was already prepped and ready for Adora's use as it displayed a map with the First Ones' energy signature coming off of it. She grinned to herself as she walked around the room a bit, getting a feel for how the data pad tracked the energy's signature.

"This is amazing... We could save so many lives with this technology! We could defend ourselves better with this kind of stuff!" It brightened Entrapta's mood to see Adora's ideals with the technology. As an old saying goes that she once heard, a weapon doesn't have to be meant to take lives- it can also be used to save them.

And technology was no exception to this rule!

Finally having a feel for the data pad, she made her way over to her friend as she continued her numerous failed attempts at rebuilding the wall. "Scorpia, this could be it!" She whispered softly. "I could give Hordak more than he ever asked for with this stuff! I might even get a free pass if I messed anything else up in the future!"

"Oh boy!" Scorpia chirped, rubbing her eager claws with excitement. "He'll be so happy, I bet he'll even promote you to... to..." Pausing, she poked her chin as she tried to think. "What comes up Force Captain?"

"I don't know, but that could work too!" Adora realized, thankful for Scorpia's additional comment. "If he promoted me to a rank as high as Shadow Weaver's, I wouldn't have to betray Hordak, I wouldn't be forced to obey Shadow Weaver's orders to do it, and Hordak would never have to know! It's perfect!"

"I hope it's perfect!" Entrapta said, poking her head into the conversation. "I wanna build something biiiiiiiiig!" The girl's excitement was evident by the large stretch of hair she exaggerated with, her face beaming with joy and wonder.

"And you'll get to." Adora nodded assuring. "Scorpia, why don't you keep Entrapta some company while you get the..." Adora checked the status of the crumbling wall, watching as another stone slid out after a few seconds of waiting. "...wall... repaired. I'll check out this First Ones' stuff."

"Are you sure you don't want some help?" There was an ounce of concern in her voice as she asked. "It might be dangerous."

"Thanks, but I'll be fine. I got my headband, remember? Besides, I think I need to do it alone, anyway. If I got anyone else involved, I might only get half the credit for this." That was the one underlying concern Adora did have throughout all of this.

Exactly to what extend did she have to provide a significant contribution to the Horde, and how much credit would she get if she did it by herself or not? With this in mind, she decided to go about it on her own, waving to the two as she set out to make preparations for her journey, leaving Entrapta and Scorpia to tend to their own agenda.

"So..." Entrapta began, looking up to the over-sized princess. "...What's the policy on what I can and can't dissect around here?"

...

...

"C-Catra, put the dresser down!" Glimmer pleaded, trying to push her arm away as she held it above her head.

"I will as soon as you get out of the way!" Catra, still in her She-Ra form, yelled angrily, holding the three-hundred pound purple dresser above her head.

"We mean on something other than your sword!" Bow restated, trying to block the drop zone as he stood over the sword.

"I've had it with this stupid sword!" She continued to yell.

This was the final straw! Every single day, if it wasn't one thing with this sword it was another! She could never get the stupid sword to work when she wanted to, she's barely used the sword other than for it's intended stabbing uses, and she hasn't preformed one act of magic with the sword except using it as a glow stick by this point.

This sword has continued to be an everlasting nuisance for the magicat ever since she got it! It never let her transform when she wanted to, it never answered her call more than ninety percent of the time she's called on it, and she couldn't even get the stupid thing to heal somebody when they really needed it. At this point it was like the sword was practically trolling her by pretending to do something one moment and then fail to do so the very next!

Thus, she's had it. She couldn't tolerate this stupid sword and all it did to screw up her life since day one. With this in mind, she did the most sensible thing an angry person like her could think, and looked around for the heaviest object she could find to finally smash the sword once and for all. She didn't care anymore if she could never transform into She-Ra. With it's track record of working and not working, a smashed sword seemed a lot more meaningful than a sword that never worked!

* _knock_ *

* _knock_ *

* _knock_ *

"Huh!" All eyes were turned to the door as Glimmer let out a small gasp. With the day she's been having since coming home, she knew there was only one person who could be at the door. "Okay, everybody, act normal. And Catra, please put the dresser down!" Unwilling to give her a chance, Bow quickly picked up the sword itself, knowing it would prevent Catra from smashing the sword as long as one of them held it. With a small glare in her eyes, Catra let out a low grumble as she set the dresser back in the corner of the room, giving off a small tremor as she did.

Taking a deep breath as she tried to relax herself, she gave off her best smile as she greeted the door knocker. "Mom, we're busy."

"I won't be long." She greeted warmly in return. "I just wanted to remind you you're all requested for dinner tonight. Just the four of us."

"B-But mom!" Glimmer's worry did nothing to match Catra's own concern. The magicat was on good terms with the queen since the morning began and she wasn't about to let that go to waste! At the same time, however, she also couldn't bring herself to betray a friend like that when she needed her most. It was becoming hard to decide whether to confess to the queen or not, and every passing minute they waited went on to fuel the anger the queen would have if she found out on her own. "We're all  _ **really**_ tired. Can't we just take the night off to rest?"

"Y-Yeah, your majesty!" Bow pitched in with an even more forceful smile as he held the sword, standing next to the dresser as he tried to ignore the pain. "We've had a busy time in the Fright Zone, it was a long trip back, you know how it is."

"...Bow, are you aware you have a dresser on your foot?" At the comment, Glimmer glanced back at the two who continued to lean against the dresser, with a pain-induced Bow trying to act casual to an annoyed Catra who didn't seem the least bit bothered at the moment.

"N-Nope... can't feel a thing..." He muttered through his teeth.

"O... kay..." Noticing the other friend standing adjacent to the dresser, the queen offered Catra a friendly smile. "Ah, Catra. Are you planning to join us as She-Ra for this evening?"

"Um... maybe, mam?" Catra tried her best to sound sincere as she gave a small pleasing look. There was no telling if she would be able to turn it off again or if it would turn off by itself. "Like she said, we're all very tired, yeah." As if to prove her point she demonstrated the best fake yawn she could.

She couldn't quite tell what they were up to, but she grew a small grin at the seeming game they were currently playing. "Okay, I'm sorry, I don't know why I said request. Allow me to rephrase all that. You are all  **required**  to have dinner with me tonight. And that's not a request, that is an order. I can make you go as leader of the Rebellion  _and_ as your Queen."

"Yikes, she's playing the queen card." Bow muttered to Catra as he painfully pulled his foot out.

"No need to answer. I'll see you all in an hour." With a final wave to Catra herself, the queen calmly walked away. With mother out of sight, Glimmer closed the door behind her, leaving the trio to contend with their own thoughts.

For about two seconds.

* _rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrttttttttttttt_ *

"Agh!" The shrill cry came after another wave of torture as the red aura glowed around her again. This time around, her friends watched in horror as her body started to dissipate and dissolve by a little bit in addition to the onslaught of pain it left Glimmer in. The fact her body showed any distortions like this at all was all the proof that was needed to show it was getting worse. If there was any bright side to it, the aura of pain didn't last any longer than the previous time did, possibly being a few seconds shorter than before. "Huff... Huff..."

"Ok, I've had it!" Catra growled as she marched her way over to the door. "I'm telling your mother and that's final!"

"What?! No!" The Princess shrieked, placing herself between the door and Catra as if it would work.

"Get out of the way, Pinky. We should've told your mother from the beginning." Lowering her ears, she gave a regretful stare back to the other friend. "Bow was right. I don't know anything about this stupid sword. I'm terrible at using it!"

"I-I didn't say anything like that!" He tried to correct making his way over. "Or, at least... not exactly like that."

"It doesn't matter." The She-Ra-in-training looked seldom into her sword's reflection, the one face she was always greeted with staring back at her. "I don't know anything about this sword other than how to transform with it. It's barely any better than a giant paperweight as it is." Proving her point, not two seconds afterwards did she find herself transforming back to the regular old Catra, the girl's ears still lowered in grief. "I'm nothing..."

If she had her own glowing aura like Glimmer did, it would be glowing with a radiance of blue sadness. Why was she continuing to do all of this? She wasn't a hero, she wasn't a mighty being as She-Ra was. She was nothing more than a young teenager trying to play hero for the first time, one that didn't give her the chance to shine or prove herself towards the end of those tales.

Every moment she stared at her reflection was another moment she was filled with sadness. There wasn't anything in this world that could cover her from the torrential rain of despair that rained over her, no towel to dry herself off with in order to try again. After everything she's witnessed, everything she's tried to do to help the Rebellion, she felt useless inside, almost feeling like she was nothing. Nothing but a letdown.

And with the added pressure that she now had two new people in her life she considered friends, that pain was spiked like never before.

"Catra, don't say that. You're not nothing." Glimmer tried to encourage. "You've helped the Rebellion more than you could imagine-"

"And I lost all that  _help_  after, didn't I?" She cut off with an irritated scowl. "I can't be She-Ra when I need it, I can't fend for myself without someone else needing to rescue me, and..." She made her way over to the window, looking out to the surrounding forest. "...And I'm responsible for Entrapta."

"No you're not-!"

"Just shut up, all right!" Catra snapped back. "If I was a better She-Ra we wouldn't be in this mess! I could've healed you hours ago, I probably could've stormed the Fright Zone by myself and saved the two of you, Entrapta might still be alive by now, and the Princess Alliance would never have broken up if I had so much as the slightest clue on how to use this stupid SWORD!"

The room fell silent at the last detail, the two friends processing everything Catra meant with everything she actually said. She wasn't dealing with the fact she couldn't get She-Ra to work when she wanted to or the fact she couldn't help Glimmer right now. She was still in her own depressing world of grief from the guilt of Entrapta's supposed death weighing down upon her, the responsibility she felt for the breakup of the Princess Alliance itself.

She was burdening herself with her own world of pain.

"Catra, you... You don't really think you're responsible for Entrapta's death, do you?" Glimmer approached with concern in her eyes. The cat barely winced as her tail flopped around without emotion.

"Unless you want to put the blame on the vent for roasting her, I don't see who else it could've been." She mumbled leaning against the window. "I'm the one who threw you guys in there, didn't give you the chance to make the decision for yourself, and I blamed it on them for going on the stupid mission in the first place. And then I took it out on Mermista and... now this..."

"There's nothing you could've done, Catra." She bother looking to Bow as approached on her left. "Say that you were with us. What then? The doors sealed way too fast for anyone to save her and we didn't realize she went back before it was too late."

"Then I at least could've noticed her sooner than the rest of you and could've done something!" She groaned. She's never felt like one to let herself out like this with all the drama and sorrow she was going through. Personally she prayed she didn't end up making a habit of this because she hated the way it was making her feel.

Empty.

"All my life growing up in the Horde, I didn't have any brute strength or quick wits to get by in my training. The only way I managed to survive was with my speed and my recklessness, nothing else. Adora was the only one I could rely on to bail me out of trouble whenever I screwed up. She was always the  _perfect_  cadet whenever it came to any training. She was smart, she was fast, strong. Usually she left everyone else in the dust, and I... I always hated her for it."

"But Catra, you're nothing like her!" Bow tried to argue.

"Oh, gee, thanks for that enlightening encouragement." Catra scoffed with the roll of her eyes.

"No, I mean, so what if you're reckless? It doesn't matter to us."

"Bow's right." Glimmer agreed, nodding. "Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. It doesn't matter how many or how little you have of either. We all make up for it by compensating each other."

"And what if someone has to pay for it?" She shot back. "What if someone dies because of one lousy weakness you have or an entire mission gets screwed up? You guys would've been better off if Adora was fighting for you guys. Knowing her, she would've gotten everyone in and out without a single casualty. We don't even have that many people anymore because of me."

"The Princess Alliance breaking up was outside of your control, Catra. Everyone was torn apart by what happened to Entrapta. What you did taking it out on Mermista might've been wrong but it wouldn't have changed much if you didn't. You need to stop blaming yourself on everything that went wrong and move on."

"..." This was the other reasons she hated having never learned when to shut up! They always got into your personal business, they always stuck their noses in places they weren't wanted or needed, and they never left you alone! She understood what they were getting at, she truly did, but it didn't make any difference to Catra if she was still the same person by the end of it.

"I think what you need most right now is to get your mind off of everything, Catra." Glimmer suggested with a calming smile.

"But I can't! I don't know how to use this sword and the last thing I want to do is swinging it around wildly cause some giant explosion over the castle. I already swung it wildly once and I turned your horse into a part-bird."

"There's gotta be a way you can get training for it, Catra." The bowman peered out the window next to her. "She-Ra was a warrior too, and that meant she had to get properly trained, right? Nobody can just pick up a sword one day and decide they want to be the greatest hero ever, right?" Catra turned her head away at this, which didn't help as Glimmer was smiling on her right.

"She-Ra was a great warrior who did many things, Catra." She added. "She wasn't dragged down by all of her failures or inexperience, she pushed onward. You think a person with so many legends behind her did everything flawlessly? Do you think the First Ones' would've disappeared if she was such a great hero?"

"...What?" Glimmer grew a small grin as she saw Catra's curiosity piquing.

"Yeah, think about it. If She-Ra was supposed to be some great hero from ages ago-"

"No, no, back up!" She cut off waving her hand. "What did you say before that?"

"What? You mean about the First Ones?"

"First Ones...?" A thought formed in her mind as she examined her sword again. The fine intricate detail, the technologies used to make this sword, a creation of the First Ones' themselves. All of their ingenuity and advanced society had lead to the creation of this marvelous weapon, the last hope that the Rebellion had on their side. "Wait... That's it!"

"What's it?" Bow asked, surprised by the turnaround of Catra's mood.

"Don't you get it? The sword was made by the First Ones, which means all I have to do is find them so they can teach me how to use this sword!"

"But Catra, the First Ones disappeared over a thousand years ago." Glimmer reminded. "Even if one of them were still alive somehow, you wouldn't know where to look."

"I don't need to find First Ones themselves, just their technology!" She set her sights directed out into the forest ahead. "I remember coming to some strange Beacon or something when I was with Madame Razz."

"Who?"

"Crazy lady in the woods, long story. My point is, if there's any way to use the sword, it has to be in one of the ruins. Maybe they have some instruction sheet or training program on how to use the sword!"

"That... actually might work!" Glimmer's own optimism was raised a little as the thoughts and details started to pan together. "We'll run away so we don't have to go to dinner! I'll get my things!"

"Neither of you are coming." She clarified. "I'm not entirely sure I can find anything there in the first place, it's just a hunch at this point. And if I am wrong, you need to be here to tell your mother the truth in case she actually can heal you."

"But Catra, you barely know your way around the Whispering Woods." Bow pointed out. "It keeps shifting and changing so you never know where you are. How are you going to find it in the first place?"

"I don't know, I just... It's some feeling I have, all right? It's the same one I had when I found the sword the first time." Catra let down. "All I know is the faster I get some training or instructions, the sooner this whole mess will be behind us." Without a second thought or a single goodbye, the magicat jumped out the window, using her front claws to slide against the walls to slow herself down enough until she reached the ground level.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Glimmer wondered, worried more for her depressing friend than her own situation at the time.

"I'm sure she'll be fine." He nodded back. "She's a lot stronger than she gives herself credit for."

"Yeah... she will be." The two of them wondered some of what they said actually got to her. Catra has been a bigger help for the Rebellion than she realizes, and she needed to know that. She's helped so many people, saved plenty of homes, and made more friends than she bargained for. With the kind of luck she had, no matter how badly it got, she always found a way to bounce back from it.

"...Did she forget she was still wearing her boots before she left?"

...

...

"Stun Baton.. Headband... Map..." Adora listed off as she continued to pack her things on the bed.

The bunk room felt emptier than usual since Catra left the second time. Before, she always felt some small draft here and there telling her that Catra was still by her side, that she was always going to be by her side. Now she felt an emptiness filling the room. No draft, no breeze, and still no Catra.

This trip was going to provide her with insight on her future goals and contributions she could give to the Horde, she just knew it! Not to mention if she gave enough of a contribution, she might be able to work out some deal to ensure Catra's own safely from Hordak's judgement, some way to save her again after finding out she wasn't under a spell!

"Going somewhere?" She heard Shadow Weaver call out from behind her. Adora refused to give her any direct attention as she continued packing.

"I... I'm going to get some fresh air for awhile. It's been a long day, you know?" Adora replied as Shadow Weaver made her way over to the bunk. "I've been under a lot of stress with everything that's happened. Scorpia suggested I needed some time to myself."

"With a stun baton?" Her master pointed out.

"Hey, better safe than sorry, ri-" Adora froze as she saw the current state of her mother figure. She looked awful, with the scratched mask on or not! Her entire body was sluggish, her hair looked ragged. She looked like she might've ran or floated a hundred miles before coming here. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"Oh, nothing you should burden yourself with, my dear." She passed off, leaning against the other bunk. "Just a little lecture from Hordak. You know how he hates disappointments, or those involved with said disappointments."

"He... did this to you because of me?" The blonde Force Captain questioned as she got to her feet. She already had enough on her mind to deal with, she didn't need to worry about what Lord Hordak to those to those around her if she messed up.

"He didn't touch me, if that's what you're concerned about. He simply refused to let me leave for a good while, and you both know why."

It wasn't uncommon from Adora, having witnessed her siphoning the Black Garnet's magic on hundreds of occasions. Whenever she went without any exposure or energy from the Black Garnet's power, it weakened her dramatically. The sight of her like this almost made Adora feel queasy, thinking about everything Lord Hordak had to say for the sake of making someone wait in a room to suffer like that. It was like being forced to starve yourself while standing in front of an entire lineup of food, waiting for someone to give you the okay to go on for hours on end.

"Well, hopefully, when I get back, we can all put this silliness behind us." She doesn't remember the last time she felt so certain like this when it didn't pertain to Catra. She still wasn't sure yet which side of the matter she should take or who she should help. All she knew was that she couldn't let others suffer around her while she stood by and watched it happen. "I'll be back in a day or two. I shouldn't take long-"

"Adora, wait." Shadow Weaver grabbed the girl by her elbow as she passed. "I know you have a lot of things on your mind right now. Who to trust, who is right and wrong. I'm not going to force you to take my offer if you don't want to. You know I would never force you to make a decision without your consent." It was hard to tell if she was being serious or not for a change, having gone this long with being lied to or mislead about Catra's past brainwashing that never happened. "All I want is to provide you with a brighter future than you could possibly know."

"But I need you to know this." She continued. " You keep struggling to protect everyone around you, even those who've turned their backs on you, and that has always been your most precious gift. But some day soon, you're going to have to pick a side and choose for yourself who you want to fight for. And when that day comes... make sure you don't regret your decision."

"T... Thanks... Shadow Weaver..." Adora said nothing else as she walked off into the halls. What was she supposed to say to all of that? Those cryptic meanings she always had, those subtle comments. None of them were present in anything she said and somehow given everywhere in the entire message. She couldn't tell if she should've listened to a single word of it either, having been hurt by the last time Shadow Weaver told her anything.

The only thing she picked up from that message was the fact she would need to make a decision for herself, one that she hoped she wouldn't regret.

As for Shadow Weaver, there was no telling what or how this would play out anymore. Anything and everything Adora did from this point was completely on her own now that all the cards have been thrown on the table. Molding her to the best of her ability, instilling her with a false sense of justice, honor, and emotion, these were all the cards Shadow Weaver had thrown into the pile by now, one that would pay off the biggest gamble of her life with fortune, or disaster.

The one card she did have left was knowing the truth behind all of this. She knew what her goal was with getting Adora on top of the seat of power, with all the lessons and teachings she's given her and all the tools she's needed to work with at this point. For the first time she smelt a small pebble of genuine concern for the girl for everything she was getting into.

Because no matter what choice she made in the end when this day was over, she knew she was going to live to regret it for the rest of her life...

 

**_..._ **

 

**_..._ **

 

**_..._ **

 

**_A/N: You know the strange thing about the melodrama in this one? It's actually warranted and in the show this time XP. Granted, I did it slightly out of order here as it was a scene AFTER where i ended today's chapter and not before, but I felt like it was more fitting there for a number of reasons (and hopefully didn't mess up the dialogue cause i force myself to write more because i originally had this at 6.9k words when i was done- i know, shocker i had less than 7k before XP) And i'll delete it after if it interferes/bothers anyone since it was thrown in, but I also felt like it was necessary._ **

 

**_The one thing I didn't see in the episode (til I got to that part which note to self- watch the entire freaking episode and not bits at a time XP) was any grieving or issues with Entrapta's loss. I mean i guess it would've been like slapping you in the face with your favorite food after being told you're not getting it- which in translation since that was the worst analogy i ever made, if they kept moping around about it despite us knowing Entrapta was still alive, it would've lost it's merit._ **

 

**_Anyway, like I said, if that mellow drama scene is too distracting up here, specifically the talk with Catra with bow and glimmer before the last scene, I'll get rid of it. It won't be that much of a problem and easy to do._ **

 

**_Anyway, hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!_ **


	40. Episode 10: The Beacon Finale

 

_**A/N: AHHHHHHHHH! A CHAPTER UNDER 7K WORDS! WHATS THIS WORLD COMING TO?!** _

 

_**Honestly, i'm not 100% surprised XP. With 5 minutes left to the show and not much else going on other than some feel-y stuff here and there, there really isn't much left to the episode. It's mostly reconciliation between friends and mother/daughter, and then just walking through the woods. With that in mind I'm surprised I managed to get that much out of this!** _

 

_**Speaking of done, I also decided to stop worrying whether I make the fic to melodramatic or not. Not even counting the fact it's "a fanfic I made" or some excuse, it's mostly because I had a set plan for the fic. If i start doubting myself now or whatever or question if I should change something, I'm never going to get the story done, or not as well as I had hoped. I have to continue onwards the way people have enjoyed it thus far, and I hope they continue to enjoy it if they've trusted my work up to this point ^^.** _

 

_**With that said, enjoy!** _

 

_**...** _

 

_**...** _

 

_**...** _

 

 

"Listen, Glimmer," Bow began as he paced around a bit, "I appreciate you guys trying to keep me safe, but you can't protect me anymore. We have to tell your mom."

"We're not telling anybody's mom!" Glimmer fumed in turn. "And what do you mean, protect you?"

The day was the perfect example of a day spiraling out of control. Starting from possibly as up as it could be, it slowly dwindled down further and further into the recesses of despair. Not five minutes ago, a despairing Catra set off to find the Beacon in the Whispering Woods, one of the many ruins left over by the First Ones', as a means to finally learn how to master and control her sword's power.

After everything leading up to this point, she's finally had it. She couldn't handle the amount of stress her work has caught up to by this point, she was tired of the sword never working the most whenever she wanted it to, and she was riddled with guilt over the loss of, what they assumed to be, Entrapta's death.

She burdened the most guilt out of possibly all the princesses, feeling responsible for leaving the group in a ventilation shaft to escape while she stayed behind to save Glimmer. She lamented her feelings of powerlessness, her inability to save the other princess and the Princess Alliance, and her grievances towards Adora for all her talent. No matter how many times the others tried to insist, nothing was getting through to the girl.

That's when she finally remembered the creator of the Sword of Protection, the First Ones, and everything they worked so hard to build. She couldn't believe she didn't see it before! Why bother trying to learn how to use the sword herself when she could find a First Ones' ruins and, hopefully, return with some sort of instruction sheet or details on how to get it working? It was a long shot, but compared to the alternative of never getting the sword to work and Glimmer possibly exploding due to her glitching getting worse, it was better than nothing.

That left two concerned friends of hers to wait in the room she left behind, unwilling to endanger them further through her reckless behavior and inaction to help them. For the time being, they were safer staying behind than they were following her, especially since she barely knew how to find these ruins in the first place.

"Isn't it obvious?" Bow asked squeezing his head in frustration. "This is all my fault! If I hadn't gone to prom with Perfuma, we wouldn't have had that fight, you wouldn't have separated from the party and gotten captured, and you wouldn't be sick right now! See? All my fault!" He collapsed backwards onto the bench Glimmer was sitting on with tears in his eyes, the princess looking at her close friend with a pang of guilt.

"Bow, don't say that. It's not your fault, it's mine." She looked at her own two hands in shame, feeling as if they were all the people at the party and order in which she messed it up. "I shouldn't have been so weird about you hanging out with someone else. If I wasn't, I wouldn't have said anything stupid, I wouldn't have stayed up on the balcony knowing the Horde were there, and..." She curled her legs up as she hugged herself. "Catra might be a little blunt about everything, but she's right. I was being selfish."

"Selfish?" Bow repeated, leaning up from his spot. "Glimmer, you're the least selfish person I know! You have all this wonderful stuff and a mother leading the Rebellion itself, which means you don't even have to be a part of this war! You chose be a part of it because you wanted to help everybody, help us!" He gave a teary smile as he held her shoulder, Glimmer lifting her own teary head out of her legs as she stared up to him.

"Bow..." He watched her wipe her tears away, only to refill immediately after. "You know what? Let's just hug." She suggested with a teary smile.

Returning her smile with his own, they embraced. The past was behind them and the future was still coming. They might not have been prepared for whatever lied ahead, but at least they knew their friendship remained in check for the foreseeable future. That was when Glimmer's glitching kicked up again.

* _rrrrrrttttttt_ *

"Nggghhh!" Glimmer groaned in pain as it went off again. "I'm glitching, aren't I?"

"It hurts so much..." Bow replied through his teeth. Being in direct contact with her, Bow had a firsthand experience of the pain she was feeling, feeling like he was being torn apart in both directions at the same time without end. She was half immortal and magical, and that kept her alive. Who knows what it would've been like if she was an everyday normal person like he was? "

The pain lasted much longer as did the aura itself, enshrouding her body in a painful red glow that refused to leave her for an indefinite amount of time compared to the previous times. The distortions worsened and her skin almost looked like it was it was growing vast spikes itself. She wouldn't wish this pain on her worst enemies, including the people that did this to her in the first place!

She finally managed to get a breath in after another several seconds passed, groaning in misery as the aura passed over her. "How are we going to get through Dinner without my mom noticing?" In under a second a possibility formed over her mind. "Ooh! What if we started a fire? Then she'd have to cancel it!"

Instead of giving her any sort of verbal response, Bow just grinned. Looking back on it, she realized how much her idea actually sounded like a certain  _someone's_ reckless idea, almost finding it humorous how much she's picked up on Catra's antics. "...Just a small one?"

...

...

* _sniff_ *

* _sniff_ *

"Ugh, these woods could not be anymore annoying!" Catra groaned.

This was the one thing in the world that needed to work for her. After all the drama, all the pain, all the sadness, she practically begged to herself that the Universe would give her this one thing!

She was at her wit's end. She wasn't She-Ra. She wasn't anything close to She-Ra. Her name was Catra and she was a reckless troublemaker. She wasn't magical like Glimmer, she didn't have pinpoint accuracy like Bow. She wasn't capable of forming scientific equations in her head like Entrapta, couldn't breath underwater or control it, nor could she make giant ice sculptures out of the elements. She'd take Perfuma's girly flower-growing powers by now if she had the chance!

She was finally at the breaking point of her long and stressful life when Glimmer gave her the bright idea to find the First Ones' technology again. She couldn't get the sword to work. She could accept that. What she couldn't accept was staying like this for possibly the rest of her life while everyone else had their own gifts and powers going on and were actually contributing something to the war!

If she had more power she could've ended things a long time ago. Entrapta would still be alive, unaware that she was, she could heal Glimmer without breaking a sweat, and possibly so much more! As to why the sword refused to listen to her or her commands she never knew. She just wanted things to stop being the way they were and wanted to actually add something to the team, and the First Ones was her last resort.

Unsurprisingly, that resort also ended up being a total migraine in itself as she explored the Whispering Woods. Being one of the few times she's done this at all, everything felt completely alien to her. The scents in the air were confusing her direction. Whenever she picked up on a strange sound it disappeared one moment and reappeared in the complete opposite of where she originally looked. The woods were as alive as her friends told her they were in more ways than one.

"Is this place trying to annoy me?" She muttered to herself. "Because if it is it's working..." The foliage and fauna she passed were adding on to her annoyance. Every bush she passed gave her a small scrape and any branches she pushed through ended up leaving an annoying amount of leaves stuck in her hair. With her irritation rising by the second, she took her sword out of her sheath as she held it in front of herself standing up, aiming it randomly around her like it was a compass. "Come on... Which way?"

How was she supposed to get a feel on where to go? Her instinct after entering the woods was that some voice or feeling in her head would tell her where the Beacon was located, where she would go and which direction she should take. Typically, the stupid voice in her head wasn't responding at this time like every other stupid time she wanted it to work! That was when her attention was drawn to a large boulder she found in the middle of a clearing.

"You gotta be kidding me..." She moaned as her ears lowered with irritation, walking over to the familiar landmark. "I passed this stupid rock an hour ago! Ugh!" Leaning against the rock, she rubbed the bridge between her eyes as she tried to calm herself. "Okay, think Catra, think. What would Adora do in this situation?" There was a hundred different things she would do in this situation. After all, if she was little miss  ** _perfect_** , then there was no way she wouldn't work her way out of this by now.

And, naturally, the one issue she was currently dealing with at the moment was the fact she wasn't  _Adora_! She didn't have her quick wits, she didn't have her insightful-ness. She probably wouldn't be lost in these woods right now if she was the one trying to find this place! Examining her sword again she wondered, "Okay, so, think... I have the sword... I don't know where I am... I have the boulder as a landmark... mark...Hey!" Catra's face flashed with brilliance as she jumped back to her feet.

Giving the sword a good spin, she stuck the tip of it into the ground as she started walking ahead again, dragging the sword against the ground as it created a small path in the dirt, following her as she dragged the sword along.  _Long as I keep marking my entire way through, I should be able to get through the woods without getting lost._

It did make the most sense to her in the long run. As long as she marked the entire way through the woods, there was no possible way she should find herself retracing the same path without coming across her own markings again! Not to mention if she kept going in a straight line she should find her way to the Beacon, or at this rate out of the Whispering Woods, for sure!

...Right?

...

...

"Hmm, hmm, hmm~" The Queen hummed to herself as she finished setting the was going to be a momentous meal for the four of them. Her, Glimmer, Bow, and Catra, all of whom would have the luxury of privacy tonight in this dining hall.

She couldn't remember the last time she ate with just herself, her daughter, and anyone else who wasn't of the castle staff. The earliest memories she could recall was when Glimmer was still a young child and her husband, King Micah, was still around. She remembered the way they all used to laugh and play with the food, or, more accurately, her husband got her daughter into the habit of playing with her food, leaving for fairly decent mess for her to clean up.

But she still enjoyed it all the same and would do anything she could to relive those memories again. Since his passing most to all meals between the mother and daughter have been rather quiet when it came to personal matters, and half of those times resulted in a small banter between the two whenever it involved Rebellion matters.

It  **always** involved Rebellion matters.

Tonight was going to be different though! It would just be her, her daughter, Bow, and the ex-Horde Senior Cadet known as Catra. This would be the first time all four of them had dinner to themselves to socialize with one another, and for the queen to get to know Catra better after her previous off-putting attitude till today. Despite the seemingly-tragic results of the rescue, she did save her daughter and her friend, and she more than earned her respect and trust for it.

Looking back on it, she was actually a little curious to learn more about Catra herself. Her background, her heritage, what it was like growing up in the Horde, provided it wasn't too personal. She's seen the manners and lack of tact her daughter's friend has displayed ever since coming here, and not once has she ever bothered to actually ask her why she's behaving like this instead of jumping the gun and immediately berate or scold her for it. She knew life growing up in the Horde must've been difficult, and this was going to be the best way to make amends for it.

* _creeeak_ *

With a smile, she turned her head in the direction of the opening doorway as she finished setting the last of the silverware down. "Ah. Glimmer, Bow, Ca-" She paused in her greeting as she only saw the first two walking through the doorway. "Where is Catra?" The concern the two were giving to each other then back to her set off her own chain of worry.

"Um... Catra's not eating with us, mom." Glimmer replied as they made their way to the dinner table.

"Really? Well that's a shame. I thought she wanted to join us? I made Steamed Salmon for her, I thought she'd like it?" Turning from the freshly roasted Salmon to the mother herself, the two gave her a playfully questionable look, one the queen shifted her eyes away from with minor embarrassment. "Well, I didn't make it, but I had the kitchen make it before I gave them the night off. I gave all the staff the night at that, so it would just be the four of us tonight."

"...Thanks..." Glimmer said quietly as she turned her attention to one of the decorative bushes in the room.

"Your Majesty, we... we need to talk." Bow stated taking a step forward.

"And we'll have plenty of time to do so." The Queen clapped her hands cheerfully. "We've hardly had a chance to talk since you've all returned."

"Yeah, well, there's not much to talk about."

"Glimmer..." Bow mumbled nudging her with his elbow.

"Not much to talk about?" The queen wondered if she had truly forgotten everything that's happened within the last day. "You were kidnapped!" She was unaware of her daughter's unease as she continued exasperated. "And you lost your friend during the escape and-" At the mention of her loss, Glimmer could feel the small amount of glitching trying to work its way through her.

"I get it, Mom. I failed!" Glimmer yelled back as Bow backed away.

"That's not what I-"

* _rrrrrrtttttttt_ *

"Ahhhhhhh!" She begged to herself that she would be able to get through this dinner, or at least get to the mentioning of the glitching issue before it acted up again. Here she was, presenting her trouble in front of her mother and her friend again without any control over it as the painful wave washed over her as always!

"Glimmer!" Angella and Bow cried out together as they ran to her side. The queen was the first one to take Glimmer into her arms as she nearly fell to the ground, the princess crying out at the same level of pain she always felt as she hugged herself.

"Stop! Make it stop!" The queen begged as she cried out. What was this terrible magic spreading over her precious daughter? She could feel it in her hands, the way it practically stabbed at her in every corner of her palms! No child should ever go through this kind of pain. Nobody should for that matter! "Glimmer, what's happening to you? What aren't you telling me?"

"Don't yell at me!" Glimmer yelled back, pushing her mother away as she got back to her feet. "I know I messed everything up, okay? I

should've told you right from the beginning, because if I did, then this mess probably would've been fixed by now and Catra wouldn't have ran away!"

"Catra...?" Piecing her words together as Bow and Glimmer realized her mistake, her mother started to boil with a new kind of anger. "Catra knew about this? And she didn't tell me?!"

"Your Majesty, it's not what you think!" Bow tried to explain as the angry queen pushed her palms against her eyes.

"Ghhhh I should've known I couldn't trust her!" She was steaming from the amount of stress building up in her mind. "All I ask her to do is promise me she would tell me if something was going on, and she can't even do that-!"

"It's not her fault, Mom! I begged her not to tell you, so if you're going to be mad at someone, blame me!" Glimmer kicked her feet angrily against the ground as she stomped over to the dinner table. "She's been wanting to tell you from the very second you asked her and I'm the one who convinced her not to nearly every time! I messed up! Way to go, Glimmer! I know I'm a disappointment!" She cried without showing any tears, sitting against the table.

"What are you talking about?" Her mother loomed over her as she stood. She couldn't remember the last time she found herself so mixed up with worry and confusion all at the same time.

"Entrapta died trying to rescue me, the Princess Alliance is over, and Shadow Weaver did something to my powers! I'm sorry I couldn't be  ** _perfect_**  like you, okay! You have no idea what it feels like to be such a screw up!"

"I have no idea how you feel? I got your father killed!" Pain and hurt crossed the queen's face as she leaned herself across the table, anger and sadness filling her eyes as she turned away from the two shocked teenagers who remained silent through the proceedings.

There was no way they misheard that or misinterpreted her words. The regal Queen of Bright Moon, the leader of the Rebellion, had found herself speechless and cold for the very first time in over a decade. Her face held firmly despite the rising tide of anguish falling over her. Her fingers were practically digging into the wooden table itself as they twitched. Nothing the queen has said in the past had ever given anyone reason to doubt her, or her honesty in most matters.

The silence, the weight of the air filling the room, the ambiance. All of it amounted to this one dreadful secret the queen hasn't spoken about in years, one that was finally resurfacing.

"Y-Your highness...?" Bow was at a loss for words as he tried to question her. Looking between the two of them, feeling as if the moment was specifically for the two of them, he began to back out. "I'll, just, uh... leave you two alone for a moment." They were the last words they heard from him as he made his way out the doors. Relationships were something he felt should be handled by the two directly involved, not anyone on the outside.

The same way he patched up the Prom night with Glimmer earlier.

"... I ordered the battle your father perished in." She rubbed her hand over her other wrist as she tried to soothe her tension. "I've never forgiven myself."

"I-I didn't know that..." There was too much to process in this short amount of time. The years of anger and frustration her mother had, all the sadness and confusion filling her heart and clouding her judgement, was just revealed to the her in a few short sentences.

Angella matched her daughter's expression with one of sorrow and regret. "Yes, well, you never talk to me." The young woman kneeled to her daughter's side, matching her gaze at eye level. "Why didn't you tell me you were sick?"

"Because I was ashamed." She confessed. "I acted without thinking, the exact thing you're always telling me not to do." The girl gave a small shrug as she breathed deeply through her nose. "I teleported right into their trap." She began to tear up as squeezed her hands on the table. "The Alliance is over, everyone is mad, and Catra's run off because she feels useless... and I'm to blame."

"...Glimmer," her mother spoke softly as she directed her daughter to her face, "you are not to blame for all of this. I am." It was hard to feel comforted by her mother's smiling words when she knew she was trying to cheer her up. And yet, she wanted to feel the same warmth it was giving off all the same. "If I hadn't let the first Alliance fall apart after your father's death, none of this would be happening."

" _You_  feel like a failure?"

"Even Catra's my own fault. I shouldn't have been so hard on her since the moment I met her. She was trying for all of us, and I kept berating her for her past mistakes, not acknowledging her accomplishments. Don't make the same mistake I did." The queen's resolve returned to her as she squeezed her fist. "I should've kept kept fighting. And you should, too."

"But the other princesses, they all quit, remember? You don't think the Rebellion is done for?"

"With my daughter leading it? Never." The queen pulled her daughter into her loving arms, stroking her head affectionately with a warmth that only a mother's love could provide.

"Even if my powers are gone?"

"We'll figure it out. Together."

The queen had gotten her wish as her daughter squeezed her arms around her. It might not have gone the way she expected this night to go. There was a dinner that had yet to be touched, there wasn't anyone else present in the room, save for an eavesdropping Bow who smiled as he peeked out the doorway, and there was a lot she still had make up for with the new Princess Alliance and how she's looked down upon Catra up till now.

But at least it ended perfectly for her, the way she would've wanted it to. With her and her daughter holding each other in their arms, and feeling a rekindle warmth that made them truly smile, for the first time in years...

...

...

Adora stared at the entrance of the Whispering Woods as she mentally prepared herself for the journey. This is where it all started for her and Catra, where both of their lives were turned upside down, and not necessarily for the better. Walking into the woods herself, Adora could feel every single bit of her skin being covered in an unfamiliar chill, one that wasn't present the first time she came to this place.

Or maybe it had and she never realized it last time? The first time she ever came to these woods was with Catra, after the two  _borrowed_  a skiff in an attempt to cheer Catra up. A part of her wonders what would've happened if she never took the girl on the skiff in the first place. Would she still be fighting for the Horde or would she join the Rebellion anyway? If the two never went out here and the events had never occurred, Adora and Catra would still be separated by their ranking and missions, ones they had equal chance of never returning from.

Catra herself was dealing with her own set of problems as she continued to forcefully drag the sword against the ground. Aside from her arms starting to get a little sore like this, she had yet to come across any hint that she was getting out of the woods, or any closer to the Beacon itself. She's had to cut paths half the time when a tree blocked her way, found herself scraping herself out of thick bushes and vines at least three times so far, and her senses were starting to get a little more disoriented after so long. It's like the woods themselves were actually trying to mess with her senses after realizing her senses were increased compared to the average person.

It also assured her that these trees apparently hated her for some reason.

Exploring the mysterious woods, Adora maintained an equal amount of her attention between the data pad and the surrounding forestry. On two separate occasions, she's found herself coming across a familiar looking tree or a vine, and whenever she tried to backtrack she somehow came across it again. She remembered all the stories in the past about people who've gotten lost in these woods for days to weeks on end, She never thought they were being so literal when they commented that the woods got you lost every time you entered. She thought it was a simple play on words the way they said it.

After exploring what must've been about five miles through the woods, Adora turned her attention again towards the alarming data pad. To her dismay, the pad suddenly began to short circuit in front of her, flashing a wave of purple and white lines across the screen without end. "No..." Adora fretted, hitting the side of the pad worriedly. "Come ooooon..." Taking another look around her, she tried to think.

Based on her current location and where the data pad was directing her, she shouldn't be very far from the First Ones' technological stash, the very one she needed to make amends for her past mistakes, and possibly give the Horde the key they needed to turn this war around in their favor. Considering she was more likely to get lost trying to find her way back, she pushed herself onward in the hopes the answers would appear right in front of her any second now.

With the bones in her shoulders getting sore from the awkward angle of her arms, Catra let out a sigh. If she was going to get anywhere, then she knew this had to be the way to do it. If someone like Adora could do it then she should too. Adora wouldn't give up or quit, no matter how much it bothered her remembering how  _great_  someone like her was, and she wouldn't back down from a challenge even if she couldn't win. With that state of mind, she pressed onward, hoping that after long last, the answers would come right around the corner-

"You've GOT to be kidding me!" Catra shouted in frustration. It was impossible, she had to be imagining things. Running up to the center of the clearing, she refused to believe what she was actually seeing. After all this walking and exploring, the possible hours she must've wasted going in a straight line, she found herself right back where she started from. She could see the very line that started this entire trip stretching out into the woods ahead of her! Somehow she looped herself all the way backwards.

It didn't make any sense to her! Not once did she ever come across the trail that she made during the last half of her journey, not finding a single line or rough in the ground that showed her she already came across the same path. It was unbelievable! There had to be a rational explanation as to why, no matter how frustrating or improbable it might've seemed.

And the answer lied before her.

From the other end of the clearing, where the marked trail lead into the woods, it began to disappear little by little. The line vanished in the ground as it approached the beginning of her trail, slowly fading away until nothing of it remained. Turning around, she saw that same disappearance slowly approaching her until the trail itself was completely gone. It's no wonder she never came across the same trail in her journey!

The stupid forest was erasing her clever trail from existence!

* _whoosh_ *

"Ngh..." The magicat grumbled as a large gust of wind brushed passed her, glaring angrily to the glowing blue specks of light that surrounded the forest. "You think this is funny?!" She was convinced these woods were actually alive in every meaning of the word, feeling them mocking her for her failed attempt. "You like getting people lost like this? I'm just trying to help!"

* _whoosh_ *

That confirmed her previous suspicion that the woods were alive, and went on to kindle the fire burning within her. "Well let's see who's laughing now!" Still enraged, she marched her way over to one of the thickest trees she could find in the forest, drawing the sword above her head. If this forest was alive then it definitely had to feel pain, and if it could feel pain, then that was more than enough victory for her after the anger she felt boiling up to this point.

"Ghhhhhhh!" Gnashing her teeth together, her tail spiraling out of control, she pulled back as far as she could, ready to cut into the tranquil forest that continued to mock her. She deserved to after everything that's happened in the last day. She couldn't get the sword to work, she couldn't help the people she almost regretted caring about now, and this stupid forest was actually going out of its way to make the journey harder for her! So if it liked teasing people so much, she was going to enjoy cutting down the next hundred trees that crossed her path!

...Or the dozen!

...A handful...

This one...?

The anger and rage she was being consumed with slowly subsided as a mellowness entered her state of mind. Why was she bothering to take her anger out on a stupid tree of all things? She was talking to the trees for crying out loud! The very ones that were needed to keep the Rebellion safe. For all she knew they didn't see her any differently than they saw an intruder, one marching into the woods to do who knows what kind of harm to the surrounding wonder.

With the last of her anger diminishing, she moaned. Dropping the sword to her feet, she started to slouch forward as she planted her head against the tree's husk, directing her eyes towards the ground beneath her. "Please..." She called out to no one in particular. "I... I can't do this anymore..." The same gust of wind blew passed her again, somehow feeling gentler than before.

"I'm tired of messing everything up... I... I'm scared..." She recalled the hundreds of memories she's had in the past, all her recollections with Bow and Glimmer she was once tormented with now filling her mind. From the annoying way they always laughed to the moments she needed them for encouragement. "They're one of the few people who've been nice to me... who've... who've always had my back... even when I mess up..."

From making a prideful fool of herself to Plumeria, to almost drowning on her way to Salineas. Never giving up on her when a virus took over her mind, carrying her through her paranoia and fears through Mystacor, giving her a chance to prove herself at the Princess Prom, and never blaming her when the rescue mission resulted in casualty. They were too nice to her.

The memories started to make her tear up. "They haven't given up on me like everyone else has, and I..." She pressed her palms against the tree as a single tear rolled down her face, dropping to the ground below her and disappearing. "I don't have anything to show for it... I-It's not fair for them! Just... Just please..." She cringed as she closed her eyes tightly, trying to contain the remains of her tears.

"Let me help my friends."

... Then she saw it. A small glow that brightened as she opened her eyes again. Behind her, she could've sworn she heard as the roots and vines themselves were parting way for her, revealing a glowing blue light from within the Whispering Woods. She saw the trees themselves had vanished as if they were never there, almost certain the forest had actually answered her plea.

Which she was a little relieved for after thinking of how silly she was being for talking to a tree, not that it bothered her anymore.

"...Thanks..." With a small whisper she collected her sword off the ground, following the glowing blue light to the source of its eminence. Pulling her way carefully against the fragile bushes and vines that partly blocked her way, she saw it.

Low and behold, a sight that made her relieved. Within another clearing, as if rising out of the ground itself, it stood. The very Beacon she discovered with Madame Razz, one of the great symbols of the First Ones. It looked exactly as it had the day she found it the first time, complete with a strange serenity she was unaware of known as peace, with various roots and vines stretching from all around it.

During this time, she was unaware as another person had made her way to the previous clearing she was in, a certain Force Captain that was pulling the leaves and the crusted vines out of her hair. She wasn't sure how much longer she had to go until she happened upon this place, provided she could at all given her track record. Everything kept changing around Adora as she traversed the mysterious woods, never finding the same location she visited twice to be exactly the same. She started to wonder if she'd ever find this place or return home after all that's happened.

That was when fortune smiled upon her. Up ahead of the clearing, she saw a strange figure walk into a glowing part of the forest, no doubt the very thing she came to find herself. Making sure to wait until the figure walked deeper towards the light, Adora gave chase, quietly and carefully until her back was against another tree.

Peering over the side, Adora almost gasped at the two things she saw. One was a monumental marvel the likes of which she has never seen, one that stretched far above the trees themselves as it. No doubt this was one of the many grand inventions of the First Ones, the very ones Entrapta told her about. Forget anything within the monument, the building itself was more than enough to atone for what she's done.

The second thing she noticed, however, was what nearly made her scream her name. Of all the unlikely places, all the impossibilities telling her otherwise, she saw  _her_  walking towards the monument, halfway through the clearing as she approached with her sword in hand.

"Catra?"

**_..._ **

 

**_..._ **

 

**_..._ **

 

**_A/N: Yes people, I am still in shock about how short this is, especially for a finale. All in all I could've added this to the last chapter i guess XP. I'm also debating about whether or not I wanted to include my original talk the queen had in her talk with Glimmer or not- i even have it backed up just in case ^^ When I took the vote as to whether or not to do it with some people knowing what it involved (you know who you are XP) the results were varied. In the end for continuity issues, i decided to keep the default talk in with one or two changes, though I might go back and edit it if I'm still uncertain by this point._ **

 

**_Anyway, hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon! Hooftah, glad all that emotional and dramatic touchy feeling stuff is over with, phew! Ok, here we go! What's the next episode on our list ^^?_ **

 

**_......NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO_ **

**_OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO_ **

**_OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO_ **

**_OOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_ **


	41. Episode 11: Promise Part 1

_**A/N: Nooooo! I don't wanna do it, I don't wanna do it! Nooooooooo-! *gets dragged over to the computer* Oh god, this episode is going to be so freaking depressing when I have to rewatch it again T_T...** _

_***sigh* Well, it's here folks. This is it! What I hope to be the most emotional series of chapters and episode of season 1. God help me if I get a rush of feels cause this is going to snap my heart in half X_X!** _ _**It's like that old saying about friendship: If I'm going down, IM TAKING YOU ALL WITH ME!** _

_**Enjoy ^^!** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

The light was almost hypnotic to the young Catra as she approached the miraculous structure left behind by the First Ones, the people who created the magnificent, albeit annoying, Sword of Protection.

The entire morning till evening was all but a nightmare for the trio of heroes, especially Catra who was riddled with guilt. In the wake of Entrapta's passing, unaware the technological genius was still alive, the Princess Alliance had a falling out. Spurred on by feelings of regret, all of the princesses disbanded from the alliance, returning to their own kingdoms where they would protect their people all on their own. They wanted nothing more to do with the Rebellion if it meant possibly losing their lives and leaving their people defenseless.

After returning to Bright Moon themselves, the remainder of the alliance found themselves with several other dilemmas to deal with. First of all, was Glimmer's mother. Much to Catra's surprise, and the rest of them, the queen of Bright Moon was beyond thankful to Catra for rescuing her beloved daughter, actually hugging her for the first time and going an entire day without berating her on anything she did. That was the bright side of the day, and would've remained as such if not for the second dilemma that occured.

Specifically, Glimmer's glitching.

After the events of the dramatic rescue, Glimmer was under a state of pain and agony whenever a strange glitching aura-like magic swept over her at random periods throughout the day, each one more painful than the last. There were no words to describe the sensation every time it struck her, each wave feeling like a new form of torture with each instance. Catra wanted nothing more than to warn the queen, seeing how she promised her she would and after the kindness she's shown Catra throughout the day.

Unfortunately, that delved into the third problem two of the three found themselves in with Glimmer's unwillingness to confess to her mother. She escaped from one of the most harrowing situations any of them found themselves in and she didn't want her mother to worry any more about her than she already has. With the stress they dealt with on a daily basis the last thing she wanted her mother to find out was that she caught some bizarre magical virus of some sort, fearing it would lead to a lifetime of grounding for her own protection.

And none of this compared to the biggest dilemma they were dealing with, one Glimmer and Bow weren't aware of till later that evening because of all that's happened up to that point- Catra's overwhelming guilt.

She felt responsible for everything up to that point, more than the other two possibly could combined. She was supposed to be the magnificent She-Ra, the symbol of Hope for the Rebellion, the one leading the charge, saving the day, and all that cheesy stuff that came with it, and she felt like nothing other than a complete failure. She was incapable of acknowledging her own successes throughout the day and focused solely on all the bad parts of it leading up to the present. To her, she should've been able to save everyone with the power of She-Ra. She should've been the one to charge the Fright Zone to save the very people she now considered friends.

She felt like she was nothing by the end of all of this. She kept thinking back to how wonderful everything would play out if Adora was leading them through this, knowing how flawless the  _perfect student_ , the very one she always found herself left in the dust by, would come in to save the day. She would've figured out a way to save everyone, she wouldn't have needed saving constantly like Catra did. She wished she was more like with each passing minute since her personal revelation, feeling like the Rebellion deserved better than her.

After much deliberation, she set out to make a change. Entering the Whispering Woods, she journeyed and traveled through the constantly changing landscape in search of this mighty structure, hoping to find some means to control her powers, to become a better She-Ra. She needed to find a way to change who she was, for her friends' sake. If she remained the same old Catra, she knew they would pay the price for it.

It was one of the many reasons she preferred not having friends. She didn't want to be burdened with the constant guilt she felt now or the pain the loss of someone like Entrapta brought. She wasn't that close to her as she was with Glimmer and Bow and she still found it painful. She almost wished she never felt as close to those two as she did now for those very reasons, yet was unable to think about them the way she used to as mere "allies".

She needed to change, one way or another. And she knew this place was capable of fixing all of that.

At the same time, she was unaware that she was being followed by her closest friend, Adora, being too focused on the task at hand and unable to pick up her scent or her sound with the mysterious Whispering Woods' capability of messing with her senses.

The Force Captain was in a bind as much as Catra did. Following her unintended assistance in Catra's and Glimmer's escape, along with her reclaiming her sword, Adora was sentenced by Lord Hordak himself to atone for her transgressions. She was given a single week to find a way to contribute something of equal or greater value than what she lost, meaning she needed to find something worth as much as one prisoner, one princess, and one ancient sword of the First Ones' that she ended up losing.

Suffice to say, that was easier said than done.

In some respects, Lord Hordak gave her a near-impossible task with the amount of time she had. It wasn't simply a matter of her losing the sword and the princess. What Adora did may have very well costed them the war itself, having lost one of the greatest bargaining chips the Horde has ever known. It was only due to her previous contributions to the Horde and the loss of morale her removal would've costed them that he decided to show any leniency at all, something Adora was very thankful for as well as troubled.

She wanted to atone for her mistake even if she wasn't sentenced for it. Not just for the Horde, but for herself. She felt hurt and betrayed after Catra manipulated her to steal the sword and the princess from her at the same time. Why did she allow let her guard down like that? Why did she clear the path for them to escape in the first place at all? More importantly, why did Catra refuse her offer to return to the Horde?

All of these questions plagued her mind along with another concern that was brought up at the end of her judgement. Not two minutes after her sentence did she find Shadow Weaver providing her with an alternative, one that Adora was torn between committing. If she was to aid Shadow Weaver in removing Lord Hordak himself, not only would she be free of any judgement or punishment, she could also revoke the penalty that applied to all defectors, knowing Catra's fate if she was ever caught by the Horde again.

How was she supposed to know which task to choose from? If she went with Hordak then she needed to contribute something in atonement, and if she went with Shadow Weaver, she would be betraying the very icon of the Horde itself, the leader whose army took her in as an infant and raised her as one of their own. It wasn't allies that she would be betraying, it would a family in and of itself! The very people she worked alongside and grew up with!

When hope started to seem lost, a miracle occured in the form of a bubbly, energetic, and quirky scientist that went by the name of Entrapta. Taking pity on the girl, Adora decided to take her in and recruit her to the Horde. She felt sorry for the girl, knowing she was betrayed by her friends and left behind, seeing how they never bothered to return for her. Tempted by the offer to work alongside these marvelous machines and hurt by betrayal, Entrapta thanked Adora with the solution to her problems.

Using a data pad she kept on her person, among other things, she pinpointed and triangulated a position where Adora could find a motherlode of First Ones' technology, the first settlers of Etheria itself. There was no telling what might be in there, be they risk or reward! Despite the fact she needed a princess as well, Adora refused to hand Entrapta directly over to Hordak as compensation, knowing the harm it would bring her due to her involvement in the previous princess's escape, and set out to track down and return with caches of wonder and technology left by these supposed First Ones.

By the end of a long and tiresome trek through the woods, she finally came across the last two things she thought she'd ever see. The first one was a glowing light that revealed itself to be the source of the signal's energy reading, finding a large Beacon in the center of a clearing. The second thing she saw was possibly more shocking than the first.

Catra.

Ducking and weaving through the bushes, she tried to think. What was Catra doing here of all places? Was she on some mission to collect the First Ones' tech too? Or was she here for a different reason entirely? Whichever one it was mattered little to the betrayed friend. After being gone for so long and leaving Adora behind, she deserved the one thing she wanted second to bringing Catra back to the Horde.

Answers.

As she came upon the strange groove in the ground, Catra watched as a pink pillar-like symbol began to glow. With a glow between the lines and the many symbols, she watched in amazement as the floor in front of her descended into a staircase, waiting until it finally opened up to the lower floors before continuing onward.

Trailing far behind her, Adora crept up to the wondrous symbols in the ground. There was something familiar about these strange markings, whatever they were. She almost felt like she saw them before somewhere, wherever that was. She didn't have much time to process as she noticed the floor starting to raise itself up once more. Knowing time was of the essence, she quickly slid her way down the stairs, scraping her feet quietly to avoid Catra's hearing, and ducking through the last half of the ascension as the stairs had finally risen to the top. Looking back for a moment, she shook her head, then continued.

There was no going back now.

Up ahead Catra was examining the glowing markings in the ceilings and walls above her. She had to admit, for a bunch of old science nerds from a thousand years ago, they definitely knew how to give a rather interesting shine to a place like this. The violet glowing lines around her waved off and on in a wave, like the place itself was pulsating with life.

Coming up to the first of many rooms, Catra nearly flinched as everything brightened before her, the room giving off a beautiful array of colors and crystals as she started her way through again. Everything had a strange mix of feeling old and futuristic all at the same time to her. Nearing the center of the room, she examined what looked like an altar-like platform leading up to a throne. Half a dozen crystals of different sizes lined up all around the center, continuing to give off that old-yet-new atmosphere to her.

Making her way to the top of the three-foot ascension, her ears twitched as she looked around, tail casually wagging behind her as she tried to pick up on anything. "Hello?" Her voice echoed out around her. "First Ones? Anyone?" Unable to get a response, she pulled out her sword to see what would work. "I got your sword! I need training. One of my friends are in trouble." She grimaced at the lack of response out of that. It didn't look like she was going to be able to play the same sympathy cards like in the woods.

As she called out, Adora continued to creep her way around her, watching her and observing with every shout. Moving in-between her shouts to drown out her footsteps, she took in the magnificent view of the citadel with actual wonder.

 _Just look at this place!_  She smiled.  _This place is amazing!_

She never knew there was anything this beautiful within the Whispering Woods, much less one belonging to a millennia-old civilization. If she brought all of this back, there was no end to the amount of contributions and promotions this would entitle her to. She could possibly run her own division of the Horde, maybe like a Diplomacy Wing of the Fright Zone? There was no way nothing in here couldn't benefit the Horde without causing utter chaos and destruction to the innocents.

"Greetings."

"Jeez-!" Catra nearly jumped as the voice spoke behind her. Turning around, she was staring face to face with a familiar hologram. Not quite like the first one she met, it looked more like the other one she met when she was being chased into a cave with Bow and Glimmer.

"Hello Administrator." It greeted. "What is your query."

"Finally some help around here." She mumbled. "I need your help. One of my friends is sick or something, I don't know. I just know that magic was involved. I need your help to save her." She examined the sword in her hands as she held it out in front of her. "People say She-Ra was supposed to be able to preform great miracles of magic or whatever. I just need to know how to heal someone, that's it. So... can you help me out?"

"What is your query?"

"Ugh..." Catra groaned, facepalming. "You're going to make this a long day, aren't you?"

"...What is your query?" Translation: Yes.

"Look, Lady, I had a long day and that was before coming here, I don't need one now!" She waved her hand over the holographic image, trying to see if it could get any sort of response out of her. When that didn't work, she took another look at her sword, watching the small flash as it's center glowed. With little else to try at the moment, and assuming the smashing the machine was a bad idea, she decided to opt for Plan B.

Raising her sword to the sky, unaware as Adora kept watching, she called out. "For the Honor of Grayskull!"

...

...

**_The intro starts with Shadow Weaver in the Black Garnet chamber spying and glaring at a image of Catra. Than the image dives into the water of her scrying spell._ **

**_~ We're on the edge of greatness ~_ **

**_Where we have Catra at Bright Moon looking both determined and forlorn out into the distance._ **

**_~ turning darkness into light ~_ **

**_A scene of kid Catra and kid Adora training together in the fright zone under Shadow Weaver. Before being replaced with a image of Adora glaring at a heart broken looking Catra who's on her knees across a battlefield._ **

**_~ We're right beside you ~_ **

**_But than Glimmer and Bow teleport to Catra side raising her spirit back up, as shown with her surprise blinking when Gimmer offers her a hand, than she smirks accepting the help as she takes the lead ahead of them._ **

**_~ Ready to Fight! ~_ **

**_Catra raises her sword, transforming into She-Ra in a glorious flash of light_ **

**_~ (fight, fight, fight fight) ~_ **

**_Then She-Ra rushes off into battle with Glimmer and Bow following right behind her._ **

**_~ We're gonna win in the end! ~_ **

**_Mermista rises out of a tide, blasting Horde soldiers with water._ **

**_~ We must be strong, And we must be brave ~_ **

**_Perfuma burst from the ground, capturing and tying up Horde soldiers with vines._ **

**_~(we must be brave) ~_ **

**_Frosta rides an entire wave of frozen water, freezing Horde tanks in their tracks._ **

**_~ We're gonna find every bit of strength that we have ~_ **

**_The scene shifts to Hordaks throne room where the evil shadowy figure sits upon his throne, his red glowing eyes being the only noticeable part of him, surrounded by notable members of the Horde, consisting of Adora and Catra's squadron, Shadow Weaver, Adora, Scropia, and even Entrapta._ **

**_~ and never let go ~_ **

**_The scene shifts to an epic clash between Catra and Adora, the She-Ra gritting her teeth as she presses her sword against Adora's electrical baton, as the Force Captain herself grins with chaotic excitement as the red jewel from her headband shines._ **

**_~ (Oh ah Oh) ~_ **

**_Adora and Catra push each other off as they back up into their friends- Entrapta and Scorpia for Adora, and for Catra Bow and Glimmer._ **

**_~ We must be STRONG! ~_ **

**_The scene ends with a final shot of both sides looking across the field, a transparent image of Catra and Adora's faces filling the sky as the colors are split between them;_ **

**_A majestic darkness shining into light upon Catra's side, and a horrid light seeping into darkness on Adora's half._ **

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

"...Ok you are one  _Honor of Grayskull_  away from me dropping you into a volcano, you know that?" Catra threatened as she looked at her overly irritating sword.

It didn't surprise her anymore. If it did, she swore she would've been throwing herself over a volcano instead due to the sheer annoyance of the situation. The sword, once again, didn't work. It was becoming less surprising these days and something more of a nuisance.

It didn't work when she wanted it to, it didn't work when she needed it to, it didn't do squat. Sometimes she started to wonder if the sword actually was live or not because that would explain its lack of compliance after everything she said about it. She would gladly apologize to the sword in any way it wanted her to if she knew if it was alive or not. She got done talking to trees awhile ago that were definitely alive.

She drew her lines at apologizing to inanimate objects.

With Glimmer's previous idea given, she chalked it up to the sword being on cooldown again. As to how or why the first ones invented a weapon that could transform her once a day, she would never know. All she did know was that it left an annoyance in her mind she couldn't process.

Knowing it wasn't going to lead her anywhere, after sighing, she made her way over closer to the hologram itself as she tried to think of what to do. "Look, I don't know what else to tell you." She glanced over the control module itself that the hologram was coming out of. "Is there some password I need? Eternia? Etheria?" There was one she was missing, she was sure of it. "Who was that first lady again? Um..." She rubbed her temples to soothe any growing frustrations.

"It was something-Hope. Um... White... Bright... Li- Light!" Her face flashed with a grin as she remembered. "Light Hope! I'm looking for Light Hope! Is she here?" The brief pause of silence coming from the hologram was a good sign. With every other question she asked being returned with the same response, the lack of reply in this scenario was giving Catra something to hope for.

Light Hope was the strangest person she's met on her travels, and that was saying a  **lot**. Being some mysterious entity she met after connecting with the sword the first time, Catra had yet to figure out who exactly Light Hope was. Was she one of these First Ones this place belonged to? Was she possibly in the sword itself? With the advanced technology she's seen this race had left behind, she wouldn't put it passed her.

Adora rolled her eyes at the situation, a little bit concerned over her seemingly-confused friend. She wasn't bothered so much by the fact the sword wasn't working or doing whatever Catra wanted it to do. What did bother her this time around was why she continued to mess with that sword if she wasn't under the princesses' spell or brainwashed? Was the sword the one actually making her brainwashed? Did it control her?

After the last couple months of confusion and worry, she pushed away those crazy thoughts. From what she could finally understand, Catra was in full control of herself. Nobody could betray someone else like she did to Adora and make her feel as terrible as a result.

Figuring Catra was distracted enough talking to the hologram, she decided to examine the rest of this place. This unfamiliar place was giving her a sense of peace for some reason, one that made her feel partly at home. The walls were pristine and the clean floors gave her a sense that this place was well maintained, even after all the years that had past. If anyone ran this place they definitely did a great job at their work.

"Identification not recognized." The hologram said back to Catra, finally responding to the magicat. "Please present Identification."

"I'm Cat... I'm She-Ra. SHE. RA." Catra took her time in answering back. If any name was going to be recognized around here, she was going to need to provide one she heard a thousand times over. "Looking for Light. Hope. Respond!"

"...Please hold for Identification Processing." The hologram requested.

Catra didn't even have time to think of what she meant as the floor around her suddenly came to life. All around the center surrounding her, there was a harmless red light, one that stretched to the size of a wall, that appeared as if it was a giant net. From one end of the center to the other, she watched, cautiously, as the wall crossed from one side of the platform to the other. She swore she could almost feel a tingling sensation around her skin as it passed her, as if it was brushing over the small amount of fur that covered her.

She almost started to think it plucked a hair or two off her skin as it did so, as if scanning her DNA.

During her period of distraction, Adora's investigation happened upon a glorious object. It was a jewel-like object displayed at the tip of a large pedestal. Judging from the many symbols and icons she discovered around it, seeing how the lines throughout this entire complex seemed to originate from this one spot, it must have been some sort of great powersource for the citadel. Returning anything of this size for Entrapta to study and duplicate would surely advanced the war efforts!

It was as she was reaching for the device that the scanner surrounding Catra had finally come to an end, the red wall of light slowly diminishing as it reached the control module again. After a momentary silence, the hologram began to glow red, as if an anger was radiating off the machine itself.

"WARNING! WARNING! INVALID USER DETECTED! INVALID USER DETECTED." The hologram's voice rang throughout the room as the entire complex began to fill with an eerie red glow.

"Invalid user?" Catra questioned raising a brow. "What are you talking about? I'm She-Ra! SHE-RA!" It was around the same time Adora had plucked the device from the machine, nearly jumping herself as her surroundings emanated with an angry red glow, causing her to back away nervously as she pocketed the item. She was unaware of how loud she was stepping backwards or how close she was getting as Catra's hearing and smells started to pick up, shooting a look back to her in surprise. "Adora?"

Turning around, Adora's own eyes widened in surprise that she had been caught, her friend looking back to her with mixed stare between confusion and accusation. Switching between Adora to where the hologram used to be, everything slowly started to dawn upon Catra as she realized what happened. "Aodra, you messed up the scanner!"

"I did?" Catra ran over to her friend as the girl questioned her. She truly didn't know as she wasn't paying attention to what Catra was doing, only checking on her to ensure she was distracted from time to time while she excavated the room.

* _THUD_ *

The girls were drawn to the sound of a large metal doors that began closing around them, blocking off the various routes and exits of the room in a clockwise time being of the essence, containing the annoyance building up at her from this recent interruption, Catra grabbed Adora's wrist as she pulled her along. "Come on! We need to get out of here before the whole place locks down!"

She remembered the first and last time she was in one of these rooms when the lockdown initiated with Bow and Glimmer. The stupid hologram back then didn't answer any of her questions despite being She-Ra either for some reason, and the entire cave started to collapse in on itself soon after. At times she wondered if she would still be standing here today if Glimmer hadn't teleported them out of the first cave or if she would still be clawing her way out of the rubble to this day, assuming she survived.

Adora never wanted to apologize for everything around her as she did now. If she messed up something from grabbing the stupid artifact then you'd think the people who built this place would've left some warning label lying around! Or if they did you'd still think they'd make it harder to steal from one of their numerous devices. Whoever's fault it was remained anonymous between the two friends as they ran their way across the room, trying to reach one of the many hallways that haven't closed.

As they did, there was strange scraping noise the two could pick up on coming from one of the darkened hallways. "What is that?" Adora's question was met with the high-pitched screeching sound of several mysterious creatures, ones whose eyes glowed red as they made themselves known.

Stepping out of the darkness, Adora and Catra found themselves coming face to face with a handful of spider-like mechanoids that seeped out of the darkness. The creatures' menacing red eyes were enough to terrify the both of them, and the sheer amount of them were enough to tell them they were both outnumbered.

"What are those things?!" Adora asked backing away, running with Catra as the girl chased after her.

"Trust me, they weren't around last time!" Catra yelled back, trying to keep pace with the girl as she took the lead.

The sight of the doors closing around them started to fill the two of them with dread. They didn't know what was going on and they were convinced if the room blackened then they would be surrounded by those horrifying bug creatures in an instant. Seeing the door ahead of them starting to close, Adora knew she had to act fact.

Digging through her jacket, she wasted no time as she tied the head band around herself, Catra watching all the same as the shadows surrounding the place started pouring into her own shadow under her feet. With the darkness pooling around her and strengthening her, Adora's speed nearly tripled as she ran her way across to one of the closing doors. Forming a pair of the gargantuan shadow arms on each side, Adora rushed over as she grabbed under the door itself, leaving just enough space for her fingers to slide under, letting out a growl as she slowly started to lift the door up to her shoulder.

"Ggghhhhh... Come on!" She grunted to Catra, trying to keep the door held in place. Her shadows empowered her enough to lift this nearly half-ton door, but even they took a moment to fully kick into place. With the spiders gaining behind her, Catra quickly slid underneath her, Adora quickly lifting the door high enough until she could throw herself under the door, letting it slam behind her, and narrowly avoiding the pincers and claws that pierced through it.

No sooner had the two made their way to the hallway did the lights behind them start dying one by one, the darkness creeping closer to them as every light turned off with a loud bam. Every second after the lights shut off were the two of them greeted by more groups of angry red eyes, hearing the loud screeching sound of the predators they were being hunted by. It only took the appearance of one head through the darkness to convince the two to run away.

"What the heck is going on?" Adora shouted nonchalant as she ran. With the headband endowing her with power, she forced her emotions to remain enclosed as she always did. "What are those things, Catra?"

"You think if I knew I'd be running rather than fighting them?" Catra yelled back. "Far as I know, you messed something up when you were in the room! They probably think you're an intruder!"

"Then why are they chasing you?"

"I don't know! Did you mess with anything while you were in there?"

Adora's shifting eyes already told her the answer without her saying anything. "Um... possibly."

"Adora-!" Any shouts of anger at whatever mistakes she's made were interrupted as the lights ahead of them started to fail, the darkness approaching them from the front. It didn't matter if the spiders were up ahead or not, they wouldn't be able to make their way through it with the ones still chasing after them.

'This way!" Adora said, pulling Catra's arm along as the two cut down a narrow hallway. The hallway definitely gave the two some breathing room as the walls were closer together, but their trail of fortune came to an abrupt end when the duo ran into a dead end, coming across a completely closed exit point with no means of opening it.

"Great..." Catra turned around as she stared down the incoming swarm. If she kept her calm, she might be able to fight them off, provided the cramped spaces forced them to come in one by one. The problem was not knowing how many of them were still coming and how many of them were already after them.

Regardless, she still had a friend to protect, even if she was on the wrong side. Drawing her sword, she stood her ground between Adora and the incoming spiders, ready to make a last stand if she had to. "Don't worry, I've got this." Her assurance wasn't as convincing to herself as it was to Adora. There was no telling how long she actually  _had_  this and how long the two of them had until another unexpected surprise dropped in on them.

That was when she felt a tug around her waist, looking as a tentacle wrapped around her stomach, pulling her behind Adora as the Force Captain stepped forth in front of her. "No, I got this!" With a roar, Adora screamed as she materialized a gigantic shadowy blade over her right arm, staring down the creatures without any sense of fear in her eyes, not that Catra could see at the moment. With one fell swipe, she watched as Adora crashed the giant blade over the ceiling itself, causing the hallway to collapse in on itself and crushing one of the giant spiders in it's wake.

It wasn't a celebration that lasted forever though as the ceiling continued to cave in. She might've been able to prevent the rocks from crushing her if she had her She-Ra form working, but, like every occasion, it was't going to work anytime soon. It was only thanks to Adora's involvement, finding her wrapping her arm around Catra, that the two were saved.

With another growl to the open air, Catra watched as an entire dome of darkness grew over the two of them, reaching just above Adora's head as the rocks came tumbling down. They could feel the vibrations as the rocks crashed around them, Catra doing everything she could to push the shadowy dome above them in order to help keep the two of them from being crushed. There was no way to tell how durable Adora's shadows truly were when enough weight was applied to them, and this was less than the idea location to find out.

Salvation finally came after a few more seconds had passed, feeling the last of the rumbling rocks knocking against the sturdy dome with a minor crackle. Giving it a bit just in case, Adora slowly eased the dome away as the two of them pulled themselves out of the shattered hallway. Their lungs were assaulted by a cloud of thick dust as the debris settled around them, the friends leaning themselves against the wall as they tried to catch their breath.

"Ack! Ough!" The magicat coughed, turning her head over to her friend that saved them.

If she was trying to be little miss  _perfect_  again she couldn't tell, because the girl barely gave a puff as the dust settled around them, Adora stretching her back as the shadows receded around her. With a sigh, the girl pulled the headband from her head, effortlessly and without the pain that used to follow after enough exposure to the dreaded band. With her emotions returning and her mind cleared, she looked over to her long lost friend with worry. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah..." Catra rubbed her throat as she let out another cough. "I-I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, don't worry."

"Good."

* _WHAP!_ *

"Ow!" Catra yelped, rubbing her hand-printed left cheek sorely. "What was that for?"

"That was for leaving me in the Horde, you jerk!" Adora yelled, still angered by her friend's betrayal.

"Which time? The one two days ago or several months ago?"

"...Oh yeah..."

* _WHAP!_ "

"Ow!" If both her cheeks weren't already printed on, Catra would've gladly slapped herself out of stupidity. "Stop that!"

"That was for both times." Her anger was understandable, Catra still in shock at her own actions of betrayal after all that's happened. She manipulated her. Used her. A slap on the face was the least Catra deserved, twice debating, after all the time apart they've spent away from each other. They haven't talked to each other, every time they do see each other it's in the middle of a mission, and there's been so much confusion on each other's end that neither of them truly knew the other anymore.

It didn't mean she wouldn't get payback though.

"Oh, you wanna play it that way?"

* _swiff_ *

"Wha- Hey!" Adora yelled as she tried grabbing at her headband that was swiped out of her hands. Catra had enough common sense to keep it out of arms reach of her, pushing her away with her other arm as she did. "Give that back!"

"Not until we get out of here, Adora." Catra informed, stuffing the headband into the collar of her vest. "We have a lot to talk about, starting with you."

"What? Starting with  ** _me_**?"

"Yes, you! And there's no way you're getting this until we're done."

"That's not fair! What if those bug things attack us again?"

"Then I'll keep us safe! I have the sword, remember?"

"And if you get jumped? I have a stun baton half the size of my arm to defend myself with, and you have..." Adora shot her a strange expression as she looked to the ground. "...Are you wearing shoes?"

"Huh?" Checking her own feet, she was rather surprised. After everything that's happened, with all the stress built up throughout the castle and the guilt she's been ridden with before leaving, she completely forgot about the leather soles around her feet, the very ones she wore inside of the castle, instead of the outside, to avoid tearing up the rugs and carpeting within it. "Oh, forgot about those. Technically they're combat boots, but that doesn't matter right now. We need to get out of here while we can, Adora, before more of those things show up. And I'm keeping this until we get out of here, got it?"

"Uh, how about an alternative? You keep the band, I go home where  **we**  belong, and Shadow Weaver makes me a new one!" Adora retorted as she glared.

At the suggestion, Catra gave her an almost questionable smirk, planting her right hand against her side as she looked behind Adora. "Really? You're going to go back that way?" Taking a look in the same direction, Adora's plans were shattered as well as her expression as she saw what was before her.

An entire hallway, completely filled, to the brim, with piles of rubble and debris. The very ones she caused trying to fight off the spider swarm and save Catra while doing it. Without her head band those rocks would've taken forever to remove, and that was provided she didn't have to deal with any more rocks continuing to fall atop of her while doing it. Add to the fact that there were possibly spiders on the other side, there was no way she was going home that way.

"...Ugggh..." Groaning to everyone and everything around her, Adora stomped her way down the hallway as Catra followed behind her. "I'm not talking to you right now."

"Well, too bad, cause I'm talking to you." Catra threw her hands behind her head casually as they walked. "What are you doing here in the first place?"

"Oh you know, just trying to save my own skin after you BETRAYED ME for like the hundredth time by now." Adora grumbled crossing her arms.

"What do you mean you're trying to save yourself?"

"Gee, I wonder? If you'd like to know, I'll keep it short for you! After you guys left I was going to be punished by Lord Hordak since I aided in your escape."

"You... got punished because you helped us?" Catra's ears drooped with a twinge of guilt in her eyes as she shifted them off to the side.

"I  ** _was_**  going to be punished, if it wasn't for one of the few friends I have left having my back." Catra could see the small bit of pain in Adora's face as she turned her head a little. "What did you think was going to happen to me after you left me behind, Catra? Do you think anyone was happy I helped you escape, and you stole the sword?"

"Oh... Y-Yeah..." There wasn't much else she could say to that. She was so paranoid and frantic when the situation occurred that she didn't even consider what would happen to Adora as a result. "I'm sorry..." She couldn't tell if Adora accepted her apology as she turned her head away again, keeping her face from being seen. She was unaware of the increased pain on her face as she appeared to be thinking to herself.

"B-But I had no choice, Adora. The Rebellion needs the sword, and I can't turn into She-Ra without it. And Pinky looked like she was-"

"Who's Pinky?"

"Glimmer, whatever. My point is, she looked like she was going to die, and I needed to get her out of there as soon as I could!"

"I already told you she could leave if you wanted her to, remember?"

"Yeah, I know, but she could barely run at the time. Even if you did let her go, there was no way she was going to make it on her own with everyone else chasing after her! Do you realize how much pain she was in after you tortured her?"

"..." Did that get through to her now? Catra has no idea what state of mind Adora has these days.

Ever since she left the only thing she did know was that she spent ore of her time alone with Shadow Weaver, and that spelled trouble in a variety of ways. There was no telling what sort of lies she was told, no end to the manipulations that were pulled to bring Adora closer to her side. To take the caring, fun-loving, person Catra knew Adora to be, even if she was too nice for her own good, there was no end to the possibilities that drove her to commit such a terrible act.

"I..." Adora paused in the hallway, giving Catra a chance to see the pain in her eyes as she lowered her head. "I was just trying to save you... Catra." Catra's own heart struck a chord of guilt as Adora looked into her eyes, sadly. "You were gone for so long, and with the Princesses of all people. I thought they tortured you to the point of brainwashing, I thought they did unspeakable things to you, and I... I was so angry... and afraid..."

"Adora-"

"And I know it was wrong, okay?" She continued, cutting her off. "I didn't want to do it. I asked her to tell me a single question repeatedly, and she wouldn't budge. I thought she was resisting. I didn't think she actually didn't do anything."

"I told you repeatedly Adora, I wasn't being brainwashed."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure a lot of brainwashed people would say the same thing." The girl thought through every possibility and explanation behind Catra's brainwashing. "How was I supposed to believe you over Shadow Weaver, anyway? She gave me proof, she was the only one trying to help you, and I checked everything myself. She was the only one who stayed by my side after you left, Catra. How was I supposed to not believe her?"

"Mmh..." Shadow Weaver continued to be a pain in Catra's side even when she wasn't anywhere near them. Obviously Shadow Weaver would have the answers to everything, track down every piece of evidence she did and didn't need to make her plans follow through. That's the way Shadow Weaver worked, by making sure every eventuality and probability was accounted for, no matter the cost or those who suffered for it. "Then why did you give me the chance to leave if I wanted to? Why did you open the path for me and Glimmer to escape through?"

"Because we're friends, Catra. We have each others' backs." The resolve behind her statement left no room for doubt to Catra. "And even when it hurts, we always will be." With that, she continued on ahead in the hallway, leaving Catra with a new assortment of thoughts and regret.

Despite being on opposite sides of the war here, she still considered Catra the dear friend she could always count on, and after everything Catra's done to make her unintentionally suffer, too. From the moment Catra first ran off into the woods by herself to this very moment, Adora was still thinking about her and the bond these two shared. It was one of the many reasons Catra considered her the best of her friends.

She stood by Catra regardless of whatever trouble they got in and if it meant she would suffer to. From standing up to her after she defected to trying to do all she could possibly do to keep Catra alive and well, she always had her back. She was the very definition of what a true friend should be, and what did Catra have to offer in turn?

Zilch.

...

The journey through the halls provided a wide array of various wonders, from it's architectural designs to it's seemingly impossible landscapes. They passed by beautiful hallways of colors and designs, from waterfalls against the walls, to a pathway over a great gorge of color. Nothing like this had ever been seen in Etheria, at least not by Catra and Adora.

The two remained silent for the rest of the way through, keeping to themselves and their own thoughts as they tried to think of what to say to each other, conveniently sharing the same thoughts every now and then.

Should either of them use the opportunity to convince the other back to their side? Whenever they did, it would start a long chain of arguments between the two that would usually result in a physical or verbal fight between the two, and ending with the two of them going their separate ways again. And somehow, they always left on a worse note than when they began whatever conversation they had between themselves.

Maybe they should try to apologize to each other, but to what end? Catra left the Horde, and Adora's been defending her since day one. Adora almost killed Catra and Catra's been trying to assure her that she forgives her. Adora manipulated Catra at the Princess Prom, leading to her capturing Glimmer, Bow, and the Sword of Protection. And Catra took advantage of Adora's kindness when she offered to let them leave in order to get Glimmer and the sword back, choosing a third option that Adora hadn't counted on.

They were great to each other and horrible to each other, and the strain it was putting on their friendship was noticeable. They still considered each other the best of friends, naturally, but there was a small gap forming between them, one that neither of them wanted to break. And it lead to the both of them asking themselves what they could do to fix it.

It also left Catra with a new assortment of feelings she didn't know how to process. After all the time she spent bonding with Glimmer and Bow, she felt a new array of different emotions she wasn't used to, or if she did not ones she recognized anymore. How was Adora feeling? How was she forgiving Catra to the point of seeing her as a friend still? Questions like this swarmed her mind without any answers, creating a vortex of guilt and despair.

Adora's own thoughts weren't much better. She's fought for Catra's commitment to the Horde, she wouldn't allow anyone to talk down about her friend as long as she was around, and now she's finding out Catra may have truly defected to the Horde intentionally? Why? What did the Rebellion have to offer her that the Horde couldn't? She could gain notoriety and fortune from her accomplishments, nobody would look down on her with enough hard work, and there were the bonds she's made with her fellow allies.

It didn't matter if they didn't consider her as much of a friend as Adora did. She knew they still held high esteem and respect for her best friend. And, to Adora, that should be what counts the most!

After a near hour of silence between the two, did they finally come towards the end of the long pathway, coming to another dead end. Almost instantly, Catra recognized the door as the two approached, having the strange symbols and markings on the door as the previous one.

"Is this... a door?" Adora wondered before watching Catra approaching it. She watched as her curious friend placed her hand against the door, as if she knew what to do.

"Eternia!" With a resounding voice, and a glow emanating from her palm, the door came to life as it separated along the doorway, clearing the path for them. The small smile she had was dashed away as she turned back, noticing the just-as-curious gaze of her blonde-haired friend. "Don't ask. Long story." She brushed the future questions off as she continued on ahead, Adora questioning what she witnessed as she followed behind her.

First she defects to the Rebellion after finding some long lost sword in the forest, becomes one of their more troublesome soldiers that have countered a handful of campaigns the Horde have launched against them, and now she knows how to interact with ancient technology created by the First Ones without any natural way of doing so. What else had changed about her friend that she didn't know about?

Stepping into the darkness, Catra pulled out her sword as she used the bluish glow from it's gem to light the way around them. The darkness around them was similar to that of the lockdown systems of the prison cells, the one that were made specifically for humanoid creatures that could see in the dark. Being surrounded by perpetually endless darkness was one of the greatest fears to most people, and Catra would be lying if she said the pitch blackness didn't affect her after the events of that day.

Between her and the doorway they came out of, there wasn't much light at all in this place. There was no telling how massive the room was on the inside or if they were inside of any room to begin with given all the darkness. Adora felt like she could fall off the edge at any second if she took the wrong step and landed through a hole, or she could smack her face right into a wall without realizing it.

"What kind of room is this?" Adora asked, hoping her friend would have the answers like she always seemed to have for this place.

"The room of Infinite Darkness? How should I know?" The magicat answered, shrugging. "I've never been here before."

"And yet, you know how to open up ancient doorways that haven't been unearthed for thousands of years?" Adora smirked accusingly to her.

"Like I said, it's a long story. Let's just-" A look of fear and concern crossed her face as she saw passed Adora. "Where's the door?"

Turning around, the Force Captain was also struck with the same surprise and worry as Catra was. Behind them lied nothing. No noticeable walls, no exits, no doors that existed seconds ago, just nothing. Standing where they were now, they didn't have a clue as to which direction they even came from, both girls looking all around themselves as they tried to remember their pathway.

"Catra, please tell me you didn't get us stuck in some prison room or wherever those bugs came from.?"

"I-It's fine, I'm sure there's another way out." She wished she was as sure as she sounded at the moment because she didn't have the first clue as to where they were. Fortunately, any chance of panic rising up in either of them was dashed away as Catra turned back, noticing a glowing light at the other end of the darkness. "Wait, what's that?" Following the trail Catra walked, Adora noticed the same miniscule light that drew her attention.

It was small, practically barren within this eternal darkness. It didn't seem to rest on any sort of wall or hang from any sort of switch, it just... floated in place. Reaching the small pinkie-nail-sized spec of light, Catra kneeled in front of it as Adora looked over her shoulder, wondering if she should touch it after the disaster of the last thing Adora messed with.

"...What's-"

* ** _BOOM_** *

"Ahh!" The two friends were blinded by a powerful burst of light that gave off a sonic boom with an echo, the explosion-like sound filling the darkened room as it reverberated off of every solid matter contained within. Closing her eyes from the blinding flash, the two were unaware as a wide yellow light began scanning the two where they stood, checking them from head to toe as it processed the information it needed for what happened next.

Slowly opening her eyes again, Catra found herself staring into the halls of the Fright Zone, the last place on Etheria she ever wished to be. It was something she found herself in common with at this point since she became She-Ra. Ever since she found this stupid sword, she's had vision after vision of this place, recalling the memories she's tried to repress in order to move on with her life. Nothing about her memories brought her any joy, only more suffering.

Sure enough, she was positive she was watching another memory as she saw her younger self casually walking down a hallway, looking about twelve years old at the time-

Something was wrong. A lot of things were wrong about this. One, whenever she had a vision, she wasn't on the outside looking in, all of her visions were from her direct point of view. Here, she saw her own two hands, feet, and self, as if she was truly there in person. Whatever she saw back then she saw now, and the only peace she had from this was the inability to feel anything physically she went through.

Two, her visions used to have a closer chronological memory to them. Her visions usually split between weeks to months apart from each other, and sometimes a couple days in-between. Right now, she was looking at her twelve year old self, with the typical casual attitude and uncaringness she usually had, and was certain of that seeing how she was about twice the size she knew herself to be the last time she had a vision.

Finally, the third problem came in the form of what she heard next.

"What's going on here?" The question nearly made Catra jump where she stood at the sound of the familiar voice. It wasn't anything uncommon to the young feline, having heard the voice all throughout her life. No, what troubled her was the fact she was hearing it right next to her, seeing the speaker right next to her.

There, Adora stood, watching in disbelief as she saw another Catra walking down the halls while the original one was still standing right beside her.

She was sharing in her vision.

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**A/N: Oooooooooh boy, here we go. We havent even gotten to the feely parts yet and I'm already terrified T_T... At least i'll have fun with the visions/memories I include myself ^^ and you guys will too!...until you all see what it amounts to...*gulp*** _

_**Anyway! Hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!** _


	42. Episode 11: Promise Part 2

_**A/N: As you can imagine, had quite a bit of fun with this one as we got our first two memory flashbacks in this episode ^^ Might be a little rushed towards the end but did it to the best of my ability with the last 3k words i needed within an hour.** _

 

_**Hoping everyone is enjoying the episode so far as the emotions continue to torture- I mean fill you with all sorts of lovey dovey feelings that will in no way end in a horrific tragedy ^^.......O_O............** _

 

_**ENJOY!** _

 

_**...** _

 

_**...** _

 

_**...** _

 

 

 

 

"What kind of game are you playing here, Catra?" Adora interrogated as she pressed her against the wall.

"Whoa, easy!" Catra threw her hands up defensively. "What makes you think I know what's going on?"

"Well, let's see. You appear to know more about this place than I do, you know I did something to trigger that alarm earlier, and this entire place lit up after you said something to that glowing dot, so you tell me." That was a general way to describe the events of the last hour.

This might've been the craziest start to any of Catra's adventures, and given all that's happened up till now, that was saying a lot.

Upon arrival, Catra was instantly taken in with this place as she explored the narrow hallways and the grand rooms. She had a set goal in mind in order to find some way to get some training to control her She-Ra powers, in the hopes of finding a way to heal Glimmer from her glitching malfunction, as well as possibly find some answers behind everything that's happened.

Unbeknownst to her at the time, she was being trailed by a dear friend known as Adora, Force Captain of the Horde, and the one who's always been by her side no matter how far apart they were. She was here with her own set of goals, under the lines of trying to find something here to bring back to the Horde to make amends for assisting in the princess's escape as well as, unintentionally, allowing Catra to reclaim her sword. She needed to find something of equal or greater value to make amends within a week, or she would have to face Lord Hordak's judgement for her failures.

After entering the great chambers of the citadel, Catra was greeted by another hologram at the center of the magnificent room. Despite her constant attempts at questioning the holographic being and trying to get some answers around here, the person within the hologram met every question with another question, incapable of processing any of Catra's inquiries for some reason. During the same time, Adora explored the room in the hopes of finding some great relic to return to the Horde.

After bantering with the strange hologram for a few minutes, she found herself being scanned by the control module the hologram derived from, right as Adora came across a small device seated within a pedestal, one that appeared to be powering the entire complex. Thinking nothing of it, she apprehended the device right as Catra's scanning had came to an end.

And that's when everything started to go bad.

No sooner had the timely events played out, the entire citadel initiated a lock down procedure, one that Catra was rather accustomed to during the first day of her new life. As opposed to simply locking the doors in on them like the previous one did, this one had the misfortune of coming prepared with terrifying mechanical spider-like creatures that descended from the darkened hallways, giving chase to the duo who tried to escape.

With some effort, the two managed to cut themselves off from the creatures after caving in one of the narrow hallways. With their path cut off and the creatures gathering on the other side, the two were forced to band together as they traveled the mysterious ruins of the First Ones, their past mistakes weighing heavily on each other's minds for what little time they tried to talk to one another in the narrow path.

Eventually, the two found themselves in a darkened room with their only entryway closed off, enclosing them in perfect darkness. From there, the rest became history as, no sooner had that happened, they came upon a strange light that somehow transported them back to the Fright Zone. At first thinking it was just another one of her conveniently timed visions haunting her again, Catra quickly became aware that this vision, if she could even call it that by now, was being shared with Adora as well, the two of them finding themselves where they now stood.

"Do you think I'd be refusing to answer you if I knew what was going on?" Catra retorted. "How do I know this isn't yours or Shadow Weaver's doing?"

"Why would I be asking you this if I knew Shadow Weaver had anything to do with it? And," Adora paused as she looked back down the hallway, "why is there another you over there?"

That was the very crux of the matter and the confusion that swarmed the two girls. Not only did the two find themselves back in the Fright Zone, but for whatever reason, there was now another Catra casually walking down the hallway, this one appearing to be about twelve years old at the time.

"I don't know?" Catra shrugged, brushing Adora off her. "Why don't we ask?" Catra's suggestion was met with no resistance on Adora's end, the blonde teenager wanting to understand as much as Catra did at that moment. With an uneasy wave, Catra greeted the younger self as she approached. "Hey, faker, I want to know-"

* _zzz_ *

"Huh?" Both of the two girls were caught off guard at that. Instead of responding in any sort of way to Catra's call or deciding to ignore and walk around her, the mysterious Catra, instead, walked right through her, giving off an electrical sparkling sound as it zoned out for a bit, and materialized wholly a few seconds after.

Checking around the area more closely, Adora noticed as other parts of the hallway had a small distorted configuration to them every couple of seconds, glitching a bit as the Catra copy did. "Catra, I think this is-"

"Fake." Catra finished. It was clear as day as the answers stood right in front of them and surrounded them on all sides. From the glitching walls to the non-transparent hologram that walked right through her, nothing within this place was real, save for a few walls neither of the two could pass through, Catra testing the nearby wall in order to find out. "All of it's fake."

"But then... why is there another you-"

* _thud_ *

_"Ow!" The twelve-year-old Catra yelped as she felt something collide into her right knee._

_"Oww..." Looking back to the assaulter, Catra showed little concern for the young four-year-old girl who was rubbing her forehead._

_"Watch where you're going, you little brat!" She hissed._

_"Mmmhhh..." Unsurprisingly, the little bout of anger coming from the shouting magicat was enough to already send the little girl into tears, water creeping on the edges of her eyes as she sniffled._

_"Catra!" The voice of the caller already sent worry down Catra's spine as she drooped, shifting her eyes off to the side as an irritated Adora came marching down the hallways. "That's no way to treat a kid!"_

_"S... Sorry..." She mumble uncaringly, rolling her eyes as Adora came up to the young girl, kneeling in front of her. "But she started it!"_

_Ignoring the accuser, Adora gave a comforting smile to the young girl as she stroked her head softly. "Hey, are you okay?" She asked, watching the little girl sniffling in front of her as gave a small nod. "Now, why were you running down the hallways? You know there's people-" Inspecting the girl closer, she noticed a bluish mark on the top of her forehead, putting the evidence together as she gave a stern glare back to her friend. "Catra, you didn't have to hit this girl!"_

_"What? I didn't touch the brat! She's the one that ran into me, remember?"_

_"Then how did-"_

_"Hey, you!" The three turned their attention down the hallway as they saw one of the patrol guards speeding up their way on foot. Seeing the masked guard, the little girl gave out a small shriek of fear as she jumped back to her feet, hugging onto the nice blonde lady for dear life. "There you are!"_

_"What's going on here?" Adora asked as she lifted the girl in her arms, the small child burying her face into Adora's shoulder for protection._

_"This little pipsqueak drew all over the walls down the hallways outside of the children's room! She covered the entire hallway from left to right in black marker!" He explained angrily._

_"So that gives you the right to hit a child?" Adora yelled back defensively, patting the little girl's back. She didn't care if she only came up to three-fourths of the guard's height. She wasn't going to sit back and let someone hit a girl like this for no reason._

_"It's called discipline! And I only did it because she kicked me in the shin after trying to get her to clean it up for ten straight minutes!"_

_"So what? That doesn't mean you hit a kid who's a fourth of your size!" She gave another warm smile as she leaned the girl over a little so she could get a better look at her teary face. "Hey, what's your name?"_

_"A-Ami." The girl sniffled as she cried, trying to wipe her tears in her sleeves._

_"Ami, huh? That's a pretty name." Catra never found herself wanting to hurl as badly as she did now. It was just like Adora to stick her nose into other peoples' problems, even when they didn't concern her. Patting the girl's head, she continued, "Now Ami, you know what you did was wrong, right?"_

_"Uh-huh..." She sniffled again._

_"These guards work every day around here, and they can't be distracted by people drawing pictures on the walls. They have very important jobs here by keeping us safe."_

_"B-But we don't have mush construction paper around here ta draw on." She lisped._

_"Oh, really?" She gave a playful look of surprise as she set the girl on her feet, taking her hand. "Then how about I help you find some more paper to play with after we both go clean that wall, okay? And after that, I'll sneak you in a cookie if you don't tell the guard!" She said purposely out loud, eliciting a small giggle out of the little girl._

_"M'kay!" The chipper four year old nodded as Adora lead the two of them down the hallway, intending to assist the young girl in cleaning her mischief. The guard shook his head at the disgusting display. Signs of affection and comfort went on to make people weak, not stronger. She would've berated the older girl for giving the younger one any sign of positive attention like that after what she did if it wasn't for the fact she fixed his problems for him._

_That was when he found himself getting tackled to the ground, finding an aggressive-looking magicat glaring at him with her claws stretched out._

_"If you touch that girl ever again, I'll make sure you have to walk in crutches for the next month!" She threatened._

_"...Really...?" There was no hint of fear in the guard's voice as he raised an eyebrow behind his mask. With little to no effort, the guard quickly flipped the kid off him grabbed hold of the back of her shirt's collar, and pinned her against the wall, pinning her neck with one arm as he pulled out his stun baton in the other._

_"Agh!" Catra grumbled, trying to break free of the guard's grip. It wasn't too surprising to see the young magicat had a severe disadvantage against the full-grown adult figure, seeing how she barely came up to his chest at her height._

_"Did you know I can throw you in the hole for a day **and**  beat you for attacking and threatening a guard?" He sneered. "At your age, there aren't any regulations about how physical I can get about it either!"_

_"Ngh... yeah, but Adora might not like it." She smirked back, earning a look of confusion from the older male._

_"Adora?"_

_"Yeah, you know? The blonde girl over there? The one who helped that kid?... Shadow Weaver's **favorite**?"_

_"Y-You wouldn't..." She took great joy at the sound of his fear rising out of his throat._

_"All I have to do is say one little word to Adora, then she'll say something to Shadow Weaver, and then I doubt she'll have anything to **say**  to you, if you catch my meaning..." At this, the guard dropped the magicat as he backed away from her, trembling a little._

_Every guard within the Fright Zone knew of Shadow Weaver, and the girl she treasured out of all the children that grew up here by the name of Adora. Everyone feared what would happen if they ever laid a hand on the young girl, with some of those unfortunate or uninformed enough to have gone missing after enticing Shadow Weaver's wrath. There was one child they never wanted to mess with within the Fright Zone, and her name was Adora._

_"So," Catra said with a smug grin, "why don't you pick yourself up like a good little soldier, make your way down the halls, and continue on with your life before I start to get bored?"_

_"Ghhhh..." The guard was smart enough not to smack the girl right then and there, opting to take the obvious advice with less dignity than he previously had, and shaking his head down the way._

_Watching the guard continuing to sulk his way down the hallways like that filled Catra with a typical sense of pride, one she was used to whenever she had Adora as one of her friends. With her around, life was easier within the Horde. People didn't backtalk to her these days, guards were less inclined to hit her whenever her friend was around, and everyone let Catra have her way, or at least say what she wanted to, without a second thought._

_With that, Catra let out a taunting hum to herself, feeling accomplished, as she turned around to walk back._

_Coming face to face with a smirking Adora who had a raised brow and the little girl looking up curiously at the mean twelve year old. "W-What?"_

_"See?" Adora spoke down to Ami. "I told you the big mean monster is actually a softhearted kitty." She took great amusement to see Catra standing up for the young girl despite her aggressive appearance when she met Ami the first time._

_"W-Who are you calling soft?!" Catra grumbled, looking away with a small blush on her face. "I-I was just making sure that bozo knew not to mess with us, that's all."_

_"Yeah, and I got to show Ami the big meanie she was scared of was actually a wittle kitty." Adora cooed, pinching Catra's cheeks._

_"K-Knock it off!" Catra yelped, slapping her hand away in embarrassment. The little girl actually began to giggle a little at this, something Catra knew she couldn't scold her for with Adora around. And that's if she wanted to in the first place. "What are you still doing here, anyway?"_

_"What do you think? We're waiting for you to come help us clean the wall!" Adora informed with a casual smile on her face, much to Catar's dismay._

_"What? Why do I have to help?"_

_"Because Ami wanted to thank you for scaring away the big bully, right Ami?" Instead of getting any word out of the girl, Catra looked down to see the excited four year old holding her hand up to her, wanting to take magicat's hand, furthering her embarrassment._

_Groaning audibly to the two, Catra rolled her eyes as she resigned herself to the annoying fate of cleaning up someone else's mess with them. "Fine, but we better all be getting treats after this!" She warned, taking the little girl's hand into her right hand as the three walked down the hallway. Ami could be found walking between the two with a happy smile on her face._

_"Yeah, more cookies!" The girl cheered._

_"We'll see." Adora replied, smiling down at the young girl who seemed fascinated with the cat-like girl instead of fearful._

_"I want a tail when I grow up!"_

_"Heh, trust me squirt, you have to be pretty awesome to be in my league."_

_"Oh, so now there's a signup somewhere if we want to turn into a soft little kitty?" She teased._

_"I'll have you know people like me are one in a million! Why, Adora tried signing up to be like me once, but I had to turn her down because she wasn't awesome enough."_

_"Yeah, thank goodness for us she's only one in a million, or else the entire Horde would've been destroyed a long time ago."_

_"Hey!"_

_"Hahahaha~" The duo continued to banter and tease each other back and forth as they laughed along the way downed the darkened hallways. No matter what the two thought of each other, they could always count on each other to be there for them and to support them whenever the situation called for it. They didn't have to worry about their enemies or the people surrounding them as long as they were a team._

_They would always be there for each other, hand in hand, for whatever future awaited them._

...

"Hahahaha! Exiting through the darkness, the original Catra and Adora found themselves back in the citadel's hallways, back to their original size and outfits, as they returned to their reality. It took them a few seconds of walking to finally remember where they were, the entire experience they came across feeling like a dream they both shared, waking up to the brand new reality they were in mere moments ago.

It took them a short while to get their bearings again, blinking to themselves as they observed their surroundings. When the two finally met eye to eye, they both had a small blush as the little girl they traveled with was nowhere to be seen, and they weren't holding anyone else's hands except for each others.

"Wha..." Catra shook her head as she freed her hand, rubbing it a bit as if to make sure it was really there. "What just happened?"

" I..." Adora examined her surroundings, noticing how they returned to the citadel after their recent experience. "I... I think that was a simulation."

"A simulation?"

"It's tapping into our memories." What kind of worldly wonders was this place capable of? "When it scanned us, it must've made copies of our memories and displayed them for us."

"Why on Etheria would it do that?" As she asked this, Catra knocked her fist against the walls surrounding them, making sure these ones were real compared to the virtual ones they recently exited form. "Is it trying to mess with our heads or make us go insane?"

"I don't know. I think we should be careful though." Adora warned, setting her hand calmly on Catra's shoulder. "Whenever one of these things memories occur, I think it places us in a trance. I wasn't even aware of what I was doing until it ended."

"Then that's all the more reason to get out of here asap, isn't it?" Catra commented as she walked on ahead. She had enough of these stupid visions and memories in her own mind, she didn't need anyone else sharing in her memories like Adora did. It was around that moment that she looked back, noticing how Adora was standing in place. "Adora?"

She was smiling a little. "Heh... It was nice." There was a pleasant look on her face, one that Catra hadn't seen in awhile. Why was she smiling now of all times? Wasn't she concerned over all the events that have taken place since coming here? What did she have to be so happy about all of a sudden?

"What's nice?"

"That little memory we had there." She answered as she walked down the hallway with her. "It reminded me of the times I got to see you like no one else did."

"What do you mean see me like no one else did?" Catra was confused by the vague tone in her voice. Catra didn't see anything different from back then, so how could Adora? "Like how?"

"Like someone with a good heart." Catra was taken back by this remark as Adora smiled to her. "You always put on a tough exterior growing up. You barely showed anyone else the same kindness like you showed me, and when you did it was nice to see."

"Yeah, well, you were the only one who was nice to me growing up." Catra muttered. "Of course I was going to be nicer to you. We were friends."

"...Huh..."

"What?" Catra watched as her friend walked up to her at that, staring into her eyes until she started pulling at her ears. "Ahh! Hey!" She yelped, pulling her hands away. "What are you doing?"

"Okay, who are you?" Adora asked, grinning. "That seemed waaay to open for someone like you to say."

"S-Shut uuup..." Catra blushed as she tried to pull away from the conversation. "I've been getting hounded by this touchy feely junk since I joined the Rebellion, alright? I'm not used to it."

"Right... the Rebellion..." Adora's face slowly hardened again as she walked. "You still haven't explained to me why you joined them in the first place, Catra. Not the truth, at least."

"What do you want me to say, Adora? That I didn't like it in the Horde anymore? That I wanted something better?" She scoffed. "It wasn't even my intention to join them when I left that day, okay? I just... kind of owed them after they saved me."

"So they save you once and you're friends for life?" Adora could already tell there were a hundred issues behind Catra's one explanation. "That's all you did it for?"

"No," Catra groaned, "I didn't even like them for the last couple months! It's just..." There was a cold sadness in Catra's eyes as she hugged herself. "I can't go back on someone when I owe them, okay? I can't make that mistake again..."

"Mistake?" Why did that sound familiar to her? There were plenty of mistakes the two made in the past growing up in the Horde. Sometimes it was a simple mistake in a lesson or training exercise, at others it was pulling off a prank that resulted in one of several fires. Judging from the familiar look in her eye, however, there was one mistake Adora remembered above all else. "Are you talking about...  _that_?" Catra's brief silence was all the confirmation she needed.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Catra, I already told you, I forgive you!" Adora cut her off as she stood in front of her. "I never blamed you for that incident, remember? It was a complete and total accident! If anything it was as much my fault for agreeing to go with you-"

"It doesn't matter!" Catra snapped back, pushing passed her. "You got hurt because I didn't help someone I owed, all because I thought their favor was pointless." There was a chill emanating from the torn girl, weighing down upon Adora's own shoulders as she spoke to her. "I don't want to talk about it anymore, Adora. Let's just get out of here while we still can, all right?"

Adore watched in dismay as Catra trudged herself through the hallway. Why did she continue to let the incident torment her so much? Did she harbor some grudge with herself and Adora because of it? Did she... blame Adora personally because of it? To go out of the way for the sake of a past mistake, to the point of betraying her allies... How much blame and anger did she harbor? And to whom?

There was still one other issue tormenting Adora's mind. "Say, Catra-"

"I don't want to talk about it, Adora." Catra repeated as the girl followed behind her.

"No, not that. I wanted to ask you about something else."

"What?"

"...Back there, with the guard... why exactly did you use my name to threaten him?" Catra's rage subsided a little at this.

"What do you think? Back then no one would dare to mess with you, they were all too scared of Shadow Weaver." That was an understatement of the obvious. Nobody crossed Shadow Weaver, be they loyal, guard, child, or other. To incite Shadow Weaver's wrath was like asking for a death sentence, one that made people beg to be put out of their misery in a different way than her own methods. Everything Shadow Weaver did was to instill pain in fear to those surrounding her. She was like the boogeyman to children, the demon to the fellow soldiers. Not many people could say they ever got on her bad side and lived to tell about it.

"I know, it's just..."

"Just what?"

"... Never mind." Now Catra was the one confused about what was on Adora's mind. What was she getting at? What was she about to say?

The same questions concerned Adora's mind as she thought about it. How often did Catra use her name against the people that picked on her? Did she use it against her bullies and tormentors too? There were plenty of people that picked on her through the Horde, maybe more than Adora was aware of. But how often did Catra resort to using Adora's name like a threat? How many people did she frighten buy simply uttering her name?

...How many people feared Adora because of her?

...

Coming up to the next room, the duo found themselves surrounded by a massive circular room with over a dozen hallways connecting to it, leading to the various paths and mysterious other rooms this place had to offer. Within the center of the colossal room, the two found a gigantic pillar strewn across the middle of a seemingly-bottomless pit, one that descended into light instead of darkness.

"Where do we go from here?" Adora asked looking around.

"Over the giant hole?" Catra suggested, taking the lead as she hopped atop the massive platform. "I have a feeling we should go across that way."

"What makes you think it's this way?"

Catra waited until her friend managed to pull herself up before continuing. "I don't know, it's a feeling I have, I guess?" She peered down towards the empty chasm, wondering to herself far it truly dropped. "Since I joined the Rebellion, I've had a bunch of these weird feelings in my head from time to time. I never understand them when they pop up, but they've helped when they were truly needed. Like in Salineas when I repaired the barrier's generator."

"Mmmh..." Catra should've known she struck a nerve when she mentioned Salineas. Nobody ever wanted to recall an experience where they almost killed their friend, regardless of reasons.

"... Since I answered one of yours now, can you answer mine?"

"Does it involve Salineas?" Adora asked knowing.

"...Kinda..." Unsurprisingly, Adora sighed at this.

"Huff, what do you want to know?"

"Not really about Salineas, but with that headband." She clarified. "What exactly goes through your head when you wear it? Why does it make you go crazy one moment then emotionless the next?"

"It doesn't exactly make me do either, Catra. The headband magnifies my entire body, physically, and emotionally. Any time I get so much as a chuckle, it winds up into full-blown laughter, and when I get the slightest irritation, I burst out into rage." The Force Captain stared at her hands at that, flexing them as she remembered how it held when she almost did...  _that_... to Catra. "I never meant to hurt you that day Catra, not like that."

"I know." the magicat replied hopping off the other end of the long bridge, "you never usually try to hurt anybody." She waited and watched as she made her way off the platform safely. "Which is why I want to know how you could torture Glimmer like that?"

"That... That's the other drawback I've suffered from this. After what happened in Salineas, I had Shadow Weaver train me in using the headband so I could use it without feeling anything, so I wouldn't lose control of myself the next time we... you know..." The guilt was raining over Adora like a stormy afternoon as Catra stared at her. "Since then, I've barely felt anything when wearing the headband. I don't feel joy, sadness, I barely feel anger anymore, and... It helped me, Catra." Another shot of pain rang through her eyes. "I felt peaceful with it, Catra. I... I've been under a lot of stress since you left."

"You? Stressed?" There was a bit of skepticism in Catra's smug attitude. Throughout Catra's entire journey, not once did she consider how Adora was keeping a hold on things on her end of the deal. She always thought she was going through her life as she normally did, with a smile on her face and without a care in the world. Considering how she was the favorite between the two, she didn't think she would have to deal with anyone harassing and bullying her like they did with Catra. "Like, what? Are they cutting your bathroom breaks in half or something-?"

"I've been worrying about you, okay!" She stated, shoving Catra's cocky attitude down her throat. "I've been defending you ever since you left the Horde, more than you could imagine, Catra. I haven't allowed anyone to spread false rumors about you, I've been doing everything to lighten whatever punishment you might receive if you were ever captured. I've been doing all of that on top of the missions I've been in charge of throughout the Horde, doing everything I can to accomplish them peacefully! I've been working non-stop, for you and for the Horde, Catra. I've... I've never been so tired in my life before."

"I..." Silence. Painful, agonizing, silence, escaped from Catra's lips. How was she supposed to respond to that now? To any of that for that matter?

She's been working so hard to keep Catra safe all by herself while also dealing with the responsibilities of being a Force Captain? Why did she fret so much over both her responsibilities and keeping Catra safe? She didn't have to do both if it put so much pressure on her, she didn't expect her to. She shouldn't have bothered spending so much time punishing herself like this if it meant she would be an emotional and physical wreck.

There were only two words that came to her mind. "I'm sorry..." Adora turned away at this, even as Catra tried placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I didn't know, okay?" She found Adora's own silence to be too unnerving for her, the sense of guilt hanging over her head further and further. "...I would've come back for you if I knew you were having so much trouble."

For the first time since the start of their current adventure today, Adora found a speck of hope. "R... Really?" The small smile she gave her with a nod filled her with a sense of assurance. After being apart for so long, it felt refreshing to hear something resembling kindness from her old friend. "...Tch...Pft...Pfffffffft! Ahahahahhaaa!" All the drama and seriousness of the situation instantly came to a halt as Catra watched Adora hold her gut, bursting out with laughter.

"What? What's so funny?"

"Pfffft, hehehehe!" Adora swore she was almost tearing up at all of this. "Oh my gosh, who are you? The Catra I remember wasn't this lame!" She joked, growing another mad blush over Catra's face.

"Lame?!" Growling, Adora found herself suddenly getting tackled by the young magicat until they were against the ground. How dare she think of her as lame when she's trying to be serious for once! She was being emotional like she never had been in the past, and Adora decided to poke and laugh at her? Maybe she won't be feeling so giddy if Catra swiped at her a few times, even if it was playful!

The two found each other poking one another back and forth like this for nearly a minute, getting back to their feet as they played around. They couldn't remember the last time they found so much fun in their present situation, chuckling and laughing at all the fun they were having, even at the expense of their own safety. It was just like the old days when it was just the two of them, enjoying themselves despite where they were, and making the most fun whenever they could have it.

The two were so wrapped up in their playfulness they were unaware of their surroundings until Adora fell through a holographic wall, causing Catra to let out a gasp. "Adora!" She panicked, rushing straight through the wall. With this place playing tricks on their minds and creating holographic illusions that seemed all too real, there was no telling what horrors awaited on the other side...

...

_"Oof!" A nine-year-old Catra let out a yelp as she fell behind some boxes. The younger magicat poked her head out from behind, wearing an army helmet, checking the coast of the loading bay, making sure everything was safe and secure for their top secret mission! There was one guard patrolling the other side of the wall and nothing else, save for the security cameras the two were completely unaware of._

_Everything about this mission had to go off without a hitch, or the fatalities would be catastrophic! Using all of their training and future insight, they made the necessary preparations they were taught in all their lessons and training exercises._

_Step 1: Make sure they knew their target and everything about it. Their target was in one of the many Loading Bays of the Fright Zone._

_Step 2: Scope out and plan the mission accordingly, as they would only get one shot! They kept tabs on the Loading Bay for over a week by now, and that seemed like plenty of time necessary to formulate a plan._

_Step 3: Make all the necessary preparations before committing to the plan! They got all their necessities, took time to draw out a blueprint of the place with any crayons they could find, and got the keys to their victory that would make the payoff all the more greater!_

_What was the payoff? Why, to have fun of course!_

_"Agent Sharp Claws calling Flower Head!" Catra whispered into her walkie-talkie. "Do you read me Flower-Head?"_

_From the other side of the Loading Bay stood Adora, the young child leaning against a large stack of crates as she peeked around the corner. "Flower-Head, over. Hey Catra, why do you get the cool nickname and I have to be nicknamed "Flower-Head" of all things?"_

_"Because it's my mission, remember?"_

_"Yeah, but why can't I have something else like "Sun Soldier", or "Princess Destroyer" or something?"_

_"Because, since I made the mission, that makes you the sidekick, and sidekicks always have to have worse names. Besides, I'm too cool to have any weird names. There's nothing fitting-"_

_"What about Whiskers?" Adora teased, taking cover for a brief moment as a guard passed her on the other side of the crate._

_"What? No!"_

_"Or maybe Kitty Burglar?"_

_"Ok, that's just lame-"_

_"Or why not Mouse Chaser!"_

_"That was one time!" Catra groaned to herself as she heard Adora chuckling on the other side of the walkie-talkie. "Whatever. Do you have the keys?"_

_"Yup!" Adora replied, digging through her pockets to ensure she had the keys she was referring to. "You got the rope?"_

_"Right here." Catra grinned to herself as she pulled a rope from behind her cover. "Are you ready?"_

_"Ready when you are!"_

_With a nod that both of them could feel the other one giving, they went to work as Adora left the walkie-talkie where she was. The two made their separate ways over behind the various barres and crates that littered the loading docks. With all the planning and preparation the two spent up to this point, they were more than excited to see one of their first missions pulled off without a hitch! After all, what better mission could there be than the one they came up with themselves?_

_...Well, technically Catra came up with it, not that it mattered at this point. All the friends were concerned with was seeing this mission through, no matter how many lives they had to sacrifice! For the greater good, they needed this mission to go through, or they might never get a shot at this again, the chance of a lifetime!_

_What better way to spend an afternoon than stealing their very first skiff!_

_Making their way towards the center of the room, the two waited for the other one to appear on the other side of the loading dock, giving a look once they each saw the other in their position. Checking the coast one more time, Catra gave the young blonde girl a nod, to which Adora nodded back._

_Everything was in position. Now was the time for action!_

_Taking a look at the guard, noticing he was at the loading docks themselves, Adora grinned as she grabbed a slingshot out of her back pocket, loading a perfectly-rounded rock in the sling as she prepared to fire. Aiming up her target right between the two prongs of the sling, Adora gave one solid grin as she fired._

_* **Whack!** *_

_"Ow!" The guard could be heard yelling in pain, rubbing his head as Adora ducked in cover before he could turn around. He knew someone else had to be in the room, it was just the matter of where. "Come on out here you little brat," he growled pulling out his baton, "and I promise to make it hurt a little less!" The covered her mouth as she chuckled, pressing her back against the crate as she waited for Catra's part._

_And waited!_

_And waited._

_And... waited?_

_As the guard drew closer to the center of the Loading Bay, Adora knew something was wrong. She should've done her part now, so what was taking so long?_

_The cat in question was grumbling to herself as she shook her walkie-talkie. The guard was drawing in closer by the second towards Adora, and she knew being Shadow Weaver's favorite wouldn't protect her from a guard she attacked if she was found. The stupid walkie-talkie was buzzing on her end as she tried to get it working, shaking and pounding on the small device as she tried to clear up the static._

_"Come on you stupid thing, come on...!" Catra grumbled quietly to herself. Adora's life was on the line, and everything was resting on this very moment! And despite not seeing the guard himself, Adora began to sweat a little nervously as she felt the guard getting closer by closer. She could nearly see his shadow peeking over the top of the crate, closing her eyes in fears that she was about to be found! That was when fortune came to visit as Catra finally got a clear connection on the other end, grinning victoriously as she whispered into the talkie. "Haha, you stupid guard!"_

_"Huh?" Adora never felt so relieved in her life as she heard the massively loud speaking voice over the walkie-talkie._

_This is where the heart of their ingenious plan came together. Using the walkie-talkie Catra had, the girl continued to lure him over to where Adora previous way, taking a full right from her direction as he headed to the other side of the Loading Bay._

_"Ha, that stupid guard's never going to find me!" The guard could hear coming from the walkie-talkie, grumbling as he set his baton to stun mode. "It's no wonder they placed someone like him down here, everyone else was too smart for the job."_

_"Grrrrrrr!"_

_With the coast being clear, Catra stealthily ran for the middle of the room, being careful not to make a single sound as the guard continued towards the crate. Being as quiet as possible, she began giving her rope a good swing, spinning it around in place until she could throw it high enough into the air to reach the skiff ten feet off the ground. Thankfully for her, one throw was all the rope took as it snagged onto something, testing it's weight with a solid tug before nodding to herself, right as Adora poked her own over the crate._

_Seeing her friend giving her an assuring nod, she tiptoed her way over to the rope as Catra began climbing it. These were one of the many moments Catra was proud of her enhanced agility, the girl grinning to herself as she easily and deftly climbed the long rope without breaking a sweat. Adora was forced to wait below her until her head popped over the side of the skiff, her friend smiling down to the girl as Adora grabbed the rope._

_During that time, the guard was completely unaware of a young girl being pulled up with the rope trailing her. When he finally managed to reach the source of the annoying taunter that insulted him, and who he believed to have attacked hmi, he was rather surprised and confused by the sight of the lone walkie-talkie that lied at the ground, not a soul seen for miles around himself. And, unfortunately for him, the moment he took a look back behind himself was the exact same time Catra managed to reel Adora back up to the skiff, disappearing with the rope as the two stayed hidden behind the railings of the floating hovercraft._

_"The heck is going on around here?" The guard questioned to himself, rubbing the helmet around his head as he walked back to the center of the loading bay. From above, Catra took a quick peek over the edge as she heard him approaching from under them. Making sure the coast was clear, she nodded silently over to Adora who nodded back to her, grabbing the same slingshot she had before and aiming it towards the doorway._

_*Clunk!*_

_"What the-?" The guard nearly jumped at the sudden clacking sound that went off. Like flies to a fire, Catra watched carefully as the guard made his way over towards the entrance hall, away from the skiff itself and eventually out of sight. With the guard running out of sight, Catra gave a sly grin to Adora as her friend smiled at her._

_"...Hehehehehe!" The two chuckled celebrating their victory as they high-fived each other. There was only one word to summarize the mission overall, and that word was Success!_

_"We did it!" Adora cheered._

_*clap*_

_"See? I told you it would." Catra stretched her arms out in a relaxing manner, leaning against the skiff with a victorious smile on her face. "You really outta stop doubting me, you know?"_

_"Haha, I noticed." She's never felt so proud of her friend or their teamwork before. not when it came to the minor stuff like chores and lessons they were forced to do. Here, they proved to themselves and to anybody who would've been watching that they're the best when they're a team, and there was no one who could tear them apart! "Ok, you ready?"_

_"Ready?" Catra wondered leaning back up. "For what?"_

_"To fly it, duh!" Adora reminded as she handed her the keys._

_"O-Oh, right!" Catra chuckled nervously as she took the keys from Adora, examining them thoroughly. "I, eh... guess we should be moving on to that, huh?"_

_Adora watched curiously as Catra jingled around the keys for a bit, her curiosity growing with each passing second as she noticed Catra sorting through the keys unsuringly. "What's wrong? Don't you know how to fly the skiff?"_

_"Wha- I mean, y-yeah!" Catra assured proudly with another chuckle. "I-I mean, of course I do! You just, um..." She tried key after key as she inserted each of them into the skiff one after the other. Adora watched with a small ounce of concern for her friend, wondering if she truly knew what she was doing or not. Right as she was about to question her on it again, the two perked up at the sound of the skiff starting to hum with life, Catra's face brightening at the sight. "See? Easy!_

_"Cool!" Adora squealed as the two felt the skiff beginning to bob up and down gently in place. "So now what?"_

_"Well, you just..." Catra spoke in a slow yet calming voice, trying yo buy herself every second to figure out the controls for herself as as she did. "Um... You switch this here..." She directed to the small switch on the control module of the skiff as she flicked it, the two listening as the humming began to grow louder. "And then... unlock the break part here..." Most of what she was getting accurate was completely by chance, using the various symbols she saw around the control's displays to guide her._

_She was completely unaware at just how powerful she was making the skiff in the process._

_"And after that..." The magicat gulped silently to herself as she grabbed the handle bar that directed the ship. "You just... you know... give it a small push-_

_*FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!*_

_"Ahhhhhhhh!" The two girls let out a cry of terror as they were jettisoned from the skiff itself. Seconds after Catra pushed down on the lever did the skiff start blasting straight ahead. They were completely unprepared for the speeding skiff to take off as fast as it did as the two completely lost their balance, falling over the railings of the skiff from ten feet in the air, and landing painfully as their bodies were thrown to the ground._

_*THUD!*_

_"Owwww..." Catra moaned in pain as she collected herself a little faster than Adora did. She's never been so thankful to have something as stupid looking as an army helmet over her skull, the helmet protecting most of her head as she slammed against the floor itself. It still didn't do much for the scrapes and bruises around her, but that was the least of her worries._

_"Owwwwww..." She heard Adora whine, her ears twitching as fear took over her mind._

_"Adora!" Catra cried out, seeing her friend was a few feet away in the opposite direction. "Are you okay?" She couldn't tell how she actually was based on the few bruises and scratches she had around her. The two of them just fell from nearly ten feet in the air and landed on solid ground. For all she knew she could be having internal bleeding or her heart could've popped at any moment from the fall!_

_Luckily for her, she sighed mentally in relief as she saw Adora pick herself off the ground, rubbing her elbows soothingly to combat the pain. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine. How about you?"_

_"Heh," Catra gave a small laugh as she playfully tapped her helmet, "noggin's safe."_

_"That's goo- Uh oh!" Adora's face went deadpanned as she looked off in the direction of the speeding skiff, Catra's gaze filling with shock as she saw what got her friend so worried._

_The skiff. The very one they had practically stolen and tried to ride for their own amusement, was hurdling itself at top speeds, into the direction of another skiff that was on standby. "No no no no-!" Catra's pleas fell on deaf ears as the two watched the fireworks show that happened next._

_* **Ka-Boom!** *_

_The girls covered their heads protectively as hundreds upon thousands of little metallic bits were flung all around the room, the earth-shattering sound of an explosion filling the emptiness as a gust of wind pushed against all living and non-living things. The two skiffs caught dead center in the explosion were smoking as the heap of rubble collapsed to the ground, floor rumbling a little as the two massive heaps fell at their level._

_Adora and Catra felt every warning light in their brain telling them that they were in trouble. Here stood two nine-year-old girls who went out to have a fun time by stealing a skiff from the Loading Bay, the ones they weren't allowed to enter in the first place without adult supervision, and had gone out of their way to inadvertently crash one very expensive skiff into another very expensive skiff, not to mention the proof of injuries that showed that the two had, indeed, gotten hurt as a result._

_All they could do was stare in disbelief at the steaming rubbles and the scattered parts across the floor, both of them asking themselves about just how much trouble the two were in, and if there was any chance the two had of getting away with the crime._

_"What's going on in here?!" A voice shouted as several people entered the room._

_There chances of getting away with it had plummeted almost immediately, just like the heaps of broken skiffs that lied on the other side of the Loading Bay._

_Turning around, Adora watched on in fear as she saw the Horde Officer, Octavia, running into the room towards the two girls, her focus remaining solely on the burning rubble on the other side as two guards followed in behind her. "Someone get that fire put out right away!" She barked to the two guards who immediately ran to their target. No sooner had Adora turned from the passing guards back to the officer did she find her arm being squeezed tightly in Octavia's forceful grip._

_"Ah!" She yelped, trying to pull herself away from the painful squeeze._

_"What did you do?!" Octavia shouted angrily, bringing her face close enough to practically bite the young Adora. She already knew the two unsupervised children were the only ones who would've done something this stupid._

_"I-It was an accident, honest!" Adora replied tearing up. "W-We just wanted to try flying a skiff and we-"_

_"Do you realize what you've just done?" Octavia shouted. Unlike most of the other Horde soldiers and guards, there was little fear she had of Shadow Weaver herself, knowing she was under Lord Hordak's protection. "Do you think skiffs grow on trees?! You just destroyed two very expensive vehicles, you know! The resources for those things are hard to come by!"_

_"We didn't mean to do it, honest!" Adora cried out, looking towards her friend. "Tell her Cat-" Catra was gone. Adora blinked away the tears clearing her vision a little, trying to find where her friend had ran off too. It didn't take very long as she spotted Catra already running for the doors of Loading Bay, the magicat panting exhaustively as she powered through the painful landing and the terror she had of incurring the Horde Officer's wrath. "Catra!" Adora called out, stopping Catra in her tracks as she turned around._

_The girl looked between the two of them frantically, unable to decide what she should do. If she ran right now, she'd be able to hopefully escape whatever punishment or discipline she would have to go through, which, for her, was very physical from time to time. But that would mean she would have to leave Adora behind to fend for herself while she fled like a coward!_

_On the other hand, if she stayed with her, there was a teensy chance that she could get out of whatever physical discipline she would have to go through if she stayed by Adora's side and kept her best friend company in the midst of whatever punishment they had to dish out. That all hinged on the possibility of whether or not they actually would show leniency to her, and considering the severe crime the two committed by crashing one skiff into another, not to mention stealing the keys in the first place, there was little chance of that ever happening._

_Adora saw the face of guilt spreading across Catra's person as she teared up, staring at her friend with unease. "Catra?" She wasn't really thinking about doing that to her, was she? They were friends, they were family, they were practically sisters by this point! Surely Catra treasured that as much as she did-_

_"Mmh... I'm sorryyyyyyy!" Catra yelled as she ran down out the door, unable to face the consequences alongside her friend._

_Adora's heart sunk with regret as she watched her leave. "C... Catra?" Where was she going? She was over here, not out there! Catra would... Catra would never leave her side in this situation... right? Adora's tears started to pool up a little more as she watched her friend leave, unable to comprehend why she would leave her to fend for herself in this situation._

_"Tch, I'll deal with that brat later." Octavia hissed turning her attention back to Adora. "As for you-_

_*chomp!*_

_"Oww!" Octavia let out a painful yelp as she pulled her recently bitten hand away, blowing on it and rubbing it as she tried to soothe away the pain, all while glaring at the young blonde girl who ran down the same hallway like her friend did. "Grrrrr get back here you little brat!" She roared, giving chase even as Adora disappeared from her view._

_It didn't make any sense to her as she ran away. Why did Catra leave her like that? Was she planning on coming back later and facing her crimes? Or maybe she was actually going to get Shadow Weaver? Yes, that must be it! If she told Shadow Weaver what happened, perhaps the two could get a lighter punishment or no punishment at all! Shadow Weaver cared deeply fo Adora, so there was little chance she would allow her to be punished, and she might let Catra off the hook too if Adora put in a good word for her!_

_That was the plan, that had to be the plan. Why else would Catra try and leave Adora behind to save her own skin? She was her best friend in the world after all, and friends always had to stick together through thick and thin! It's not like she would care more about saving her own skin if Adora was the one in danger. Adora would gladly risk her life for her friend, knowing her friend would do the same for her!_

_...Right?!_

_Coming around a corner of the hallway, the young girl hastily threw herself through an open doorway, slamming the door shut behind her and backing up slowly. She didn't feel any sense of relief until she heard the angry footsteps stomping passed the door, assuring her that her would-be punisher had lost track of her._

_Sighing, the young girl winced as she felt the pain around her cheek. She was still banged up pretty bad as a result of the fall, and there were plenty of scrapes around her that she as going to have to explain to Shadow Weaver later. Checking the room she entered, she was surprised to find herself in one of the many locker rooms around this section of the Fright Zone. Over in the back she noticed a lone sink against the wall, deciding to relieve her pain a little as she walked over to it._

_She just needed a good splash of water in her face, that would solve her problems. Turning on the faucets, the girl collected as much cooling water as she could in the cup of her hands, rubbing the sores and cleaning off any scrapes she could find until they were no longer noticeable._

_Why did you leave me, Catra? Adora asked as she continued cleaning herself._

_She would need to figure things out as soon as she got out of here, and pray she was never caught later for her crimes. For now, she just focused on herself in the mirror, checking the scrapes and bruises around her face to see if anything was still noticeable._

_As it turned out, there wasn't anything noticeable... save for an older looking Adora that stared back at her reflection._

...

"Ah!" Adora screamed as she backed away from the mirror. Her surroundings had changed drastically as she found herself back in the bizarre citadel, all her memories and experiences rushing back to her as she examined her surroundings.

It looked like a perfect representation of the locker room she was in, save for the style and decor of her surroundings, as well as the actual lack of lockers to begin with. There were only a few lined up against the wall in an orderly fashion, with some strange electronic locks to actually open the lockers. Where was she at this point? Where did Catra go? And... were her eyes glowing in the mirror? All five of them?

...Wait...

...

"Huff... Huff..." Catra panted as she finished running. She couldn't remember the last time she ran so fast or so far. She was glad that...

Hold on. Where was she again? Her surroundings had changed so vastly that she hardly recognized the Fright Zone, the mere thought of it's name instantly returning her memories and experiences like Adora's had earlier. "I'm back here again?" She asked herself. She remembered back to the skiff she saw herself stealing a minute ago, staring at her own hands in disbelief and confusion.

"Did I... really leave Adora like that?" She was her friend, her best friend. She couldn't remember why she left her behind like that, and she couldn't figure out how she could do such a thing in the first place. Were these really her memories, or was this place messing with her memories or something? "...No..." She muttered to herself, recollecting everything. "I remember now..."

The memory that returned to her was a horrid one, one that made her sick to even think about it. She left her friend behind in the dust, like she had several days ago, and again several months prior to that! She left her behind for her own benefit, hoping to make things better for herself in the process, even if it meant Adora had to stay and deal with the consequences. just like she had in present day.

She was practically recreating the past all over again.

She couldn't understand herself looking back on it. Why would she leave Adora like that behind? She was her friend for crying out loud! How could she let her fear get the best of her like that? It wasn't even the memory Catra dreaded the most, being the one thing she was thankful for at this point. If she had to relieve that memory around here, she didn't know what she would do.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Her ears twitched frantically as she heard Adora's cries of terror down the hallway behind her. "Adora!"

...

"Huff... Huff..." Adora continued to stare at the mirror in fear, unable to comprehend what she had seen after she fell backwards.

"Adora!" Catra called out, rushing into the room and over to her side.

"T-Th-The-The mirror..." Adora trembled as she pointed to the glass above the sink. "T-Those things, they... I saw them staring back at me..."

"You mean those spider things?" Catra asked turning towards the mirror itself.

"One of them...One of them poked their head right out of the mirror, and almost attacked me." She explained, wobbling back to her feet. She had never been so frightened before of something unexpectedly popping out at her. "B-But it just stared at me for a few seconds, then it went back inside."

"It left?" Catra examined the mirror closely, seeing her own reflection staring back at her. There wasn't a scratch or any sign that the mirror had been moved to begin, not any that Catra could see at least. She attempted to test Adora's story as she tapped against the glass itself, finding it as solid as any other mirror or window. "You're saying it came out from here?" She asked for clarification as she looked back, gesturing to the mirror.

"Catra, I'm telling you, it was staring right at me!" The face of fear coming from the girl gave her little room to doubt, though did give Catra many questions to ponder all the same. "I saw its glowing red eyes, its gaping jaw, I was sure it was going to attack me!"

"Then why didn't it?" That was the part she couldn't understand. "These things were chasing us up to this point, so why did it suddenly back o-"

* _swish_ *

"Mhhhh!" Without warning, Catra and Adora found themselves taken by surprise as several large green sticky strands shot out from the mirror itself, wrapping around Catra's head before she had a chance to continue, covering around her mouth, her neck, and around the top of her forehead as a violent force began to pull the girl towards the mirror.

"Catra!" Adora yelled worriedly as she ran to her friend.

"Mmhhhmmhhh!" Catra shouted into her muffled mouth, trying to pull away at the sticky substance with her own two hands as Adora tried to help. No sooner had Catra threw her arms around her mouth in an attempt to pry off the green bindings did she find another layer of the green webbing thrown around her, this time covering around her torso as it pinned her arms against her face without any slack or capacity to pull them apart.

Adora panicked as the same substance coated her own hands, hastily pulling at the dreaded webbing that was drawing the two closer towards the mirror. As she did, Adora's eyes widened in horror as she saw the same creature staring back at her from behind Catra, the mechanical spider-like creature giving off a terrifying roar as Catra drew closer.

"Ahhh!" Adora's cry of fear was followed by her freedom as the sticky webbing finally pulled free of her hands, sending her back towards the ground with a harsh thud. Clearing what little daze she had from the fall, she attempted to rush back to her feet to grab onto her friend again, only to find her own bindings weren't as free as she had thought .The sticky web had coated around Adora's hands, pinning the girl to the ground as she struggled for her and, more importantly, Catra's life. "Catra!"

Any tears and show of concern on the girl's face was brought to an abrupt end as Catra was pulled off her feet, being dragged through the mirror as she flailed around her legs for dear life. "Mhmhmhhhh!" Catra tried to call out. Planting her foot against the ground, Adora gave one final pull of the mighty webbing, mustering all her strength as she finally freed herself of the web's clutches.

Too little, too late.

"Catraaaaaa!" Adora cried out again as she ran for the mirror. It didn't make a spot of difference unfortunately. By the time Adora had reached the mirror, Catra was completely gone. The distraught Force Captain pounded against the mirror, hoping that whatever force compelled Catra to be taken was listening to her, begging to anyone that could hear her to open up the mirror again and give her best friend back.

Reality was a much crueler mistress, sadly enough. No amount of tears, crying, or screaming could force the mirror's window to open again. All she could do was watch helplessly as Catra was dragged away through the darkness...

 

 

_**...** _

 

_**...** _

 

_**...** _

 

_**A/N: As said, had to rush the bottom portion a bit, but thankfully it's done! We're about halfway through the episode, and the closer I draw towards the end, i notice something here and there about the episode that seems rather... suspicious to me.... I'll leave those thoughts to myself though. I also hope I can make the payoff as grand as possible as we reach our grand revelation between the two girls as well as whatever future awaits them...** _

 

_**So! Hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!** _


	43. Episode 11: Promise Part 3

_**A/N: Hoooooooofgolly almighty, it's been awhile folks! Hope you guys all had a great Easter, mine was fun on my end (aside from working during it but besides that P_P...)** _

_**I gotta tell ya, this one was a little hard to write. Why? Idk. Every time i kept coming to it I kept getting some annoying stall that was going on. Idk, maybe it was because I was subconsciously afraid of what I knew was coming or something else. All I know is that I already watched the first scene of tragedy involving Catra and that ripped my heart to shreds so I'm not looking forward to watching the rest of it... which I actually won't have to! Cause it'll be changed heavily, at least up until the very last minute.** _

_**Overall, a huge shoutout to those who were worried and wondering where I am! No worries folks, I'm perfectly fine, minus the perfectly, and the show must go on ^^...ESPECIALLY SINCE I HAVE TO FORCE MYSELF NOT TO WATCH IT WHEN SEASON 2 COMES OUT FRIDAY X(! stupid writers block... I am hoping to get the next part out by today too, and if that is the case, don't expect much, as there's basically 3-4 minutes left of the show. As always i'll try to keep it nice and long like you guys like it (presumably), but overall wish me luck!** _

_**Enjoy!** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

"Mhmhmmmmmmh!" Catra let out a muffled scream as she shouted through the sticky webbing that enclosed her. She was helpless to stop herself as she was being dragged away by the giant spider-like machine, struggling to tear life as her body was practically covered from head to toe in the green webs. Ankles, knees, thighs, her arms pinned to her side by the elbows where she could get any slack, and her hands wrapped tightly against her own throat.

After all her adventures and time in the woods on multiple occasions, usually whenever she's crossing them with Bow and Glimmer to wherever their next adventure took them, she's surprised it took her this long to find herself about to be eaten by a giant spider, or whatever this monstrosity had in store for her. And somehow it still wasn't the weirdest part of her day so far.

Ever since she arrived to this place, this supposed Beacon of the First Ones, everything has either been a confusing nightmare, an emotional roller coaster, or, most of the time, usually both. She thought her problems were going to be limited by the fact Adora found her way to this sacred place. Then she thought the bad luck that usually ensued from thinking those positive thoughts would leave her to deal with the giant mechanical spiders that hunted the two since then.

But nope. It got worse.

After escaping the monstrous creatures the first time around, she and Adora found themselves haunted by their past life as they began to relive realistic simulations of their memories. Why was it doing this in the first place? Neither of them could understand that. All they knew was that whenever they found themselves within these simulations, they lost touch with all train of reality, and never realized it until after the simulation had ended.

It was a rather nice cutaway for the two friends who continued to chat throughout their journey through this place. There were plenty of emotions going between the two girls as they chatted back and forth, arguing about their past mistakes and what lead them to what they were doing now. Suffice to say, things were going... actually pretty well, all things considered. The two eventually found themselves playing with each other for a solid minute as they made their way through the massive complex in search of a way out. It also gave rise to a new list of concerns and wonders neither of the two truly thought about until recently.

For Catra, it was the mystery of her own actions. Since accepting Bow and Glimmer's friendship, she's been swarmed with a new flux of different emotions she wasn't used to, ones she tried to repress for the sake of keeping people away. She felt burdened with guilt, regret, confusion, sorrow, frustration, so many negative thoughts and feelings behind the actions she committed in the past.

Why didn't she go back for Adora after all this time? Why did she leave her behind when she needed her that one time after they crashed a skiff? Was that what she was really like anymore? She could hardly recognize the self she used to be, not after all the positive emotions and feedback she was given by her two new friends. She almost felt like a complete stranger to herself here and there, seeing the way she used to treat Adora, along with the way she never went back for her in the Fright Zone.

Maybe that's why Karma decided to pick on her now of all times, because no sooner had the last simulation ended did Catra hear screaming, running to the source of Adora's voice in the hopes of rescuing her. Instead of finding herself in any sort of peril, she found herself falling into a malevolent trap as her back was turned, finding herself tied up and dragged through a mirror-like opening that closed off almost immediately after Catra was pulled through, leaving Adora to the unknown.

Which is what Catra would've preferred being in at this point since it seemed more likely Adora would survive on her side of things. She continued to grumble and moan for dear life as she tried pulling herself out of the incredibly nightmarish wrappings, finding all of her limbs encased in the strong substance she couldn't break herself out from.  _I gotta be able to move something, come on!_  Catra screamed to herself, knowing an untimely fate would await her if she was dragged into the darkness.

 _I can't move my feet, my arms, or my stupid tail... There's gotta be something..._  All her appendages were thoroughly secure, ensuring the prey wouldn't escape its trap until the spider decided to let her go itself, and the chances of that happening were getting slimmer with each toss and turn. trying to find any piece of her that was loose enough to no avail. She couldn't pull anything away and she couldn't push anything apart.  _Come on, think! Something has to be loose enough to...!_  And then it struck her.  _The sword!_

The Sword of Protection, the one item that made Catra She-Ra in this world. Shifting her eyes over to it, she sighed in relief as she saw it was still in it's sheathe. Being covered by the sticky substance itself, that meant the blade could be pried from its casing with a single pull, one strong enough to slice the top half of her webbing away and free her arms. She just needed to get her hands a little closer to the hilt so she could pull it.

 _Come on... come on...!_  Up ahead she could see the darkness getting closer, knowing once she reached it, it could spell the end of her. With a mighty growl, trying to give herself enough slack to stretch her fingers closer to the hilt, she used all the strength she could manage to pull her torso upwards in one grand tug, allowing the spider-like creature to loosen it's webbing long enough for her to reach the hilt.

* _swiff!_ *

"AaaahhHHH!" Catra roared at the top of her lunged as she managed to slice away at the sticky bondages as she pulled the sword right out of her sheathe, cutting the top layer surrounding her torso away as well as cutting the webbing the spider was dragging her by. From there, Catra wasted no time scratching away at the greenish web until she was finally free, screaming angrily and ferociously as she got the last of the substance pried from her person.

* _Skkreeeeeeee!_ *

"Ghhhhhh!" Catra growled angrily as the creature let out a menacing howl, failing to intimidate the enraged magicat with its screams. "Come on!" Catra shouted almost tauntingly. With that, the creature attempted to catch its prey again as it spat another large glob of the sticky webbing, only for Catra to dodge swiftly through the air and out of its line of of sight. It didn't get a chance to possibly back up and fire again as Catra, with a single thrust, stabbed through the creature's metallic head as she continued to growl.

She wasn't going to be the helpless victim here that Adora always had to save or provide for, she was going to prove her worth for once. With the sword stabbed through it's head, the creature continued to screech as Catra began clawing at all of its metal casing surrounding its large skull. From the mechanical red eyes, she pulled out a handful of wires. From the metal plates she ripped off from it's skull, she jammed it back inside of the arachnoid and slammed it's severed plating back into it's skull.

Releasing another wave of mechanical growls to the magicat, Catra leapt right off of the dangerous creature as it attempted to impale her with its own frontal appendage, striking itself in the process as a result. Catra grinned smugly as she watched the stupid insectoid flail about its other appendages as it started to collapse, unable to keep itself balanced as it struggled to remove its own legs from its skull. With a solid slam, the creature topped itself over as it let out a roar, its red eyes still glowing with life as Catra prepared to deal the final attack.

"Haaahhhhh!" The sudden battlecry came in the form of a blonde-haired Force Captain that went by the name of Adora. From behind the giant creature that she climbed, she let out a mighty yell as she struck the creature's skull with her stun baton, its setting's set to max, as she delivered every single possible volt into the machine. The robotic creature gave off one last deathly cry as it short-circuited, sparks flying off the tip of it's head as electricity danced all across its body. Pulling the stun baton out of its face,

The creature finally met its end, its eyes fading from life like the rest of it was.

With a proud grin to herself, Adora jumped off from the beast's broken head, making her way over to her previously-captured friend. "Are you okay?" She asked worriedly, scraping a bit of the webbing out of Catra's hair and shoulder.

"...I'm fine..." She mumbled, brushing off her hand.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong! You got to be the hero again, whoopdeedoo! Can we just go already?" She didn't bat an eye as she casually sheathed her sword again, wanting to get over with this day like every day.

"Catra, what's wrong now?" She's never seen her, much less anyone, acting so grouchy after being rescued like she was.

"Nothing, I'm fine! You just took my kill, that's all."

"Oh, really?" The blonde smirked, hoping to get some reaction out of the magicat. When nothing came, a look of concern crossed her face as Catra slowed down for her. "Catra? Come on, what's going on here?"

"I already told you, I'm fine! I can handle things on my own, okay?" She paused as she stood in place, turning her head a little in Adora's direction. "I don't need people to save me all the time, all right? Now let's go."

"A...All right..." Adora didn't want to agitate her friend anymore than she appeared to be, not without knowing what was going on. Giving her a simple passing glance as she passed by, Adora took the lead of the two as Catra contemplated her own thoughts.

Why was she here again? Oh, right, to become a better hero like the Rebellion needed. How well was that going? About as well as a magicat can say after spending a few hours in this unknown facility and a giant mechanical spider ties her up and abducts her when her back is turned. Which is to say, absolutely terrible and nothing was being gained from all of this.

She was tired of being the victim all the time. She was tired of everyone else having to save her, tired of being this supposed "Symbol of the Rebellion" only to mess up or cause the issues to begin with. She was possibly being a bigger burden on the Rebellion than she could ever think of. It's a miracle at this point that the Rebellion still kept her around, Catra was feeling so sorry for herself. She wasn't a hero in any sense of the word.

She was a girl named Catra, who couldn't even fend for herself when the time was needed.

So what if she escaped her bonds? She got kidnapped in the first place because she wanted to make sure Adora was the one who was okay. How could she let her guard down like that while she was checking on her best friend's condition? What if the next time someone's in danger she completely drops her guard and endangers everyone around here?!

She was no different here than she was in the Horde. Second rate, nowhere near the best, and always relying on Adora to rescue her.

And she was getting tired of it.

"I... I used to hate that about you."

At the sound of her voice, Adora quickly turned around, mildly confused and shocked at the sudden announcement. Seeing the pain drawing near Catra's eyes, the sense of sorrow that's built up around the edges of her bags, there could be no doubt. Whatever painful thing she was saying, she was telling the truth. "The way you always stuck your nose into other peoples problems... and managed to fix them so easily... it was annoying to watch for me."

"Catra?" Was she truly saying this? She stepped closer to the girl as Catra rubbed her own shoulder, staring off to the side with the same level of pain as her guilt.

"You were always so annoying, okay? Everyone looked up to you because you had  _talent_ , you were always Shadow Weaver's favorite, and you were still normal in every way." She was getting tired of keeping this all in to someone like her. With the memories still plaguing her mind, seeing the way she treated Adora before her recent capture, it was... sickening. "You could never mess up with anything you did, and it... it got really annoying always being the runner-up next to you. I'm tired of always being your sidekick, Adora."

"...Catra, what are you talking about?" The magicat gave her attention to the Force Captain as she held her shoulder. "Being runner-up? My  _sidekick_? Catra, you have never been my sidekick, only my friend. I help people because it's the right thing to do, not because I always want to. Do you think I even wanted to be the one everyone looked up to or Shadow Weaver's favorite? I had to work harder every day of my life because of those expectations, because everyone looked up to me, because Shadow Weaver expected *better* of me! It wasn't anything fun or anything I wanted, it was exhausting!"

"And you still pulled it off without any faults!" Catra grumbled as she walked over to the mechanical remains of the spider, stomping her foot against its head with each passing line. "You always got to be praised!"

* _crash!_ *

"You always got to be the one who could get away with your faults!"

* _crash!_ *

Catra's foot sunk deeper and deeper as she continued crushing into the monstrous machine. "You're the one everyone wanted to be with!"

* _Crash!_ *

"The one who everybody would never stop talking about!"

* _Crash!_ *

"The one who could NEVER MESS UP!"

* ** _CRASH!_** *

"Enough!" Adora yelled pulling Catra away from the wreckage.

There was an unusual fire in her eyes, like the one a person would assimilate with rage. Her's, however, appeared to be different. It wasn't a fire burning with rage or anger, it was one that was filled with anguish, sorrow. The two took a brief moment to glance down at the leg Catra was stomping away the robot's head with, seeing it covered in scrapes and scratches along her leg from the constant pounding and the forcefully shoving between its broken metal. Only her foot was protected thanks to the boots protecting her feet to halfway up to her knees. Everything else above it between the boots and her knee were completely scratched at.

Catra didn't even realize how sore her legs was from the constant stomping until Adora pulled her out of it. Once again, Adora had to come in to be the  _hero_  around here. "Catra, is this... is this why you defected to the Horde? Because you were mad at me?"

Like always, Catra turned her head away at this. "No. I know I wasn't mad at you the day I left. I just couldn't stand being around the Horde anymore. And then finding out you were being made Force Captain and were going to go away? It... It didn't feel fair to me."

"Catra..." It almost frightened her how open Catra was being at this rate. All these emotions she was revealing, all these sparks of self-doubt. It wasn't anything like the Catra she remembered. She remembered how casual and easygoing she was from time to time, only getting serious when the situation called for it. It's not like she didn't mind seeing a new side of Catra or anything, she just wished it was one easier to understand. "Why are you telling me all of this?"

"Because I don't know what to do anymore, Adora." She admitted. "Everytime I keep trying to help the Rebellion, I keep making things worse. I'm always reckless, someone else is always having to save me, and..." She couldn't bring herself to mention Entrapta's death, what she assumed to be, at least. "And people keep paying the price for it. I need your help right now, Adora. What am I supposed to do?"

"I..." That was a lot to take in for the moment. Catra as displaying a whole new side of herself that she had never seen before, and she was actually asking Adora for her advice? Not once in Catra's life did she ever ask for this kind go advice to Adora personally, and it gave her a new feeling she wasn't used to. It wasn't a mater that Catra was asking for help that bothered her, it was the fact she was on the completely opposite side of the war that worried her. "I don't know, Catra. What do you want me to say? To keep being yourself, to try and be someone different? I don't even know if I should tell you anything while you're with the Rebellion."

Catra narrowed her eyes as she turned away. She wasn't mad at Adora for her reasoning or caution, she was mad at herself for thinking she could provide the answers. Why did she think she could provide the answers to something she had yet to see for herself in the first place? Adora hasn't even seen Catra in her She-Ra state yet, and she was under the impression up till recently that everything Catra was talking about was under the Princess's spell.

She barely gave notice to her friend as she felt her squeezing her shoulder gently from behind. "Catra, do you... Do you still hate me because of you thought I was showing off?"

"...No." Catra laid a hand on her's over the shoulder, still keeping her back to her. "I mean, it's still nagging at me, but I'm not as angry about it as I used to be."

"What brought up the sudden change, then? You're usually not one to let things go so easily."

"Yeah, well," she gently pulled away Adora's hand as she continued on ahead, "you can thank Glimmer and Bow for that, I guess."

Adora went silent at the detail as she followed behind her. Glimmer and Bow, the two who have been at Catra's side ever since Adora knew of their existence, ever since she saw the two standing by her side through the mystical waters of Shadow Weaver's scrying spell. What kind of people were they to her? Did she consider them people she was forced to work with? Actual friends that were on the same level to her as Adora was? Did she... consider them more than friends than she did Adora? It wasn't a feeling of jealousy that prompted Adora's worry, it was something else entirely.

If Catra made friends on her own then that was actually an accomplishment from Adora's point of view, amazing in fact! But what did that mean if she made friends so easily without her? What did she consider these people if she enjoyed their company and support more than she did from the people who raised them? And why was it still only the second-most worrying thing on her mind?

"Catra?" Adora spoke up, taking the lead as Catra slowed down at the sound of her questioning. "Why didn't you come back for me?"

"This again?" She mentally rolled her eyes at the repeated question. At this time, the two had come across another chasm at the center of a much smaller hallway, one whose hallways were only accessible by the floating rocky platforms strewn around the edges of the room. "I already told you, I would've come back for-"

"I don't mean when all this began, Catra." Adora watched her footing as she hopped across the small gap of the first platform, carefully climbing her way to the upper platform connecting to the hallway on her right. "I mean back then, in the Loading Bay, when we were kids." Her gaze showed pain as she turned back towards Catra, the girl herself looking questionably at this. "Why did you leave me behind when Octavia caught us?"

"O-Oh, that?" She wasn't able to hide the small hesitation in her voice as she climbed up the same platform. "I don't know, I guess I was just scared? I mean, we were nine back then, Adora, it was some time ago."

"But we promised to have each other's backs, remember?" It was a promise that meant everything to Adora, one she cherished since the day they made it themselves. "I would've gladly stayed for you if you were the one she caught first."

"Well, y-yeah, I'm sorry... But I know you would've been alright! You were Shadow Weaver's favorite, remember? There's no way she would've allowed anything to happen to you."

"It doesn't matter, though. She would've punished me if I never got away from her, and you left me to deal with her myself." The Force Captain was unaware as the ground near her footing along the edge began to crack as she watched Catra walk ahead of her. "Whenever I'm the one in trouble or you find anything cool or exciting, you always seem to be leaving me behind."

"I know that b-"

"But what? What's supposed to be any different now compared to back th-Ahhhhhhhh!" With a startled yelp, Adora screamed as the edge of the platform began to crumble, falling back into the chasm itself as her foot fell right through the floor. Right as her head passed the level of the platform's floor, she felt a powerful grip grabbing onto her hand, suspending her in the air and saving her life. To her surprise, and relief, the hero came in the form of Catra who was looking down on her, seeming steadfast and certain in her eyes.

"Because I'm not going to leave you this time." Catra replied, pulling Adora back to the platform and helping her across the gap to the other hallway.

"...Do you promise this time?"

She couldn't tell if the simple nod she smiled back with was assuring or not. "I promise. In fact, I don't have leave you now! You could come back with me to the Rebellion, Adora. You're always talking about helping people, and we could really use your help!" This was actually a much better idea now that Catra thought about it. Why bother trying to change herself into something she's not when she can add a whole new ally to the team to make up for it? Adora could have her back whenever she messed up for everyone else, especially with her amazing new shadow powers, and she wouldn't have to worry about ever fighting with Adora again on the battlefield! They could be fighting side by side, like they should've been at this point!

Yet, for reasons she couldn't understand, Adora frowned at this. "You think I can just turn my back on my friends like that, Catra? Do you think I can just agree with you without any care and ignore everybody I left behind?"

"Fine then, bring Scorpia or whoever you want, it doesn't matter! We should't have to be fighting each other like this, Adora. You could do so much good in the Rebellion! A lot more than you could with the Evil Horde."

"...Who calls us the 'Evil Horde'?" It was the strangest title she's ever heard given to the Horde.

"A lot of people, actually. I'm just saying you could do a lot of good on our side, Adora. And you would really get to know Glimmer and Bow a lot better if you did. They're not as bad as you think they are, if not a little annoying. And the Queen's sure to accept you if you gave us your full support."

"Catra..." She couldn't bring find it in herself to flat-out refuse Catra's offer, yet at the same time accept it as well.

She was basically asking her to instantly drop everything she was doing and everyone she cared for and join another side for possibly a better life, the very thing Catra did when all of this started. She also didn't want to deny the possibilities behind it either. She could escape Hordak's punishment if she did, she could bring Scorpia and Entrapta over to her side, and she wouldn't have to worry about fighting against Catra anymore. Every time she found herself on opposite ends of her, it was getting harder and harder to think of her as an ally on the wrong side, and she never wanted to bring herself to the edge of that line of thought.

At the same time, she couldn't even begin to think of dropping everything she's fought for to join sides with the enemy out of the blue. If she left with her right now there was a strong chance Hordak would punish her two close friends in her place, and given the severity of her crime, they would be lucky to get out of their punishment alive. It also meant leaving the likes of Lonnie and her goons behind. They were still the closest thing Adora had to a family around the Horde, and she would still be subjecting them to the same fate Catra subjected Adora to, even if she didn't mean to.

What choice would've caused the least amount of pain between the two sides?

"At least think about it, Adora." She suggested taking the lead again for their safety. "It would be nice to have you ba-"

* _zzzzzzzzt_ *

The feline was cut off as the two noticed the environment around them changing again, groaning aloud as she saw the digital details sprout all around them. "Ugh... let's just get this over with." From the looks of it, the simulation appeared to be of a more recent memory. Very recently, in fact. Over by the bed Catra could see her past self lounging around on the bed trying to sleep. Off to the side of her, she could see Adora doing push-ups on the floor, the blonde friend looking determined as she counted off every pushup she managed to give.

Something about this entire scenario seemed vaguely familiar to the young magicat. The scene itself didn't seem that old even. In fact, all things considered, it looked like something that could've taken place as early as two years ago, before Catra defected from the Horde. There she could see herself wearing her current outfit, something she was given to help better accommodate her qualities and agilities. A lot of human hybrids were given their own outfits to help better accommodate their animalistic capabilities when they reached an adolescent age. Adora was also wearing her traditional red jacket over her clothing, the very one she wore today. It was a little more loose on her by the looks of it, yet no one could deny it and her current one were one and the same.

There was something else about this scene that seemed familiar to Catra as well, something that made her heart beat with fear.  _When was this?_  She asked herself, examining the room. There were plenty of nights Catra would wake up in the middle of to find Adora training off to the side of their bed. She would be reading, doing pushups and other exercises, or, on most occasions, doing both at once. Something about this particular night, though, was getting to her. The lighting, the weight of the atmosphere. It almost felt as if...

"...No..." Catra took a step back in fear as her eyes shriveled in fear.

"Catra?" Adora the glint of fear in her eyes, that spark of dread that filled Catra's person. It was unlike anything she's ever seen. Any fear of Catra's she's ever seen in the past was nothing like this. It was like she was staring at death itself, a nightmare that only she could see. Looking back to the scene itself, she tried to think. It was hard to tell what night this was as she could recall many nights she trained late, often failing to fall asleep until it was nearly noon itself. With so many nights to choose from, given the clothing they were wearing and reaction on Catra's face, there was only one conclusion Adora could draw from this. "Catra, is this... this is the night it happened, isn't it?"

"Please, not this one!" Catra practically begged to all around her, running towards the closed door for salvation from this awful memory.

"Catra, it's okay." She knew exactly which memory this was now, and she was prepared to face it along with her friend. "I know what's going to happen, I don't mind." She had forgiven Catra's mistake a long time ago, a forgiveness she didn't feel necessary to give in the first place! What happened that day wasn't Catra's fault, and she was willing to help her friend through it however painful it might be to remember.

"You don't understand," Catra yelled as she pounded on the door, jiggling the handle for dear life, "I can  **not**  relive this memory! I can't!"

"Catra, it's okay, we'll get through this!" Any attempts to comfort her friend were met with deaf ears as the magicat shook away her calming hands from her shoulder.

"Adora, I  **have**  to get out of here! I can't relive-!" Anything left she had to say, any alternative forms of begging she could've perform were met with naught. By the time she had grabbed for the door again, it was already too late. She had found herself integrating with the memories once more, and was about to relive the worst experience of her life...

...

...

_*"44... 45... 46..." This was the noise that Catra found herself waking up to as her ears twitched. Why did Adora have to do this annoying routine everyday? Training day in and day out, doing pushups, sit-ups, or whatever else she could come up with to exercise her every being. Keeping a lamp light on for her area of the bunk room, shaking the floor, no matter how little, with every push and any fall against the floor. It was a pain in her tail on some nights and a nuisance in general for her every night!_

_"Ugh... Do you have to do that every night?" Catra groaned, rubbing her sleepy yellow eye as she stretched._

_"Sorry Catra," the younger Adora apologized, "I'm just getting ready for our Terrain Exams tomorrow. You know we have an entire course to go through tomorrow without touching the ground, right?"_

_"Yeah, and? I don't see how keeping yourself flexible is going to help with that."_

_"Well it usually helps when you need to keep yourself limber and able enough to maneuver fourty feet through the air on those pipes!" Adora reminded, moaning as she rubbed her head. "I don't get how you can be so comfortable up that high while moving at the same time, Catra. I take a look down from that high up, and I'm too afraid to move, and the instructor warn me that can get me killed in the battlefield."_

_"Heh, well when you're talented like me, climbing around high places just comes naturally." The magicat proudly gloated. She was part cat, climbing was in her nature._

_With all the time she's spent running around the Fright Zone growing up, she discovered there was no end to the number of places she could climb to. From large steel pipes that went through the ceilings to the many archways and vents littered throughout the area, the Fright Zone in and of itself was one giant obstacle course for the magicat, and no end to the amount of fun she could have with it._

_It was also a paradise when it came from hiding from her superiors. Usually as the result of pulling a prank or goofing off, there was never a week Catra could go by without causing trouble, whether intentionally or not. Because of that, captains, officers, and the likes were usually chasing her all throughout the Fright Zone, forcing her to adapt and eventually use her enhanced agility to her advantage by retreating to places they could neither find or reach._

_As such, heights were a common fear she managed to get over rather quickly compared to everyone else. It didn't mean she wasn't afraid of those high places or anything, specifically falling from said heights, but she did manage to get passed the fear of heights at a relatively young age compared to most other children._

_It was one of her many personal accomplishments she could feel proud of when she was little, knowing hundreds of other children had yet to accomplish it._

_Noticing the silence of her mos-recent gloat, Catra glanced over to her troubled friend, who continued to do push-ups as if her life depended on it. "...You know you're never going to get used to climbing and heights the way you're training now, right?"_

_"What other choice do I have?" Adora replied, continuing to count off silently to herself. "The exam is in two days, and if I don't pass the course, I'll have to retake the entire lesson course all over again."_

_"Wait, you mean the **entire**  enter lesson course?" A twinge of worry crossed Catra's eyes at the announcement. When a cadet failed in any of their courses, they weren't given a stern talking to or made to retake that one particular exam. They had to retake the ENTIRE lesson course all over again, as in everything the lesson covered from when it started to when it's finished. The Horde did not tolerate failure, and everyone who did fail something was forced to redo it until they got it done right._

_No matter how many days or weeks it took._

_"But the Terrain Studies take over a month to teach!" Catra commented with a small whine in her voice. "Doesn't that mean if you fail the Terrain Exam you'll be held back until you get it done right?"_

_"And if that happens, we won't be in the same training sessions anymore..." Adora knew the issue at hand here, though her reasonings were different than Catra's own. If she found herself held back, she wouldn't be able to hang out with Catra anymore during those classes, and on Catra's end, if Adora ended up getting held back, that meant losing the only friend she had to keep her company throughout this entire nightmare of a world. Not to mention someone who would have her back whenever she needed it._

_"Aww, this sucks!" Catra groaned, leaning over the bed. "What about your written exams? Don't they carry over your scores to your physical ones? I thought you studied all night for those?"_

_"I did, but a certain **someone**  needed a cramming session the night before, so I ended up re-studying everything I already knew, and only got a seventy-percent score on it."_

_"Well who's fault is that?" It took three seconds of Adora giving Catra a strange look for the girl to realize where she was going with this. "Oh, right... sorry..."_

_"Huff, it's fine, it's fine." She sighed. "At best I can probably cut the amount of time I'll be retaking the course by half since I already know most of the basics."_

_"But that still means being two weeks absent from the future exams and lessons we have! What if the next lesson only takes us a week to finish and you're suddenly three courses behind? We might not ever be in the same training sessions anymore if you fail this exam."_

_Neither of the two girls knew what to say about this. Being held back in a class or lesson was the least of their worries. What did worry them was how it was going to separate the two of them indefinitely if things continued the way they were. It didn't matter if they still got to eat together and sleep together in the same bed if they couldn't socialize or hangout with each other anymore._

_When one of their lessons were over, the other one might still be taking a class. While one of them were taking a written exam on how to dismantle and rebuild a stun baton from scratch, the other one might be learning how to treat a severe plasma burn injury. This wasn't a mere instance of the two being in completely different levels of training or classes._

_This was a matter of their friendship being on the line._

_"...That settles it then." Catra declared getting to her feet, squeezing her fist with certainty. "We need to get you fully prepared for the Terrain Exam no matter what!"_

_"But how?" It was a nice gesture to see from her friend for a change, even if there wasn't a plan to do so. "The exam is in two days, not even that! And with the other training lessons we have tomorrow, there'll barely be any time to practice at all!" At this, Catra grinned._

_"Trust me, I know a guy..."_

_..._

_"Mmh..." Kyle moaned as he continued to mop the exterior of the Training Area. "This is going to take all night..." Why did he have to get stuck with Janitorial duties at this time? Just because he was the one who accidentally discharged an electric baton against a supervisor didn't mean he was completely to blame. If anyone had listened to him earlier, they would've heeded his warning about the faulty wiring he noticed in the baton itself._

_So what happens instead? The usual thing that happens when nobody gives the time to listen to him; something bad happens and for some unexplained reason it's his fault. From weapon exercises to mechanical repairs, no one ever takes the time to listen to him or his advice._

_Why? Was it an unknown curse he had? Did he insult a wizard in a past life he didn't know about? Chances were likely with the track record he's had. He hasn't been able to get a single person to listen to him as far back as he can remember, save Rogelio from time to time as he had a one-sided conversation with the quiet guy. Just once he wished someone would listen to him!_

_"Hey Kyle." Catra casually greeted as she and Adora walked towards him._

_"Catra? Adora?" He gave questionable looks to the both of them as they approached. "What are you guys doing here?"_

_"We need to use the Training Room for awhile. Adora needs a hand getting used to heights and moving around when she's high up." The magicat explained, casually swiping the key cards on a ring from Kyle's belt as she did. "This is the one for the Training Area, right?"_

_"You need the training area?"_

_"Please, Kyle?" Adora was one of the few people who ever spoke to him politely, and one of the few people that acknowledged he existed. "If I don't pass the Terrain Exam, they're going to make me repeat the same lesson for over a month!"_

_"But Adora- I mean, Catra... Who am I talking to here? Look, I'd love to help, but I can't let anyone in until I've inspected all of the equipment first, and that's not going to happen until morning at this rate."_

_"Well what the heck's taking so long?" Catra asked with an irritating tone in her voice. "Shouldn't you be done with this by now?"_

_"You were supposed to be helping me, Catra!" He retorted a little angrier. "Remember? You said you'd help me the next time I was stuck with janitorial duties if I gave you the answers to the papers we were tasked with a week ago."_

_"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'll get right on it." The magicat casually ignored him as she came across one particular looking key card with a familiar design to it._

_"And before that you said you'd help me with my training exercise when I did your chores last month!"_

_"Ah, here we go!"_

_"You never follow up on your promises, you know that?"_

_"Are you still talking?" She looked rather surprised at the detail, as if she had no actual clue that he had been talking up to this point. Without checking it, she casually stroke the key card over the door's scanner, waiting for it to give off a green light before the doors finally opened. "Look, I'll do your dumb cleaning garbage thing some other time, all right? For right now, I need to help Adora with her Terrain Exams coming up." She didn't bat an eyelash as she tossed the key cards over her shoulders, forcing Kyle to scramble about in order to collect them again._

_"But Catra-!"_

_"I'm really sorry about her, Kyle. Thanks for the help." Adora apologized, giving a wave goodbye as she and Catra ran into the training area. Having collected all of the scattered cards, Kyle took notice of the one missing key card that he had yet to recover- the very one Catra took with her into the training area, to ensure they wouldn't be interrupted._

_"Wait, Adora, you guys don't understand-!" Those were the very last words either of them managed to hear from the shriveling young teen as the doors closed behind them, blocking out the last warning he could shout at the top of his lungs._

_"THE EQUIPMENT'S STILL FAULTY!"_

_..._

_"Haha!" Catra laughed as she hopped along from one metal pipe to the next. It didn't matter to her if she was fourty feet or higher in the air. With her claws helping her to keep a grip on each of the metal pipes she came across, and her agility giving her superb balance under these circumstances, she was the master of her own terrain!_

_This was the kind of training she wished she always came across in the Fright Zone. Why couldn't all lessons be centered around what she was best at and what she liked to do? Climbing impossible heights others couldn't reach, leaping over large distances her animalistic traits provided her with, and being able to scale the walls and surroundings with ease thanks to her feline claws? Everything about this sort of training was fun, easy, and exciting for her!_

_It's too bad Adora didn't seem to share in her enthusiasm._

_Looking behind herself, she had to suppress the urge to laugh at the sight. About ten yards away from her, she could see Adora, acting nervously and frightened like Catra used to be as a small child, as she pulled herself around one of the thick pipes that stretched to the ceiling of the training area. It was almost adorable the way she was jumping cautiously around the terrain like a small child, watching her every step as she hopped between platform to platform._

_Then again, she was her friend. If there was one person she was above poking fun of or putting down, it would be the one person that's always had her back._

_It didn't mean she couldn't have some fun, though. "Aww, what's wong wittle giwl?" She had to cover her cheeky grin as Adora hugged the next pipe she leapt towards. "Afraid of falling down?"_

_"Afraid of falling down and to my death? Yes!" Adora stammered, trying to balance her footing on the next pipe she jumped towards. "How are you so easy with this? A better climber or not, I don't get how you aren't afraid of falling to your death!" The two were so distracted by Adora's lack of courage that neither of them noticed a small creaking noise coming from the pipe Catra was on._

_"Eh, it's all skill when it comes down to it." Catra brushed her nails against herself as she leaned against the pipe she was on. "Some people have it, and some people don't." It was at that time she noticed a worried-looking Adora as she continued to make her way over the next pipe, looking timid as she did. As much fun as she had in teasing Adora at something she was worse than her at, she did have to admit it was a little depressing seeing the friend who had her back through most of her life struggling with something she found so easy. Scratching behind her ears, she decided to wait for her to catch up as she gave her some advice._

_"You know, it's usually easier if you don't look down while you're doing it."_

_"Easy for you to say," Adora never took her focus off her footing as she jumped around, "you're used to rushing on ahead."_

_"And that's the way you need to do it." Catra replied as she dangled her legs over a pipe. "If you keep looking at each individual step as another platform, you're never going to pass the Terrain Exam with flying colors. You need to think of the platforms less like a separate platform and more like one long trail. Pretend the steps are just cracks in the ground you're stepping on or something."_

_"Like cracks in the ground?" That was... actually an interesting way to look at them, not to mention looking at the entire lineup of paths as one large trail.. Up till now she was trying to take each step one at a time as they came along. She hadn't thought about looking at them as one continuous path in front of her. With that mindset, she tried to visualize the pipes ahead of her as mere cracks in the ground. "Just cracks... They're just cracks..." With a deep breath, she took one step after the other as she made her way over to Catra._

_Technically, the frame of mind wouldn't work in this situation. Despite thinking the way it did, it didn't make the platform and the pipes feel any differently. What did help was the lack of fear she was feeling when she hopped across each of the different pipes. Without the fear of falling weighing her down, she wasn't trying to plant her feet directly on any specific spot on the pipes, easing her footing and actually making the balancing a lot more manageable for her._

_By the time she realized it, she was hopping between the pipes and the large gaps like a pro. Not as good as Catra, of course, but enough for Catra to see some noticeable improvement on her part. "Heh, now you're getting it." She grinned giving chase after her friend, closing the gap between them fairly quickly. Adora couldn't ignore the small chuckle building up in her throat at this, finding the breeze through her hair to be quite comforting._

_Is this what Catra felt every time she was up this high? Did she get to enjoy the feeling of the wind in her hair as she scampered across the high ground? Did she also feel a sense of pride whenever she pictured everyone looking like ants below her? It was entertaining to her, almost addicting in some way._

_"Tag!" Catra suddenly yelped as she passed Adora with ease, giving her a small slap on the back of her shoulder. The young cadet grinned at the challenge as she gave chase. Just because she was a better climber didn't mean she was any better. In fact, Adora was convinced she could catch up to the magicat before she knew what hit her._

_"Heheheheh!" The two friends chuckled back and forth to each other as they played their rousing game of tag, increasing Adora's climbing ability with effort as she jumped from one pipe to the next. They had no doubt that with their fun game of tag, followed by the knowledge that they would always have each other's backs, that there was nothing they couldn't handle._

_It's for these reasons that Catra was too distracted as she jumped further ahead, unaware of the small sink in her pipe as she smirked back to a more-attentive Adora who was a few yards away. "Come on, slowpoke, I'm just a helpless little kitty, remember?" She taunted as she stood against the main structure the pipe was connected to, the sound of Adora's jumping echoing throughout the complex, and disrupting her awareness that the pipe beneath her was creaking further._

_"C-Catra, get off that pipe!" Adora warned, a look of panic filling her face as she rushed over._

_"I will if you catch up to me." She continued to taunt. "I mean if I went any faster, you'd never be able to catch up."_

_"No, Catra, seriously, get off that pipe!" Her friend's arrogance was going to be her downfall. She was convinced that Adora was trying to get her to make a mistake that she called off her potential bluff._

_"Oh, what? You think I'm going to fall for the oldest trick in the bo-"_

_*creeeak*_

_"Huh?" By the time Catra looked down, it was already too late. All at once, time seemed to slow down to an immense halt around her as the rickety pipe suddenly gave way, sliding right out from under Catra's feet before the magicat could so much as respond. Her entire field of gravity seemed to give way as she felt herself beginning to fall, from forty feet in the air to what could potentially be her death. She needed a miracle to save her!_

_And that miracle came in the form of a simple push._

_With one mighty shove, Catra found herself being pushed away by a dear friend who went by the name Adora. The blonde girl was quick to react to Catra's slow response as she sped her way towards her dear friend, reaching her right as the pipe gave away. There wasn't any time to grab her, and no way in knowing if the faulty pipes they were using would've given out with their combined weight, so Adora did the only thing that made sense at the time._

_She shoved her friend out of the way in time, Catra grabbing onto the nearby pipe she was thrown against, as Adora took the fall for her. The last thing either of them saw was the sight of Adora's shocked expression before the beloved friend found herself falling through the air._

_"Ahhhhhhhh-!" Catra's eyes watered as she heard her friend's scream._

_"Adoraaaaaaaa!" Catra cried out._

_It was in no way a pleasant fall to go through. She wasn't punished for her heroic actions with a simple forty foot drop. She was given the worst repercussions imaginable for a hero like her. What started out as a simple fall ended up being a painful dilemma to settle through itself as she found herself slamming against several different pipes along the way down, each individual one breaking off immediately after due to the sheer force of her fall, as the girl continued her descent._

_Forty feet became thirty. Thirty feet became twenty. With every ten feet she fell she ended up taking a handful of pipes along with her, Catra's unfortunately heightened hearing allowing her to hear every slam and crackle her friend went through as she continued falling towards the floor. By the time she reached the ground, nearly a dozen different pipes followed above her, as she finally ended her dark descent into misery._

_* **CRASH!** *_

_"Adora!" Catra cried out again. All she could see as she climbed her way down were the various pipes that were toppled above her, Catra doing everything in her power to rush over to her friend's side as her mind filled with fear._

_"Aggggghhhhhh!" She heard Adora cry out as she reached the pile. The pipes weren't consistent in size or length, with some of them being the size of an arm, and others being the thickness of a leg. All Catra could see was the immense pile of pipes over her friend as she continued to panic, pulling off each of the heavy pipes one after the other._

_"Adora, I'm so sorry! I'm so, so, sorry!" Catra apologized as her eyes watered. "Somebody help me!" She shouted, praying that anyone would find them. She was so distraught with the recent accident that she forgot she took the training area key card to make sure they weren't interrupted, all the while Adora continued to moan and cry out in pain as her everything hurt._

_Her back felt like it collided with a skiff, her stomach was in immense pain as she could practically feel the pipes squishing against her intestines, even after they were pulled from her. Thankfully none of them were stabbed into her or gorged her, not that it would've made the girl feel any better as she continued to cry out. The worst amount of her pain came from her right leg, more so after Catra finally managed to remove thee last pipe from it, giving her a view of something shocking enough to make her cover her mouth._

_Her leg was broken._

_"Oh... m..." Catra continued cry out for help kicked all the stupid pipes away that she felt were responsible for this disaster. "Please, anybody! We need help-!"_

_"There they are!" She heard Kyle's voice call out as several people ran over to her side._

_"Adora!" Another voice cried out in terror. Catra didn't care if the voice belonged to Shadow Weaver or anyone else, knowing anyone who was in here with them would have to be pretty high ranking in order to bypass the electronic locks. She was so focused and apologetic to her agonizing friend that nothing else seemed to phase her in that moment._

_Catra showed no worry or care for their teacher as she kneeled over Adora's side, gently and carefully leaning the girl up as Adora clutched her stomach in pain. It was one of the few instances of their lives anyone saw a softer, vulnerable, side from Shadow Weaver, seeing the sadness in her eyes before it was replaced with anger. "Someone grab her a stretcher, IMMEDIATELY!" She shouted. The soldiers gave their fair salute as Shadow Weaver turned back towards her beloved pupil._

_"I-I told you they were in here!" Kyle shrieked, almost terrified at the mere sight of the pain Adora was in. "Catra, what have you done?!"_

_"Ahhhhhhhh!" Adora continued to cry out, gritting her teeth as she failed to fight back the tears. "I-I'm sorry!" Adora choked out. In the Horde, people weren't supposed to show emotions, especially sadness, in times of pain, whether it was emotional or physical pain. She did everything in her power to stop the flow of tears, but the pain was too much!_

_"No, no, you did nothing wrong, dear." Shadow Weaver cooed softly, stroking the hair and tears out of Adora's eyes. "How did this happen?"_

_"I-I told Catra I didn't check the equipment yet!" Kyle replied, doing everything in his power to keep himself from running away as his knees trembled. "I didn't get enough time to because she left me with the janitorial work! I tried to warn them, honest!"_

_"It was an accident I swear!" Catra apologized, her lack of focus keeping her from seeing the sullen look Shadow Weaver was giving her. "W-We were just playing- I-I mean training, and- and... t-th-the pipe! T-T-The pipe, it just-"_

_"You...?" For the first time, Shadow Weaver showed surprise by Catra's involvement in Adora's misery. "You... did this?" She was beside herself. She always told Catra to never harm or to bring harm to Adora, and this is what happens? Did Catra actually enjoy seeing her friend in pain like this? There were so many confusing thoughts and feelings swarming her mind at the time that she couldn't process the amount of anger and hatred burning in her heart._

_"We're here!" The guards announced as they brought over a stretcher, a nurse being brought over for the emergency. Doing their best to ignore the cries of pain coming from Adora's mouth, Shadow Weaver did the best she could as she assisted the guards in placing Adora onto the stretcher itself, doing her best to make the transition from the ground as painlessly as possible._

_"I want her brought to the Med Bay immediately!" She hissed, the ends of her hair spiraling with rage. "Use whatever you have to dull her pain! And make sure no one gives her any lip or trouble for her actions until I return for her myself!" As with everything else, the guards gave a respectful nod to the high-ranking member of the Horde as they carried off the tearful Adora, Kyle tagging along in case they needed help or an explanation, leaving Catra and Shadow Weaver alone in the room._

_What had she done? She couldn't believe it, in any state of mind. She tried helping Adora, she stole the key cards right out of Kyle's pockets, the very person she promised to help with such a ridiculous task, she ignored his attempted warnings about the training area, and she goofed around in the last place they should've in the Fright Zone, all for the sake of keeping Adora from failing her Terrain Exam. All because she couldn't bear the idea that she would be separated from the only friend she had, the only one that helped her when she really needed it._

_Adora suffered for her greed, for her inability to picture a life without someone to help her. This was all her fault, and Adora was paying the price for it. It was these constant swirls of thought that continued to spiral around in Catra's mind as she finally turned to the last person she wanted to be alone with. "S-Shadow Weaver, I'm... I'm sor-Mmph!" Without warning, she felt a crushing grip close tightly around her mouth, feeling a burning hatred coming from her palms as she was lifted a foot off the ground._

_No amount of preparation would prepare her for the terror that as to come._

_..._

_* **crash!** *_

_"Ahh!" Catra cried out as she was thrown across the Black Garnet chamber, crashing through a massive wooden table in the process. There was anger seething from the silent Shadow Weaver the entire way up here as she maintained her excruciating grip over Catra's mouth. She didn't want to hear a word from her, an excuse, an apology, anything that the girl had to say until she sealed the doors to the chamber tightly and locked it in place, keeping her back to the girl as she moaned. "S-Shadow Weaver, I'm sorry! I swear to you, I'm sorry-"_

_"Zip it." She spoke coldly. Catra watched in terror as a small wave of darkness started to grow from the witch herself, spreading across the room one inch at a time. "I gave you one simple rule and you defied me!?" The floating horror slowly turned herself around, approaching the frightened magicat who backed away slowly with tears still in her eyes. She wanted Catra to burn the memory of what she was about to do straight into her retinas, taking her time to approach, knowing she had no means of defending herself._

_"I-I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" She shrieked, backing up across the floor as she continued to cry out. "I-I didn't mean to, I swear I didn't mean to!"_

_"You think I care if you meant to or not?" Catra watched in horror as the sparks of lightning burst from the tips of Shadow Weaver's fingers. "All you had to do was to make sure you never harm Adora. A task even I thought you were capable of, and you let this happen?!"_

_At the sight of another burst of lightning, Catra jumped to her feet, attempting to outrun the shadowy master as fast as she could. It proved futile, though, as the minute she ran into the shadows itself, she felt her entire body being frozen in place, a red aura coming off of her person. Every inch of her body was shaking tremendously as fear overcame her, her skin standing on ends as she felt Shadow Weaver's cold hands cross her shoulder._

_"I-I-It was an a-accident, I swear to you..." She muttered, the tears piling in the corner of her eyes._

_"You think that makes it okay?" She heard from Shadow Weaver's seething mouth._

_* **WHAM!** *_

_"Ahh!" Catra cried out as she was thrust against the cold interior walls of the room, her body practically slamming with full force against it before she was dropped to the ground. Despite the pain it caused, Catra tried getting back to her feet, knowing Shadow Weaver wouldn't dare to try punishing her outside of the room where eyes could wander. That hopeful optimism was pushed away, along with her body as she was sent crashing into the Black Garnet itself._

_*crush!*_

_"Ngh!" Another crash was followed by a cry of pain as Catra slumped against the giant crystal. She could feel a few scratches give way as her body slammed against the jagged crystal. She wasn't given a single moment of reprieve as she felt her foot being lifted up by the dark forces that surrounded her, finding herself thrown into the air above before being slammed down into the cold, hard, floor beneath her once more. "Agh!"_

_Catra never felt this level of pain before from Shadow Weaver's abuse. The woman rarely laid a hand on her unless she truly screwed up, unless Adora was ever with her. Here, Catra committed the ultimate sin which almost resulted in an accident that could've ended in Adora's demise, all because she didn't return the favor to someone she owed, someone who could've checked the equipment like he was supposed to if he had the time for it._

_It was entirely her fault._

_She knew it._

_Kyle knew it._

_And Shadow Weaver knew it._

_And she was going to make sure she never forgot._

_"P-Pl-Please!" The younger Catra practically begged, groveling as she tried to pick herself up off the floor. "I-I'm sorry... I-I'll make up for it, I swear! Just please... Please stop it, it hurts!"_

_"It hurts?" Shadow Weaver barely raised a brow as she was overwhelmed with an all-consuming cackle of amusement. "You think I care if it hurts? I gave you what little ounce of trust I could give you, and you betrayed it. Your foolishness hurt Adora, it nearly cost her her life! And you think you're in pain now? I will show you what true pain is like for what you did to Adora!" Shadow-Weaver roared as shadows and streaks of red-colored lightning surged from her hands towards her._

_"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh-!"_

...

...

"-Ahhhhh!" Catra screamed as she collapsed to the floor. Catra, the present Catra, panted with exhaustion and out of breath as she fell to her hands and knees. She couldn't resist the tears dripping from her own face as she gasped for air, feeling like her lungs were on fire like the days Shadow Weaver abused her.

Two. Two whole days straight. That was the amount of time she spent with Shadow Weaver. The amount of time it took Shadow Weaver to ensure Catra would never forget the most tragic and dreadful day of her life. All because she broke one little promise, despite how meaningless it seemed to her, that resulted in Adora's near-death experience.

Even when the simulation ended, Catra's mind flashed endlessly with everything she did to her during the next two days. All the pain, all the suffering. Everything Shadow Weaver did to make sure this day would never be forgotten, to make sure Catra would never disobey her ever again. She wanted Catra to always remember what happened on that day, and to make sure the memory of it was burned into the recesses of her mind to make sure the pain would always come back if she ever remembered.

And it did.

Whenever she thought of Shadow Weaver, she felt pain. Whenever she was in her presence, she was always a little afraid. It was only thanks to Adora's presence that she managed to persevere around her more often than not, getting a quick lip in or a playful taunt whenever she could to bolster her own courage. Yet, all it resulted in doing was fueling the fire in Shadow Weaver's eyes, knowing she was one breath away from reinforcing that treacherous day all over again.

She couldn't help it as she hugged herself, feeling the pain of her memory as it reached her chest. That day she knew what Shadow Weaver was truly like, how cruel she could be when the reins were off of her. She could never afford to cross Shadow Weaver like that again, not in a way that affected Adora in the process. It didn't matter to her if Adora forgave her for the ordeal either. No amount of forgiveness could ever make the memory of that day disappear from her mind.

"I'm sorry..." Catra muttered to herself, shivering from the memory. "I'm so sorry... I..." Lifting her head up, she caught a glimpse of where she currently was.

All around her, darkness surrounded her as the simulation slowly came to an end. From one corner of her vision to the next, she watched as the simulation destabilized all around her. Where there should've been wall, she saw darkness, and where the metallic floors once were, she saw cold red concrete. It was then she realized that during her half of the simulation, she was brought to a completely different section of the citadel, somewhere further from where she started, somewhere away from-

"Adora!" Catra yelled getting to her feet, looking everywhere around her. It finally dawned on her that she was carried away by a stretcher in the simulation, which meant if she was carried off by Shadow Weaver, then Adora herself was carried over to another part of this dangerous place!

The last memory wasn't a mere tool to torment her. It intentionally delivered her life-scarring memory as a means to separate the two.

"Adora?!" Catra called out again. Without her headband, Adora stood little chance against these mechanical creations. It didn't matter if her years of training taught her how to fight mechanical creations like these. With their numbers seeming limitless, there was no telling how long Adora could last without her shadow magic.

* _skreeeeee!_ *

"What?" Catra drew her sword as she turned back towards the darkness. It was then that she found her gaze being met by a group of glowing red eyes, one after the other, as she heard the mechanical screeches of the abominable robotic spiders. Each of them made their presence known as they stepped out of the darkness, their metal appendages stomping against the ground as they approached. Growling to herself, Catra lifted the sword in the air in a last attempt to call upon her sword's power. "For the Honor of-!"

* _spak!_ *

"Ah-!" Her sword was knocked clear out of her hands and towards a cliff side as it was covered in the green sticky goo. No sooner had it did another spider climb out of the dark abyss, standing over it as it closed in on the magicat. She wasn't going to let the memory of the worst day of her life keep her from fighting back. She gave a small hiss as she extended her claws, ready to fight off the incoming swarm of robots no matter how long it took. She found it to be a useful way to vent the endless stress the most recent simulation caused her.

There was, however, one concern still on her mind.

_Where the heck is Adora?!_

...

...

"...Mmhh..." Adora moaned quietly as she slowly came to. Like with every simulation she pulled herself out of, she found the memories of the present coming back towards her, reminding her of everything that lead her to this place and what she came here for.

Rubbing her head a bit sorely, she realized she was fortunate that the events were a simulation of what happened, and not a full-fledged repeat of what she felt when it happened. She couldn't picture breaking her leg again, or bruising her ribs that she was diagnosed with on that day. She remembered how it hurt for weeks to eat anything as long as her stomach kept acting up, how she was bedridden for nearly three weeks after the incident, waking up a day after once the painkillers wore off for the first time.

What she couldn't figure out was why Catra wasn't around her at this point. With the medicine she had on that day, her mind was a little foggy, but she assumed Catra would've been by her side, keeping a close eye on her while she recovered each and every day. She knew she was burdened with guilt over the event, remembering the month-long silence she gave her unless Adora had a specific question or issue she needed help with during her time of recover.

So why wasn't she here? She should've headed down to the same location Adora was carried off to. Speaking of which, where was she? She found herself lying on a flat rock-like bedding surrounded by several white crystals. Did the simulation actually cause her pain and were these crystals healing her? She felt a strange warmth coming from the crystals but no pain to counteract with. The outer areas of where the walls should've been were surrounded by shadows, keeping her from so much as picking out where a door was.

* _Catra? Where did you go?_ * She asked herself as she groggily rose from the stony bed.

* _skreeeee_ *

"Huh!" Adora let out a small gasp as a single group of red eyes began to glow in the darkness. As much as she hopped against it, sure enough, she found a mechanical being stepping it's way out of the darkness, taking several steps forward until half of its body was present to her. Reacting quickly, Adora grabbed for her stun baton within her jacket, ready to defend herself the minute this thing made its first move. Wherever she was, she needed to play defensively, seeing how her only means of defense was the small baton she had left.

"Come on!" She threatened, unwilling to back down. There was no way she wasn't going to put up a fight, not as long as her friend was in danger! Even if she wasn't here by her side at this time! ...Or the last time! ...Or when she stole the sword from her...by betraying her trust... The way she showed little interest in ever coming back... "Ghh!" She shook the thoughts out of her head as she tried to concentrate.

Thinking back on it, this whole place has been messing with their head since the moment they got here, showing them memories of their past right in front of them without warning. It didn't matter if Catra betrayed her... several times... she wasn't going to abandon her friend here as long as she stood! She was ready for this stupid spider thing, and the two that approached from behind it. She was ready for anything they had to throw at her!

What she wasn't ready for was the small screech they gave out before retreating back into the darkness. It left Adora in a state of confusion as she lowered her guard at this, watching in confusion as the spiders drew away. "They're leaving?" Why would they do that? Adora had little idea of where she was or what kind of place this massive Beacon was. The spiders should've held the advantage in every possible way, right down from forming traps against her or by easily outnumbering her. It's like the spiders themselves didn't consider her a threat at all! It was almost like...

"Wait a minute..."

_"You think if I knew I'd be running rather than fighting them?" Catra yelled back. "Far as I know, you messed something up when you were in the room! They probably think you're an intruder!"_

_"Then why are they chasing you?"_

_"I don't know! Did you mess with anything while you were in there?"_

"I'm not the intruder... Catra is!" This would go on to be the last ounce of concern Adora ever had for her beloved friend.

Because by the next time they saw each other, their lives would change  ** _forever_**...

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**A/N: All right people, this is it! This is where alllllllllllll the marbles come down to. I hope you all enjoyed that part because up next we have the scene that will either make or break this fanfic. I gotta be honest, extremely nervous. It'll either come out as something really great, or something completely horrendous, and the last time i felt this positive about a chapter in my rwby fic, it kiiiiinda blew up in my face Xo (in hindsight, I should've posted the entire thing as planned instead of 2 different parts but oh well...)** _

_**And yeah, I know i'm making a bit of too much drama. Hate to say it but it'll continue this way till we reach the very end of season 1 with some drama here and there, as well as some good ol' fashion fun ^^** _

_**Anyway! Hope you guys all enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you all enjoyed and hope to see you soon!** _

_**And be prepaaaaared T_T...** _


	44. Episode 11: Promise Finale

_**A/N: Well people, this might go on hand to be the fastest I've ever updated (which hopefully makes up for the absence ^^) All I can say is... hoof... good luck... May the feels be with you... (also at a certain point, I've listed when to play some music from the show to maximize the amount of feels you should be getting, so have youtube and a she-ra soundtrack on standby, specifically when heartbreaking theme starts playing...)** _

_**Enjoy!** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

"Agghhh!" Catra roared as she dove her sharpened claws into another robotic spider's head, pulling out a handful of wires as it screeched in, what she hoped to be, pain.

This day was the epitome of everything that can and has gone worse. From the moment she started exploring this place with Adora, the two found themselves trapped within an endless maze of hallways with these things littering the corners of their vision and filling the gaps of fear in their mind. Not once since the two came around here has their day gotten any easier, not even when they were in the presence of each other's company.

As a matter of fact, it was the presence of each other's company that slowly started to drive the two into a questionable relationship. Ever since they got here, they've been plagued with the memories of their past lives of all their time within the Horde. Some of it was good, other parts were bad, but on a whole, it gave rise to concerns the two had over each other as well as the issues they had with each other.

For Catra, it was her rise of annoyance and hatred she had for Adora's status within the Horde. To her, she always found Adora to be the goody-two-shoes who always had to come in first, who always had to be the center of attention. It's not that she was upset over the lack of attention she got, she was upset with the kind of attention she got. It was always praise and encouragement for her while it was verbal threats, taunts, and mocking Catra for everything she herself did. Not once did anyone other than Adora have something nice to say about it, and it annoyed her up till this point.

On Adora's end of problems, she noticed a certain pattern in her life that was starting to worry her. Whenever something bad happened, or before something bad happened, Catra abandoned her. She ran away when the two crashed the skiff into another one in the Loading Bay when they were kids. She was the one who set out several months ago on a journey that would turn her against the Horde, the very people who raised them both. Catra was always the one running away from the situation.

And it felt like Adora was the only one who was trying to get her back.

It's not like she didn't understand Catra's anger towards the Horde. While she never saw just how badly it got, she was more than aware of the numerous pranks and stunts pulled on Catra when she was a child, how often Catra was getting teased and being called a "freak" around the Fright Zone. It didn't make any sense to her and she didn't care about whatever reasoning people had to taunt her as such. She was a dear friend to her and to this day, she continued to be the one to defend her at every turn.

So why couldn't Catra do the same? Why couldn't she try to explain to Adora what was going on, even when she thought she was being brainwashed? A better question would be why didn't Catra ever come back for Adora in the first place? Since she escaped the Fright Zone with the princess, in part thanks to Adora's involvement, that question has been haunting her mind. It took Catra time to make friends, and she never managed to make any more friends within the Fright Zone, much less try.

Then how did she manage to make friends on the enemy's side of all places?!

It didn't matter to the two, not that they were given long enough, as the last simulation they experienced brought them to an unimaginable memory that Catra never wanted to re-experience, never wanted to resurface. It was the very day her foolishness, recklessness, and lack of commitment to her promises that lead to what can only be described as the worst day of Catra's life. And no amount of talking or therapy would ever make her forget such a horrific event.

Perhaps that was Karma's way of getting back at hr, given the present situation she found herself in.

Almost immediately after pulling herself out of her recent simulation, the magicat found herself swarmed by wave after wave of these spider-like robots, the very ones who seemed intent on her and Adora's capture the moment Adora activated some security mechanism as Catra was being scanned for some bizarre identification process.

These creatures were massive with a sticky web they could spew from their mouth at any given opportunity, the webs themselves, while easily cut through, were incredibly durable and hard to pull apart. She didn't know why the creatures were continuing to pour in after her, having the idea that Adora was the intruder they were after, and she didn't care for once. This place, the very one she came to in the hopes of saving her friend, went on to torment her time and again through her memories, and made her relive the worst experience of her life.

She was more than eager to relieve the stress she's built up after today.

* ** _CRASH!_** *

"Arrrgh!" With another roar, the magicat jumped from one spider's mechanical head to the next, right as a metallic spear nearly impaled her, striking the robot she was riding as a result. As she jumped, she felt herself getting tangled up by her foot as one of the other robots spat out another gunk of the atrocious webbing, catching her in the air and dropping her to the ground. Grumbling, she saw the same robot closing in on her as it attempted to spit another pile of webbing straight at her chest, hoping to entrap her arms and disable her.

Learning from her last mistake when she was captured by one of these mechanical bots, Catra swiftly rolled out of the way, swiping away at her feet at the same time as she cut away at the annoying stickiness, freeing her feet at long last. Jumping up to said feet, Catra gave another hiss as the robot approached her. Like the last two times, it attempted to catch her in another spit of the sticky substance, but found the magicat was too quick as she jumped into the air, landing straight on top of the creature's head where it couldn't shoot her.

Instead of going straight for the head like earlier, this time she hacked her claws away at one of it's frontal appendages, cutting off the metallic silver leg that was practically the same size as her, and impaling it directly into the robot's skull. She grinned to herself as she saw the sparks from the robot flare up, jumping away from the scene with the detached limb in hand as it collapsed behind her. Now Catra had her claws, and a new appendage to use as a weapon.

And she  **still**  didn't like her chances of victory.

No matter how many of these stupid spider things she cut away, more continued to swarm her area. When she destroyed one giant spider, another two took it's place. When she dodged one gunk of the sticky webbing, she found another two shots attempting to strike her. Every time she beat one of these creatures back she felt another ounce of her strength leaving her. Without the sword to cut away at these things easier, the very sword one of these robots seemed to be purposely covering over, there was now way she was going to be able to defeat all of these things on her own!

What's worse, she still had no idea where Adora was! All that girl had with her was the stun baton she came here with, seeing how Catra swiped her headband for safety reasons until the two could escape from this place. Like all the other reckless decisions she's made in the past, here she was starting to regret her most recent, seeing how she was having a hard enough time with these things, only thankful that she had claws to make the task much more manageable.

How hard of a time was Adora having with these thigns?!

"Adora," Catra said to herself as she watched another massive spider approaching, "where are you?!"

...

...

"Huff... Huff..." Adora panted as she continued running down the halls frantically. She wasn't running out of fear for her own life, but for Catra's after the realization she's had.

Up till now, the two were under the impression that the spiders were either after the both of them, or Adora in particular. And why wouldn't they? The explanation clearly made sense to them at first! Catra seemed to know what she was doing here while Adora snuck her way in here in order to find a piece of technology or artifact that she could present to Lord Hordak himself, in an effort to atone for the mistakes she's made and her assistance in helping the Princess of Bright Moon, aka Glimmer, escape from the Fright Zone.

She found it wonderful when Hordak offered her leniency and was very thankful for the opportunity too! The problem came down to what she could do to make amends for her transgression. She was tasked with finding something worth contributing back to the Horde, something of equal or greater value than the princess she lost and the Sword of Protection that Lord Hordak seemed rather obsessed with for an unknown reason, and she was given one week to do so.

Naturally, anyone given such a task would find themselves panicking, finding themselves at wits end as they tried to think of a solution to their problems. Fortunately for Adora, she had the assistance of a certain princess, the one she believed to be left behind by the others, who went by the name Entrapta. Winning her over to their cause didn't take much effort, seeing how she was already fascinated and overjoyed at the sight of so many technological marvels of the world. Add to the fact she was, presumably, abandoned by the Princess Alliance and left to die here, and she was more than eager to join the Horde.

It was thanks to her assistance that Adora managed to find this place, and it's thanks to Catra's presence that she wasn't driven insane after everything she's experienced until now. At least, that used to be the mindset she had before the latest simulated memories came knocking at their door.

One after the other, Adora noticed something that continued to torment her ever since coming here. More often than not, she found Catra repeating the same acts of betrayal against her, leaving her behind or not being there when she needed her most. It didn't mean she couldn't understand the reasoning for these acts, knowing her friend was afraid of the consequences from time to time. If she had stayed in the Loading Bay, for instance, she would've been subjected to whatever punishment Octavia had to dish out for them. That much she could understand.

What she couldn't understand was why it was continuing to happen. It felt as if Catra was continuing to make the same mistakes again, taking it upon herself to abandon Adora's side whenever she needed her help the most. When it came to the start of all this nonsense, she wouldn't let Adora join her no matter how much she pleaded, and when she aided in her escape in the Fright Zone, she took advantage of their friendship and stole the sword.

It was almost as if Catra didn't care for Adora, and no amount of skepticism could convince her she didn't. After all, they were friends ever since they were kids. She's always had Catra's side, defending her from the bullies that picked on her the best she could, and Catra gave her a reason to smile on most days, admiring the kindness and innocence Catra used to display when they were little.

So what changed over the years? More importantly and worrying... did anything change over the years? Or was this the way it's always been between the two of them? Being on the outside looking in this time around, she could help but feel a strangeness in her heart as she watched the events displayed around her. Something troubled her about all of this, and the only thing more troubling than that was the fact it bothered her at all to begin with.

What was it about these events that was getting to her? What made her so worried the more she experienced them?

These kinds of questions were put on hold as she continued running down the hallways, intent on finding, and possibly saving, her best friend from certain danger. The spiders didn't seem too keen on capturing Adora, the realization she had after being approached by three of them who slithered away back into the darkness.

That was the good news.

The bad news was the probable explanation and realization she came to following that. These spider things weren't chasing after Adora because they didn't consider her the intruder of this establishment. They considered Catra to be the  _intruder_  instead, and they were doing everything in their power at that moment to apprehend the young girl!

With this in mind, she set her sights on finding her dear friend, wherever she could be, as the simulations started to collapse around her. One by one, she watched as the place around her gave way, revealing the walls and floors of the real establishment that lied hidden beneath all of it. Something was causing this place to destabilize, and she didn't care what the cause was. She just knew if she didn't hurry, Catra would be in imminent danger, and she needed to make it to her side as fast as possible!

Perhaps this place was aware of that? Perhaps it didn't want her to find her friend in time? These questions were being formed after Adora came to another simulated room, one that materialized around her and blocked off her escape. She didn't have time to watch whatever saddening scene they had to show, she didn't want to relive whatever experience they had to offer!

And yet, for some reason, she found herself unable to look away. At the sound of a small sniffling, she approached what appeared to be a small bundle in the middle of the bunk room, sitting against the small bed away from the bundle as it continued to cry. The bundle was too wrapped up to tell at first glance, but the way she was lying in the middle of the bed, the way it covered itself from head to toe, there could be no mistaking it. She remembered this day as one of the best memories she's ever had.

And it was about to be the worst experience of her life.

...

...

_"Adora?" A depressed-looking, nine-year-old, Catra called out from the doorway. Unlike the previous simulations she's experienced up to this point, Adora, the present one, wasn't integrated into the simulation. She was still sitting on the bed opposite of the other girl as her younger self popped her head up a little bit, still under the covers, at the sound of the voice. Looking back, the younger Adora's eyes continued to water, watching as her as a guilty Catra approached the bed with her hands behind her back._

_"Y-You..." Adora sniffled, wiping her tears away with the blanket. "W-Wh-Why did you abandon me back there, Catra?" The blonde winced a little as she rubbed her cheek, still sore from the fall she took from the skiff. "Octavia, she... Ngh..." The girl hiccuped a little as the tears continued to form around her eyes. At the cry, Catra looked away in regret._

_"I... I'm sorry, Adora..." The younger one apologized, unable to look her in the eye. The real Adora curled her legs up on the simulated bed, hugging herself as she watched one of her treasure memories unfold in front of her. "I... I was scared, okay?"_

_"No, it's not okay!" The younger Adora cried out as the young Catra hopped onto the bed, sitting on her knees from behind her. "I'm not as fast as you! S-She caught up to m-m-me, you know!" She sniffled. "S-She would've hurt me, threatened to hurt me, if Shadow Weaver didn't appear!"_

_"T-Then you see? Everything worked out!" The younger Catra tried to comfort her as she rubbed Adora's back with her tail, knowing how much it used to comfort her._

_"No it didn't!"_

"No it didn't." Both Adora's said in unison, the real Adora remembering her exact words as a small frown began to form.

_"I got yelled at by the both of them! Big time!" The younger blonde cried out. "I've... I've never seen her so angry before... n-not to me..." It truly was the first day Adora ever found herself on the receiving end of Shadow Weaver's fury, the first time she could ever recall feeling the same kind of fear Catra felt almost every day of her life. She's never felt that kind of anger directed at her before, not once in her life, and it came from the very person she thought loved her dearly._

Looking back on it, Adora knew it was for her own good. Like any decent parent, she was angry because she was scared, not that Adora knew what a real parent was like. She was shouting at her with every intention to remind Adora of doing something so reckless, something that would've costed her life, like the incident several years after it did.

Just like the other time she found herself without Catra by her side.

_"I-I know... and I'm really sorry!" Catra apologized again, growing a small smile as she sat right next to the younger Adora. "But hey, I know something that will cheer you up!" Catra tried to encourage. Taking a moment from her sniffling, Adora found herself actually surprised by what Catra pulled from her back._

_Two solid crayons, fresh and ready to use. One was pink, and the other blue._

_And they were more than enough to bring Adora out of her stupor._

_"W-Where..." The young Adora rubbed her tears away from her eyes, letting out another sniffle in the process. "W-Where did you get those?"_

_"Eh, some nut job who happened to 'lose' his keys in the hallway." Catra chuckled with a cheeky grin. The older Adora watched as Catra pulled her closer to the edge of the bunk bed against the wall, where the small metallic piece of the bunk connected the two beds. "Here, do you want the blue one or the pink one?"_

_"Umm... pink." Adora decided, stretching her arms out of the blankets as she gently plucked the pink crayon from her friend's hand. She watched as her friend gave another cheeky grin as she began drawing a picture of herself, her head specifically. Eyeing the pink crayon in her own hand for a moment, Adora followed through as she did the same, drawing her own head to the best of her ability._

"Was I... really that easy for you...?" Adora asked herself as she held herself tighter.

_As the two continued to doodle away, Catra glanced over as she noticed the still-undesirable frowning on Adora's face. She thought the crayons would cheer her up a lot more than that. Anyone getting anything even remotely fun around here as a gift was almost impossible to come by. It taught the kids the meaning of earning their rewards, to work hard to accomplish their own goals and ideals. Something as simple as a crayon was like giving someone a new car out of the blue around here. It almost made Catra wonder if she appreciated the gift or not._

_Then again, it's not like she could blame her either. With her own small frown, Catra turned her head away as her ears tilted in depression. "Adora, I... I know I might leave you once in awhile... or I might do something stupid without realizing it." As her friend looked to her curiously, Catra gave back a small smile. "But I still haven't forgotten our promise, okay?" She felt a great warmth wash over her as she raised a pinkie between the two of them, seeing the small smile it managed to grow over the young Adora's face._

_"I look out for you..." Adora spoke, taking hold of Catra's pinkie with her own._

"I look out for you..." The older Adora did the same, bringing her own pinkie to the holographic projection even as her finger phased through it.

_"And I look out for you." Catra replied, tightening her pinkie against Adora's as they shook. "And I'll always be by your side."_

_At this, the two friends hugged._

It was one of the few moments in Adora's life that she treasured the most, one that she savored ever since. The sight of her friend committing to such a compassionate promise, knowing that she would always be there for her, it gave Adora her own sense of hope that everything would work out in the end.

But here... seeing the same scene again? It didn't fill her with warmth. It didn't bring any comfort to her whatsoever as she pulled her hand back, hugging herself as her eyes started to water.

Finishing their masterpieces of a picture, the two friends took a look at one another's face that they drew, laughing at each other's crude drawing of their own face. These were the moments the two would always remember, the very ones they would look back on whenever they were in a time of need.

_Seeing how she successfully cheered her friend up, Catra casually hopped off her bed, running towards the door. "Now come on! I know how to get back at that stupid-headed Octavia girl! I got the best prank ever!" At the announcement, the young Adora stared off ahead of herself as she sat from the bed. Unbeknownst to her at the time, she was staring straight off into Adora's own eyes, the older Adora watching a small tear gather at the edge of the younger Adora's face, one she wiped away as she sighed._

_"I'm coming." Adora announced, removing the blankets from herself as she smiled back to her dear friend, chuckling along the way to their next brilliant adventure._

"Catra..." Watching the two leave, Adora finally broke down into tears as she cried into her curled up legs.

She remembered the times back then when they were kids. They were simpler times, better times. Times the younger Adora thought everything would work out, that everything would be better after awhile for the two. She always knew as long as they had each other's backs, that nothing bad could ever happen to them. No matter how many times Catra was or wasn't there for her, she knew she would always be the one Adora could rely on to make her happy, and keep her safe.

Now, though, she was more mature. She bared witness to the exact same events, the very way they originally played out, as a much more sophisticated and older Adora. And the sight she witnessed before her didn't fill her with anything good. It didn't give her a sense of relief, it didn't make her feel any better than she did now. All it did was fill her with a whirlpool of despair, a great geyser of endless sorrow that was washed away with the ocean.

Nothing but endless sadness.

...And a newfound anger...

...

...

"Gaaaah!" Catra screamed as she dashed under the legs of one of the mighty robots, panting in-between roars as she impaled into the mighty robot's stomach from underneath using the broken appendage, and cutting it all the way across its abdomen. With a deathly cry, Catra slid out from under the great beast as it collapsed to the floor, Catra finding herself backing up the second she managed to catch her breath. Like every other time, the swarm just kept coming.

This was starting to get out of hand. For maybe ten minutes straight, Catra has been charging at, clawing at, destroying every single robotic spider that came her way. At first, she thought she had the upper hand. Avoiding the sticky webbing, the battle was relatively easy for her to deal with. Her claws could tear away at the hunks of metal around them, and the appendage she had served as both a relatively-good battering ram, and a magnificent spear she could chuck at these wretched creatures with!

That optimism only lasted as long as her stamina did, the very one that was starting to reach it's limit. Despite her best efforts, no matter how many of these things she managed to destroy on her own, they continued to come out of the darkness. She's barely had any chance to go for her sword, finding two more spiders replacing the one that previously guarded it, and she has yet to see an end to these never-ending stream of robots!

"These things keep coming..." Catra muttered to herself as she panted. With a small glimpse, she quickly rolled herself out of the way as another spider attempted to impale her with its massive leg, Catra throwing her only weapon out of anger as she impaled it directly in the head where it exploded. It was alright, hopefully, since she still had her claws on hand and her agility, the one that continued to diminish with each passing second.

* _Skreeeeeee!_ *

She heard the monsters screech out again. "Come on you stupid bucket of bolts!" Catra shouted angrily. "I'm on your side here! I'm looking for Light Hope for crying out- Ahhh!" Catra yelped as she threw herself to the ground again, narrowly avoiding the rear end of the appendage she almost found herself impaled on. No sooner had she landed on the ground did she find her left hand getting stuck to the ground right next to her, practically sealing it in place.

Growling, she took the small instance of time she had to swipe away at the ghastly webbing, springing back to her feet soon after. The moment she planted both her feet back to the ground, however, she found her right arm getting webbed next, forcing herself to cut away at the webbing again as more of the spiders began to fill the area.

Here, Catra found herself at her limit. One after the other, she watched helplessly as the spiders shot a blast of the sticky webbing at her, forcing her to contend with the sticky substance as it stuck to her. Even with her best efforts, she found the webs continuing to assault her from one angle, never giving her the chance to so much as jump or roll away from her grounds as she was too busy contending with the substances that continued to close in on her, working both her claws tirelessly to cut away at anything that caught her. And it only lasted for so long.

Eventually, it happened.

Through the combined effort of her tireless state, the exhaustion looming over her, she found one of the blasts striking at her right hand completely, covering every angle of it in a blob of silk. The second she took to look at the green webbing, the instant she should've used to swat away at it, she found her left hand covered by the webs. "No!" Panic and fear claimed her mind as she frantically tried to pull away at the stickiness, the robots seeming to have a far better foresight as one of them blasted at her right foot, keeping her in place and preventing her from attempting to run away with the webs coating her hands as a means to pry it off.

"Ghhh! Come... on..." Catra grumbled to herself, trying to shake her arms enough in a desperate attempt to remove the webs from her. Like all her efforts, it proved to be in vain as the young magicat found herself too weakened and exhausted from her overextended fight with these robots. The small ounce of solace she got out of all of this was the fact the robots refused to fire any more of those annoying webs at her, knowing it would diminish her chances from escaping from minuscule to nothing.

"Adora!" Catra cried out, knowing she was her last chance of surviving. "Adooooraaaaaa!"

_*tap*_

_*tap*_

_*tap*_

Her ears twitched as the eerie silence brought in the sound of someone's footsteps approaching. To Catra's everlasting joy and relief, coming from behind the spiders, she saw Adora approaching, the girl showing no signs of fear as she did. She didn't care or question why the robots didn't seem to attack her, she just knew that if anyone could help her, she could.

"Adora! Phew, thank goodness you're here." Catra went on as Adora stood in front of her, keeping her gaze to the ground. "Quick, you gotta help me out of here! We can still escape!"

"..." Her friend didn't say anything as she pulled out the stun baton from her jacket, eyeing it curiously as she waved it back and forth in her hand. Something was worrying Catra as she watched Adora stand there, the girl not seeming to have a hint of concern or worry in her eyes.

"A... Adora?"

"...A tool." Tightening the grip on her baton, Catra could finally see the emotions through Adora's eyes, the pain that filled them to the bitter end. Her eyes were filled with nothing but tears... and hate. "That's all you ever saw me as, wasn't it?"

"Wha... What are you talking about? Ngggh!" Catra let out a small cry as she felt the robots webbing her arms pull back painfully, forcing her to her knees.

"What do you think I'm talking about? I'm talking about  ** _us_**!" Adora shouted as the tears dripped from her face. "The whole time... after everything we've been through... it all makes sense now..." The Force Captain sniffled a bit as she hugged herself. "You never saw me as a person, you never saw me as your friend. You... You just s-saw me as someone you could use. S-Someone... Someone you could take advantage of!"

"T... That's not-"

"You didn't even see me as a person. As far as I'm concerned, from day one, you've only wanted me around to make your life easier. You saw me as your s-shield..." She sniffled, trying to maintain her assertive demeanor through her sorrow. "You only wanted me around because you knew I would protect you... that as long as I was around, you could get whatever you want..."

"That's not true-!"

"OF COURSE IT'S TRUE!" Adora shouted angrily. "Whenever we did something, it was what you wanted to do. Whenever we got in trouble, you always stayed behind me or ran for cover while I took the fall. You knew you could get away anything as long as you had me to protect you. You could demand anything from anyone as long as you used my name and my connection to Shadow Weaver. You..." Adora turned her head away as her face contorted with pain. "You saw me as nothing... Less than nothing!"

"N-No... T-That's not true, Adora!"

"Oh, really?" Adora lowered herself down a little till she was at eye-level with her  _former_  friend. "How about that guard, huh? The one you threatened using my name? Heh... I wonder who else you managed to scare? How many people came to fear me just because I was Adora."

"I..." There wasn't a single line she could think of for a rebuttal.

"How about every time you got in trouble? Who's back did you hide behind every time?"

"That... I-I was scared, Adora, okay! I was a kid!"

"Oh, right, that explains it." Adora rolled her eyes in disgust. "Fine. You were a kid then, huh? Ok. Then explain  **NOW**!" She shouted as she grabbed Catra by the top of her vest, pulling her up as high as the webbing would allow her. "WHY DO YOU KEEP LEAVING ME WHENEVER I NEED YOU?! WHY DID YOU SUDDENLY DECIDE TO SWITCH SIDES WITH PEOPLE YOU'VE BARELY MET, WITHOUT SO MUCH AS A THOUGHT?!" At this, Adora dropped her back to her knees, Catra's ears still ringing.

Catra was at a loss for words. Almost everything she was saying, everything that still rung in her ears, it was all true. From a direct point of view, at least, she was telling her every single thing Catra had done to her, whether or not intentionally. "A-Adora, it's not true!" Catra attempted to argue, rising as high as she could force herself to. "I was awful, okay? But that didn't mean we weren't friends. We were always friends, we still are!"

"Then why didn't you ever come back?" Adora cried. "You never answered my question. Why didn't you ever come back for me?" The sadness over her face slowly turned to rage, bile, and disgust. "You had plenty of opportunities to do so, and you never so much as budged until that stupid princess friend of yours was taken."

"B-Because... Because it was for our dream, remember?" Catra spoke up, trying to find the last amount of defense that she possible could. "Remember when we were kids? We always talked about what we wanted. I was trying to make our dream come true, I was trying to get us a kingdom out of all of this!"

"A kingdom?" Adora spat. "Catra... I  **NEVER**  asked for a kingdom! Having a kingdom was your dream. It's always been  ** _your_**  dream! I didn't have anything close to that for my dream! Do you even remember what my dream was?"

"You..." No, this... this couldn't be right! Having a kingdom? Who wouldn't want that! You could make your own rules, be loved by everyone in your kingdom! S-Surely Adora had the same dream too...right? "You wanted... I..."

"All I asked, since day one, was for us to be friends, Catra." Adora stated. "I didn't want some big fancy castle, I didn't want any crusty old dirt. All I wanted, all I have ever wanted, was for us to always be friends."

"A... Adora..." How... How could she forget about this? Something as important as Adora's own dream?

"And I thought at first I had my dream, you know. We were like sisters, you were my best friend, Catra, and I..." Adora wiped her tears against her sleeves, drying out the pain. "...I don't know what I thought anymore... All I know... is the reason you never came back for me, Catra."

"W..." She didn't understand the answer herself. "Why...?"

"It's because you're selfish. You're greedy. You never do anything unless it benefits you in some way. You never act like someone's friend unless it benefits you in any way..." Adora squeezed her fist at this revelation. "I used to think people called you a freak because of how you looked, but now... I think it's much more than that. It all makes sense now... Why you're acting like your friends with them... because they have so much more to offer you than I ever could... That's all that ever mattered to you. That's why you're a freak."

"And you know what? I'm done." Without hesitation, before Catra had so much as time to blink, Adora swiped her hand against Catra's throat. Grabbing, at first what she believed to be her throat or her vest, she instead found herself gasping in fear as she saw Adora pluck the headband from Catra's person, the very one that cancelled out her emotions.

"I'm done being the helpless victim out of all of this. I am tired of being the one people think they can just manipulate and get away with it."

"Adora, no-!" Catra's cries fell on deaf ears as the Force Captain donned her cursed head band after long last, reuniting it with its master. The shadows that descended from the dark corners of this complex gave no way or fear over Adora. She accepted all the darkness, she embraced the nothingness that she felt. She wanted this head band to give her the one feeling she cherished over all.

Nothingness.

And with her red-colored eyes opening, she continued, "I'm tired of always being the nice one. I am never allowing people to use me again, Catra. Not you, and not Shadow Weaver. And if Hordak tries to use me next, I'll get rid of him too."

"Get rid of...? W-What are you planning to do, Adora?" There was anger in Adora's tone, no matter how much she tried to force herself to repress it.

"Isn't it obvious?" To emphasize her point, she drew the shadows into her right arm, tightening her gargantuan form into a mighty fist. "I'm going back to the Horde, Catra. I'm going to do everything in my power to keep you from achieving your selfish dream. And that starts with me, burning down everything that can hep you achieve your dream. Starting with the Rebellion," at this, Adora turned her back to her as she started to walk away, "and everyone in it."

"Wha- No!" Catra panicked, grumbling as she tried to pull away from her bindings. "Adora, listen to me!" She prayed anything she said got through to her as she watched her stop. "You were right, okay? I was being selfish. I always assumed I knew what was best for both of us. But I never did it thinking you didn't enjoy it, okay? I always thought you were having the same amount of fun I always had! I always thought we were more alike than I knew! But I didn't, okay? I didn't. I was being stupid, and selfish, and I'm... I'm sor-"

"I'm sorry." Adora interrupted forcefully. "It's like it's all you know how to say. You think that makes it allllll better. You think you can fix every single problem in our past, every single dilemma in our future, all because you simply said 'I'm sorry'. You never put any effort into your apologies, you never meant anything you said. As long as you kept yourself on my good side, you took full advantage over me, knowing I would never turn you away."

Turning her head, Catra could see it. Adora's entire expression was filled with sadness as the tears poured away from her eyes. No matter how hard she tried to repress herself this time around, she couldn't keep any amount of her emotions from coming out. This was the Adora that Catra knew, the one that cared deeply for everyone no matter how hard she tried to repress it.

This is the Adora that Catra hurt the most.

"Well it's not going to work anymore, Catra. I am done being your servant, your punching bag, every single thing you used to detest about bullies. I have nothing more to say to you, Catra." With the final turn of her head, Adora walked her way into the darkness.

**_(A/N: For maximum feels effect, it is recommended listening to the same horrifyingly depressing music that plays at the climax of this episode.)_ **

"A-Adora...?" This... what was happening? This wasn't supposed to happen! They were best friends, they've always been friends, they still  **are**  friends to her. This isn't... I-It's this place, right? Yeah, it couldn't be her fault! She wasn't selfish like Adora said she was, she wasn't trying to hurt her on purpose or anything! It couldn't be. "Wha- Adora? W-Wait! Adora!" Catra shouted, growling to herself as she struggled to get the webbing off of her. "G-Get off! Let me go! ADORA!" Catra cried out again.

With every last ounce of strength she could muster, every muscle that she could squeeze out of her body, she pulled. Her heart raced every second as she attempted to pull herself out of the stupid webbing that was keeping her away from Adora. "Get off of me! LET ME GO!" She shouted, stretching herself out as far as she could. With all the combined might she could siphon out of herself, she finally managed to pry her right hand out of one of the atrocious bindings, quickly swiping away at her left hand and her foot posthaste, running into the darkness after Adora.

"Adora, wait!" She cried out as the tears drained from her eyes. "I'm sorry!" All around her, she watched as the remains of the simulation continued to destabilize further, watching as she passed multiple versions of herself at various ages. They were all the worst parts of her life, the moments she wished she could forget.

The very moments Catra was at her worst to Adora.

_The first one was a simple matter of Adora passing by Catra in the bunk room. She remembered that day when her seven-year-old self got beaten up by Lonnie and several other punks she picked a fight with, intending to make them pay for tripping her up several times during their last training exercise. She watched in tears as Adora approached Catra as she continued to sulk angrily on her bed, carrying over a small puzzle box in her hands._

_"H-Hey, Catra? I found a puzzle box we could-"_

_*whap*_

_Without warning, she watched her younger self as she knocked the box right out of Adora's hands, the blond friend moaning to herself as she looked back to the young Catra. "Leave me alone, Adora. I'm not in the mood."_

_"But, Catra-"_

_"Leave me alone!" The young Catra hissed again, glaring angrily at the other. The last thing the real Catra saw as she ran passed the two diminishing holograms were tears growing in the corners of the young Adora's eyes, showing her how much pain she was in._

"No, that... That wasn't me!" Catra yelled to herself, squeezing her head. Ahead of her she saw another one of those stupid spider things attempting to block her path, no doubt the very same Adora too. "Get out of the way!" She growled. With one grand slide, she slid herself under the massive bot's stomach, cutting away at two of it's front legs as she did, and dropping it to the ground where it cried out in pain.

She couldn't believe she was the horrible child she just witnessed. Sure, she sometimes got into a fight with Adora here and there, but that was... that wasn't even a fight... a-and she wasn't yelling at her! She was just moody, that's it!

That's what she kept telling herself as she came across another room. Most of the simulation had terminated by now, but one constant that seemed to be playing endlessly was the small section of what could've been a classroom, seeing her younger self and Adora sitting at a table.

_It was another instance of Catra's apparent selfishness, whether or not it was intentional. She remembered that day as one of the big test days they had when they were ten years old. There they were in their old uniforms, sitting side by side as they took the test. As always, Adora seemed to be getting through the test with ease, spending barely any time as she filled in the multiple choice answers and then moved on to the essay portions._

_Catra, on the other hand, was in distress. Like always she didn't study for the test for one reason or the other, nothing that the teacher would've accepted as an excuse anyway. If only there was someone around there that knew the answers, someone that could help her in her time of need._

_Oh, wait, that's right! There was her friend who was sitting right next to her. With a pleading look, she looked begfully to her inspiring friend, waiting until her attention was given to Catra as the two couldn't afford to talk out loud. Noticing her gesturing her eyes between Adora's and Catra's paper, Adora simply rolled her eyes, acting as casual as she could as she pushed the paper a little closer to Catra. In no time at all, the look of discomfort and worry was instantly replaced with excitement._

_Man, she was fortunate to have a close friend like Adora, one she was sure she was going to pay back in the future!_

"Stop it!" Catra yelled to anyone around her as she ran through the room. This place was trying to mess with her head, it must be! I mean, she remembered that day easily! Obviously she remembers paying Adora back soon after for her help, like when she... she helped her with the... that thing... Ugh, why was this place trying to make her look like the bad guy?!

It was getting harder to tell where the floor was as it blackened around her and where any gaping holes could've been as the darkness would just give way to more darkness. The only indication she had to anything was focusing all of her attention to the footsteps she heard from Adora's direction, trusting them as her last source of hope.

"This isn't who I am.. It couldn't be..." Catra fretted to herself, rushing as quickly as she could towards the sounds of someone else's steps and away from the spiders she heard continuing to chase her. "Adora, come back! I'm sorry!" She repeated again.

What else could she say? An apology was one of the few heartfelt ways Catra knew to make it up to someone. It was practically the  **only** way she knew how to make it up to someone whenever she messed up! What else could she say? Should she laugh and point at anyone who suffers at her unintentional misfortune? Should she yell at someone messing up because of a mistake she made herself? That didn't make any sense!

One of the fundamental manners Adora always tried to teach her as a young child was to apologize whenever she did something wrong. So what else could there be if she didn't know what else to say?

It was around that time she found herself coming to her third, and hopefully final, simulation before it dwindled away.

_It was also one of the worst of the worst instances of Catra's life, one she sorely regrets ever acting out on or trying to make amends to Adora for it. It was one of the days following one of their training sessions when they were eleven. Their team was pitted against another team in a massive obstacle course as they raced to the finish. The victors of the game would get extra desserts for their victory, while the losers were stuck on latrine duty all week._

_That wasn't the moment that she came to, though._

_What she came to was after the big game, following their victory. In one of the few times Catra actually didn't cheat, the enemy team didn't want to hear of it. They were mad for losing, especially to the team that had the zone-wide renown "Freak of the Fright Zone" on their side, and they were going to take their anger out on anyone associated with the team that made them lose, or the people themselves that were associated with the freak. And who else had a better connection to the freak other than Adora herself?_

_*thud*_

_"Ow!" Adora yelped as she was slammed against the locker._

_"Way to play with a cheater on your hands, brat!" One of the thuggish cadets growled, pinning her by the collar of her shirt._

_"Grrrr Catra didn't cheat, you're just a sore loser!" Adora yelled back, struggling to get out of the bully's grip._

_"We all heard about how she cheats in her competitions, punk." Another one of the cadets grinned, knocking his fist against the locker. "And the instructor's willing to hear us out on it too. So why don't you go find your friend, or go to the instructor yourself, and tell them how you cheated so we can get our desserts!"_

_"Ghhhh! Catra!" Adora yelled worriedly for her. She wasn't intending to turn her in for something she didn't do, she was intending to give these jerks a piece of her mind when it was no longer five against one. "Catra, where are you?!"_

_"Ha! Keep calling for her, punk. I'm sure she'll come running in to 'save the day' any second now!" The leader of the bullies taunted._

_"Catra, come on! I know you can hear me!" Adora cried out, looking up and down the locker room._

_The real Catra watched herself in disgust as she knew exactly where she was before she even turned her head around. Right outside of the hallway, leaning against the wall, she stood there. The younger, eleven-year-old Catra, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed and her ears drooped, as she tried to think about what to do._

_"Catra, please!"_

"What are you waiting for you idiot?" The real Catra hissed at her younger counterpart. "Go on, she needs your help!" She didn't want to see this play out the same way she knew it did back then. She didn't want to see herself turning her back on her friend,  _ **abandoning**_  her again, when she needed her most. She didn't want to prove Adora right about everything.

_And yet, that's all the younger Catra could do. She didn't want to pick a fight against an entire team, not when she knew she herself would get in trouble for getting involved in it. Knowing her luck, the bullies would've found an easy way to convince the instructors or Shadow Weaver of all people that Catra started the fight, that she was responsible for what happened to Adora._

_She had yet break that promise to Shadow Weaver at this point, and she wasn't planning to anytime soon._

_"Catra, I need your help! Where are you?!" It didn't matter to the real Catra if she saw her younger self tearing up at that. She was too afraid. She was too much of a coward. So she did the one thing she always did when something like this happened._

_Pretend she didn't hear anything, with a tail between her legs, and just walk away..._

"No! No, no no! Go back! Go back you idiot!" The real Catra cried out as she tried grabbing her fake self. Nothing she did proved useful as she phased through it at each and every grab, the hologram itself slowly dissipating into nothingness as Catra collapsed to her knees, feeling legs buckle under the weight of her guilt as she squeezed her head.

"I'm sorry..." She wept. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." Adora was right. Right about everything.

She was not her friend in any instance, not in the way she should've been. She was close to her for sure, she would always commit to that, but nothing about her screamed friendship in any way between the two girls. She was almost crueler to her than she was to any of her enemies, the people that she hated! She used Adora every day of her life as a shield and ignored her whenever she was the one who needed something, and up till now she put up with it. She put up with everything. Because she saw Catra as the one thing no one else ever did.

A friend.

_*tap*_

_*tap*_

Lifting her head up, Catra's ears twitched a little as she picked up on her footsteps. With the hallways darkening dramatically, she sprang back to her feet as she rushed down any of the possible corridors, wanting to do everything in her powers to possibly make amends to her dear friend. "Adoraaaaaaa!" She yelled out.

From the other side of the darkness, Adora continued to walk until an automatic door opened before her, opening her path towards the light. She's had enough of this place. She's had enough of all the horrid nightmares and visions of her memories that this place had to offer.

She's had enough of hearing Catra shouting through the hallways, pretending that she still cared about the Force Captain.

At the sound of the approaching footsteps, Adora turned, seeing her friend attempting to reach her with all of her might as she ran for the door. Usually such a sight would touch Adora, fill her with a warmth that assured her of their friendship. Here, she felt nothing of the sort. No raw emotions of happiness, no sense of joy or pride in her mind. Just emptiness.

Pitiful, hateful, emptiness.

"Adora!" Catra screamed as she neared her. She would've grabbed Adora if given the chance. She would've refused to let go until Adora heard every single apology that Catra had to utter. She needed to know how sorry she was, she needed to convince her that the friendship between these two were real. She needed to show Adora that she truly did care for the young Force Captain as much as a sister could.

And she would never get that chance.

_*swiff*_

_*swiff*_

_*swiff*_

"Agh-Mmmph!" All at once, three powerful shots of the familiar webbing blasted towards her, wrapping around her left ankle, her right wrist, and her mouth simultaneously. The moment she tried to struggle in vain to escape, she felt more and more of the webbing continuing to cover around her, feeling one pulling around her stomach, another around her right ankle, and lastly, her right knee. Finally, the pressure was too much for the young magicat as she fell to the ground, feeling the webbing slowly pull her closer towards the darkness where she saw half a dozen pairs of glowing red eyes growling back at her.

 ** _No!_**  Catra screamed in her mind as she looked back. She barely had the energy to pry the webs off of her body, any attempts to strike at the sticky substance being met with her left hand nearly getting stuck as a result. "Mhmhmhhhhh!" Catra attempted to call out as she cried.  _Please, don't!_

There weren't any words that could be said to her at that moment, nothing that Adora wished to hear. Catra was nowhere near the person she thought her to be. She wasn't some innocent little girl that needed protection, she didn't stick to Adora's side because she wanted to. She did it because she wanted to make life easier for herself, even if it meant putting up with Adora as a result. She wasn't a person to Catra, or anywhere close to what one would consider a pet.

She was nothing to her, Adora realized that now. And Catra was dead to Adora in turn.

"Goodbye, Catra." With that final utterance, Adora walked her way into the light, refusing to look back as Catra raised a clawed hand for her.

"MHMHMHHHHHHHHHHH!" Catra screamed, feeling the tears pour from her face as she watched Adora disappear into the light. She wasn't listening, and she showed no signs of ever wanting to come back. All Catra could do was watch helplessly as she was dragged into the darkness, all while she watched her dear friend disappear in front of her very eyes.

_I'M SORRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!_

...

**_(A/N: You may stop the music now if you're still playing it.)_ **

Through the darkness, a lone figure stood as it came upon the sword, the very item that could lead to the salvation or destruction of Etheria. Nothing had gone according to plan, and based on the observations and recordings she just witnessed, it didn't seem like anything was going to go their way anymore either.

All this time, all this planning, has resulted in nothing. Nothing but a lost cause, nothing but a single hope that still remained within their grasp.

Everything, from this moment forward, relied on the last person they could trust.

"Initiate the Alpha Protocol."

...

...

"Ah. And then there was the day Adora and I were on a boat together!" Scorpia continued, having oodles of fun with her new friend as Entrapta continued making improvements on Emily.

Everything Adora promised and then some were given to Entrapta immediately, and not a millisecond went by where Entrapta could possibly regret it! Everything around here was too amazing for words! From the machines that she got to build right down to the very tools she used to build them! Everything around here was simply fantastic!

True, a small part of her was saddened to know she was going to be spending the rest of her natural-born life within the confines of the Fright Zone as she constructed death machines to annihilate her former comrades in arms, but that was hours ago. Besides, it's like Adora said, they're the ones who left her here in the first place without any seeming interest in getting her back to their side, and around here, she felt like she had genuine friends in both, Scorpia, and Adora.

Even if the former continued chatting nonstop, not that she minded. "Did I ever tell you about that?"

"I'm... pretty sure you did." Entrapta replied, holding up a tape recorder with her hair as she started to play it.

_"Oh, and one time, Adora and I were on a boat together. That was the best day ever."_

"Yup, you did." Entrapta nodded as she resumed her work.

"I think that's when we really made a connection, you know?" Scorpia continued. "Not that I needed to try, to be honest." It was around the same time that Adora, still with the head band over her forehead, appeared from the opening automatic doors, walking in as Scorpia continued to comment about her. "She's always nice, and so cheerful. You would barely recognize her without a smile on her face!"

Adora didn't know what she was blathering on about, and for the first time, she didn't care. She didn't want anything to do with the two for the time being. All she wanted was some rest and relaxation, somewhere she could keep to herself for awhile. Sadly, fate didn't seem to be so kind as she found Scorpia in front of her almost immediately.

"Halt intruder- Oh, Adora!" Scorpia's threatening demeanor instantly vanished behind a warm smile, one that was just as soon replaced with a curious look. "What happened to you? You're filthy! Are you okay? Do you need first aid? Do you need to be nursed tenderly back to health?!"

"...I'm fine, Scorpia." Adora muttered, wasting no time as she walked right passed her. That alone was completely out of the norm for Scorpia. Usually Adora would stick around to chat or chuckle at a little here and there about Scorpia's silly antics. For once, though, she didn't seem interested in it, almost as if she didn't care.

"Are you sure? You don't look okay- Scorpia attempted to touch her shoulder, only to nearly jump as Adora grabbed it with a shadowy tendril from the ground, glaring back.

"I said I'm fine!" She yelled. It was at the sight of Scorpia's concerned and hurtful expression that she understood what she was suddenly doing, turning away with a small frown on her face as she pulled away the head band. "I... I'm sorry, Scorpia. I just... had a really long day."

"Oooh wowwie!" Entrapta's starry gaze was the first thing Adora immediately saw as she turned around again. "You can grow shadows with that head band? How does it work? Does it work on a psychokinetic wavelength of some sort? No wait, first question! Did you get it?"

"It?... O-Oh, you mean this?" Adora wondered as she pulled out the small device, the very thing that started her nightmarish adventure today, that she got from the pedestal.

"HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUH-!" Scorpia could've sworn if Entrapta inhaled any deeper than that, she would've blown up like a balloon, the stars in her eyes practically shooting straight out of her head as she gasped. "An intact data crystal?!" She squealed like a small child as she held it dearly. "I have never seen one so perfectly preserved! This could be a game-changer. Who knows what sort of secrets it contains?! Hahahahahaaaa!" With another squeal, Entrapta threw herself at the Force Captain, only for Scorpia to intercept her, twirling around with her as the two laughed joyously.

Seeing the two excitable friends twirling about like the couple of goofs she knew them to be, Adora walked away, wanting to put the entire day, like her former friend, behind her. "Man, I knew Adora could do it. It's like I was telling you, she is the best friend  **ever**!" At the statement, Adora paused.

Somehow the word friend didn't seem to have the same ring to it as it once did. No doubt the day's events had an involvement in that, there was just something that didn't roll right off the tongue with it like it used to. Maybe she was overthinking it, or maybe she wasn't thinking enough about it. She didn't care at this point.

It was enough to give Adora something small to smile about. She had no care for the person she thought was once her friend, and she was relieved to see she still had friends on the other side over here. These two were the next best things she could hope for at this point, being on the same side with the people that she would continue to fight for.

"I'll see you two in the morning, okay? Make sure you're up and ready first thing tomorrow. We have a busy future ahead of us."

These two were still her friends, and the Horde was still her family. They raised her from the moment she was found, they provided her with a home and a future that she could feel right alongside by, and she was surrounded by people she could trust... with a few exceptions... And she wasn't about to let the Rebellion or those pathetic princesses get away with everything they've done.

She was going to see the war brought to an end with her own two hands, she was sure of it. And her first order of business:

To watch Castle Bright Moon burn into the ground...

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**A/N: ...well, eh... how you folks feeling :o? Good? Bad? Good-sad? Bad-sad? It all comes down to this... hooooooh boy...** _

**_Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed... however much of it, and uhh...yeah, so... hope to see you soon..._ **


	45. Episode 12: Light Hope Part 1

_**A/N: A relatively good size start for the beginning ^^** _

_**What is UP! people! I'm astounded to see the amazing feedback and cheer (well tears but close enough) I've received over the last chapter as being emotional and such.** _

_**The reason I've been so paranoid about my writing is due to a rather hazardous group of reviews i received in the past from my Rwby fic- 3 times in a row, i had people critiquing the exact same thing (and yes i mean random people, not the same) over and over again about my choice of direction, saying it sucked and whatnot- I can handle critiques fine and all, but when the first hour of your reviews is nothing but putdowns, it kinda sets the bar, you know :/?** _

_**Anyway! Who's all hyped for Season 2 of SHERAAAAAAAAAA ^^! I know I am!...which is why it sucks for me that I CANT WATCH A SINGLE EPISODE UNTIL I FINISH THIS SEASON X*(! Reason for it? To keep myself from getting distracted too much, as well as to continue with the continuity I've invested in it until now. I don't want some big design coming out of left field and finding out I messed something up before i finished this fic.** _

_**So overall, yeah, I won't be seeing season 2 until I finish the next two episodes- but i might watch a single episode if I finish this episode to give myself a small boost of motivation and all. I have no idea what to expect next season, but I'm excited all the same, and hope you people continue to enjoy this fanfic as you have.** _

_**With that in mind, apologies for anything that seems/feels rushed. I can't really control it due to the hype at the moment, not just with She-Ra, but with Avengers which I'm going to in a few hours ^^ Huzzah!... and sorry for anything that feels rushed XP.** _

_**With that all said, FINALLY... enjoy!** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

"...Mhhh..." Catra's ears twitched as she slowly came to, her heavy eyes opening slowly partway as she took in her surroundings. All around her, there was darkness, save for the small area she was in. She could see herself being held a few feet above the red metal ground, the floor's cold steel seeming as lifeless as the rest of this place was. It took her a few seconds to register that she was off the ground at all, realizing something was wrong.

"Mmmh? Mhhh!" Her attempts to speak were met with full resistance as she tried to open her mouth, finding it stuck in place as she tried to move around.  _Where the heck am I?_  Catra attempted to move any other limb she could, finding them to be just as frozen as her mouth was.

Well, perhaps not frozen. More like glued.

With what little space she managed to move her head around, she managed to see the rest of her body.  _What is all this?_  Her body was covered in a strange green webbing from head to toe, covering from from the mouth down in a bizarre green stickiness. Her arms, were stretched to each side of her, her left leg was covered up completely, and while her right leg wasn't completely immobile, her right foot was stuck in the green material along with her left foot. Even her tail was pinned behind her back from what she could feel.

"Mhh! Mhhhhh!" Catra grumbled as she tried to pull away from her bonds. What happened to her? How did she get stuck here in the first place. Maybe if she remembered what brought her here to begin with, she could figure a way out of this mess. And it was with the very first memory that the entire day's events returned to her, and a great deal of pain in her heart, as she remembered somebody very close to her.

_Adora..._

There was no comparison to it. The day she was tortured by Shadow Weaver was nothing compared to the current pain she was feeling. This was, without a doubt, the absolute, worse day of her entire life.

She thought things would work out for them by the time their adventure here was over. In an attempt to help save Glimmer from her glitching issue, one that steadily grew worse by the hour, Catra attempted to explore the Beacon out in the middle of the Whispering Woods, hoping to find a means to cure Glimmer or find a method to heal her involving the sword. Either result would've been acceptable to her as long as she found one or the other. And what did she find instead?

Adora. Her friend. The very one who's friendship she had been abusing since day one.

Apparently, the blonde Force Captain had her own reasoning for being at the Beacon. After the events that lead to the princesses escape from the Fright Zone, she had been tasked by Lord Hordak himself to find a significant contribution to the Horde itself, one that outweighed the blunder of Adora's mistake within one week. That meant she had to find something equal to or greater than one soldier, one princess, and, most of all, one ancient sword that was built by the First Ones.  _Shockingly_ , that was easier said than done.

Barely five minutes in to their own excavations, the two found themselves forced to work together and flee after mistakenly assuming Adora had triggered some defense mechanism within the halls of the First Ones' citadel. Engaging an emergency lock down, the two found themselves being chased and hunted by monstrous robotic spiders that acted as the defenders of the great building, lurking in the shadows and attempting to capture the two by any means necessary.

Surprisingly, that wasn't the weirdest part of their day, or the hardest. The hardest part of the day came from a room they were set upon after escaping the ferocious spiders as the two discovered a small speck of light in the distance. Upon approaching the mystical brightness, they found themselves plagued and haunted by past memories in the form of simulations. They showed many parts of their past from the good, the bad, and the downright horrendous.

And for Catra, that was beyond a world of pain.

The holographic simulations showed them various glimpses of the past that the two were forcefully integrated into, finding themselves taking the form of whatever age they had back then and running through their memories completely unaware until whatever scene they were witnessing was finished Throughout that time, the two of them came to some rather troubling revelations about their past, as well as multiple examples of them repeating their past mistakes into the present.

For Catra, she was sickened by her own past. Not only did she have to relive what used to be the worst day of her life, she got an up-close view of just how poorly she treated Adora throughout the years. From using her as her own personal shield to using her name to get whatever she wanted through life, she has been nothing but an abuser in their relationship. She always had to have it her way or the highway by the looks of it, and whenever the two found themselves in trouble, thanks to whatever harebrained schemes she came up with, she was always leaving Adora's side as she made her own escape, abandoning her much like she did at the start of this entire adventure.

As for Adora, she was coming to the exact same conclusion, naturally not taking it as easily as Catra did since she was the one who played with her emotions and their relationship in the first place. She couldn't believe her eyes as she saw each and every memory play out. Seeing everything from a much more mature angle, she realized that Catra was always the one leaving her behind whenever she needed her, and exploiting her for her own personal gain throughout the majority of their friendship.

What's worse is the grand revelation Adora, from her viewpoint, came to at the end of all of this, during the same time Catra found herself surrounded by a swarm of these terrifying robotic spiders that attacked her to no end.

Catra was never interested in her friendship with Adora. She didn't even see Adora as her friend. To Adora's standpoint, Catra saw her as nothing other than a means to an end, a tool to use as she saw fit in whatever way benefited her. Adora was hers to use as she saw fit, and until these past memories came back to her, Adora had allowed her to do so.

But not anymore.

She was tired, fed up, and heartbroken. To think the one person she cared about most in this world was just using her to get away with all her wrongdoings, to use her as a personal shield who would always take the fall as Catra got away with most of what she did, it sickened her. It sickened her to think of how many times she used her name to scare people, how many other times she abandoned her in the past. To think the person she made the greatest of all promises, to always have each other's back, showed no interest or care in her friendship, had been using her this entire time.

Suffice to say, she did not take it well. After her grand revelation, she came across Catra as she was being hounded by the giant robot spiders, trapped in their webs and bindings before Adora had arrived on the scene. Instead of saving Catra like she usually would, she announced her findings to the girl and renounced her friendship to her. She also stated her new life's mission of making sure Catra would never achieve her own goal of obtaining a kingdom, the very thing Catra thought the both of them wanted.

And to do that, she as going to make sure the Rebellion was burned to the ground, as well as anyone else who was associated with the Rebellion, or capable of making Catra's dream come true.

No amount of apologies could reach her dear friend after Catra escaped her bonds. She chased after her friend through the darkness in a desperate bid to save her friendship with the one person she cared about most in this one. Even as she was chased throughout the complex by the spiders and haunted by the diminishing simulations that continued to display their past, she ran with all of the strength she had left in her legs after the endless wave of spiders she fought off. She wanted Adora to know how sorry she was, to try and make amends for all the wrongdoings she's done up till now, and Adora wanted nothing to do with it.

By the time she came across her at an exit, it was already too late. Captured and bond just a few feet away from her blonde friend, Adora gave her one last goodbye, turning her back on her friendship and everything it meant to her at that point. Never in Catra's life had she ever felt her heart so torn apart or ripped to shreds before. Never has she been so overwhelmed with guilt before that she regretted all of her past decisions. And never has Catra ever felt a pain as truly as agonizing as this moment right here.

Adora was gone. Their friendship was over. And for the first time, Catra found herself as the only one responsible for all of this.

It was truly the worse day of her life.

"Mhh! Mhhhhhh!" Catra grumbled again as she tried to pull free. Nobody knew where she was as far as she was concerned. She was trapped who knew where within this mighty Beacon, and was being kept alive for who knows what. For all she knew these spider things could come back at any moment to eat her, and that's if she was lucky.  _How am I supposed to get out of here?_  She wondered, checking her surroundings again.

She found it quite sad that after all the time she's spent here, she hasn't learned a single thing about how to be a better She-Ra, which was the goal behind all of this madness. She had yet to find a means to heal Glimmer, and she hasn't found a way to use the sword yet to perfection. On top of that, she hasn't learned a single thing about She-Ra, experience-wise at least, in figuring out how she can become a stronger warrior.

She was tired of always being the one needing saving around here, never acknowledging her own accomplishments and victories since she joined the Rebellion. She had two other people she could consider friends by now, and she hasn't found a single means to save one of them! How was she supposed to be an ally to the Rebellion if she couldn't pull her own weight around? She was reckless, snobbish, and jumped head first into any dangers that came her way, and it's always backfired on her.

 _Come on, think! There has to be something you can do..._  Saying this didn't improve her situation in any way, sadly enough. Her hands were too tightly pinned to the wall in the sticky web, keeping her from getting her claws extended and cutting her way through like she did before. "Mmhhhhhhhhhh!" And no amount of pulling or pushing could distance herself from the wall she was stuck to. With the darkness still surrounding here, there was no way to tell if and when the spiders would come back. All she knew was that she didn't want to be here when they did.

 _Don't think recklessly for once. Use your brain._  Every time she had to tell herself this over the last two minutes, she found her optimism and enthusiasm slipping away a little at a time. She couldn't see a single way out of this, nothing within arm's reach in order to cut herself free, and her legs weren't better off either. Even if she could move her right leg more in comparison to the other, there was no way she could free herself as long as her right foot was... wait...

Blinking, she looked down towards her foot as she tried flexing her toes, finding them to have a surprising amount of movement room compared to her other foot. That was when the realization finally dawned on her.

 _The boots!_  She shouted in her mind as she pulled around her foot. With her combat boot proving itself as an active shield against the sticky substance, she found the foot itself free of it's binding, allowing her enough space to wriggle it around as she pulled her ankle free. To her relief, she actually managed to slide her foot out of the boot itself, grinning as she finally had a leg free from her trappings, and one with some verily sharp claws to it.

For the first time ever, she found her recklessness to be her lifesaver. These combat boots were more of a household accessory than they were for actual combat. In order to keep herself from scratching up the carpets and the surfaces she's climbed around the castle, Glimmer forced her to find some sort of footwear that she could use. It was quite the opposite turnabout all things considered as she wore them for inside of one's home instead of outside and vice versa. Looking back on it now, this one moment of recklessness, forgetting to take her boots off when she left the castle before all this, was one of the first times she was thankful for being Catra.

With the foot free from her prison, her claws still as sharp as always, she began cutting her other leg free of the webbing, being careful not to scratch her legs or get her foot stuck in the process, as she worked to free her lower half from her prison. With a few swipes here and there, she grinned as her entire leg was cut free from her bindings, wiggling her other leg free and managing to give herself enough space to move her lower body in general.

From there, it became a small task as she worked on pulling her leg right leg closer to her leg arm, the additional room for flexibility from her lower half allowing her to cut away at the green stuff until, finally, her arm itself was free. After that, it became a short menial task for her as she cut away at the rest of her body with her sharpened claws, pulling and cutting away at the stickiness until, finally, she managed to pull off from the wall itself, freeing her after long last as she dropped to the ground.

* _thud_ *

"Phew," she sighed as she wiped the sweat from her brow, "I can't believe I was saved by a pair of boots of all things..." Turning back to the webbing, she took the liberty of freeing her boot from their imprisonment, equipping them in case she was ever captured again by those spider bots all over again.

The very ones who made their presence known the minute she finished tying her boots back on.

* _Skreeeeeeeeee_!*

"Egh..." Catra gritted her teeth as she saw their red glowing eyes through the darkness, the timing of her past escapes never being as perfectly timed as they were now. From what she could see, there were at least four of these blanked machines as they stepped out of the darkness, each with their own group of glowing red eyes as they slowly approached her. Growling, she extended the claws in both her hands, looking forward to the opportunity to vent her frustrations after her tiring day. "All right, who's first?" She threatened.

These things captured her and kept her away from reaching Adora in time. This entire place plagued her with visions of her past and all the horrible things she had done. And the simulations pulled out some of her most repressed memories that she never wanted to experience again without her consent. Tearing into these robots, no matter how many there were at the moment, seemed like the best means of releasing her bottled up anger at the time.

However, that sense of anger and terror she had of these creatures slowly started do dwindle down as she watched them. It wasn't out of pity, remorse, or a sense of needless violence like she had in the woods earlier before coming here. It was the way the robots continued to stare at her without so much as a twitch, none of them moving as Catra continued to stand her ground.

 _Are they waiting for me to make the first move?_  Were these creatures capable of such a complex thought? They didn't seem to have any strategy when she last met them, other than overwhelming her with their numbers, so it was hard to tell if they were capable of pulling off any form of plan. Were they scanning her to assess her threat levels or something? Or maybe they were stalling until reinforcements showed up. Then again, with this place being a prison, maybe they didn't care if she managed to free herself as long as she didn't try getting passed them. Perhaps they thought this room was more than enough of a prison for her.

Whatever the reasoning was made itself apparent as the robots finally started to move from the middle of their group, two pairs of the bots going right and left of each other as a fifth robot suddenly appeared. Waiting for it to make the first attack as it approached, it instead did the last thing she had ever expected as it dropped something from its mouth, almost forgetting about it entirely after her last confrontation with Adora.

The Sword of Protection, one of the mightiest weapons ever created by the First Ones, was now lying at her feet. For some reason, these freakish robots gave her back her sword, tossing it against the ground and up to her feet where she saw her small reflection staring back at her. Looking back to the robots for a moment, she was surprised to see them began backing away from her, leaving her to whatever fate she wanted as they disappeared.

"They're just... giving it to me?" She asked as she kneeled. She didn't know what those freaky robot spiders were doing, and, for now, she didn't care. She needed to get out of here before those things changed their minds again, certain that they wouldn't give her the same courtesy twice. Shrugging, she decided to pick up the legendary sword, hoping it would-

* ** _FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM_** *

"Ahh!" Catra yelled as she shielded her eyes. The very instant that she touched the sword she was engulfed in an explosion of pure light, all coming from the rune stone embedded in the sword's hilt. Was this some trap of theirs? Did they mess with it in some way as a means to trick her? Because, looking at it now, it definitely worked. At least, that's what she thought before her vision started to return to her, discovering the scenery around her had drastically changed.

Her surroundings were familiar, in some way. All around her was an enchantment of beautiful blue and violet coloring as the walls appeared to be laced with technology. From etchings into the walls to holographic displays in every direction of her, the entire setting had changed around her as the light faded from her view, disappearing along with her sword at the same time. The strangest part out of all of this wasn't how weird this place looked or the mysterious means she was transported here with.

The strangest part was how she's been here before, only once in her life.

"I... I know this place..."

"Hello, Catra." At the sound of the blessed voice, Catra's eyes twitched as she quickly shot around. Her eyes widened as she let out a gasp, unable to believe what she was seeing, or, more accurately, who she was seeing, standing in front of her.

The very person who she met at the beginning of all this.

The woman who told Catra about what she must do.

The one she came here to find in the first place.

"Light Hope?!"

With an emotionless smile, she replied, "We have much to discuss..."

...

...

 

**_The intro starts with Shadow Weaver in the Black Garnet chamber spying and glaring at a image of Catra. Than the image dives into the water of her scrying spell._ **

**_~ We're on the edge of greatness ~_ **

**_Where we have Catra at Bright Moon looking both determined and forlorn out into the distance._ **

**_~ turning darkness into light ~_ **

**_A scene of kid Catra and kid Adora training together in the fright zone under Shadow Weaver. Before being replaced with a image of Adora glaring at a heart broken looking Catra who's on her knees across a battlefield._ **

**_~ We're right beside you ~_ **

**_But than Glimmer and Bow teleport to Catra side raising her spirit back up, as shown with her surprise blinking when Gimmer offers her a hand, than she smirks accepting the help as she takes the lead ahead of them._ **

**_~ Ready to Fight! ~_ **

**_Catra raises her sword, transforming into She-Ra in a glorious flash of light_ **

**_~ (fight, fight, fight fight) ~_ **

**_Then She-Ra rushes off into battle with Glimmer and Bow following right behind her._ **

**_~ We're gonna win in the end! ~_ **

**_Mermista rises out of a tide, blasting Horde soldiers with water._ **

**_~ We must be strong, And we must be brave ~_ **

**_Perfuma burst from the ground, capturing and tying up Horde soldiers with vines._ **

**_~(we must be brave) ~_ **

**_Frosta rides an entire wave of frozen water, freezing Horde tanks in their tracks._ **

**_~ We're gonna find every bit of strength that we have ~_ **

**_The scene shifts to Hordaks throne room where the evil shadowy figure sits upon his throne, his red glowing eyes being the only noticeable part of him, surrounded by notable members of the Horde, consisting of Adora and Catra's squadron, Shadow Weaver, Adora, Scropia, and even Entrapta._ **

**_~ and never let go ~_ **

**_The scene shifts to an epic clash between Catra and Adora, the She-Ra gritting her teeth as she presses her sword against Adora's electrical baton, as the Force Captain herself grins with chaotic excitement as the red jewel from her headband shines._ **

**_~ (Oh ah Oh) ~_ **

**_Adora and Catra push each other off as they back up into their friends- Entrapta and Scorpia for Adora, and for Catra Bow and Glimmer._ **

**_~ We must be STRONG! ~_ **

**_The scene ends with a final shot of both sides looking across the field, a transparent image of Catra and Adora's faces filling the sky as the colors are split between them;_ **

**_A majestic darkness shining into light upon Catra's side, and a horrid light seeping into darkness on Adora's half._ **

...

...

 

Castle Bright Moon. Home to the leader of the Rebellion, and the home to Princess Glimmer, Queen Angella, and, as of late, the She-Ra-in-training, Catra.

It was here that laid the foundation for everything and anything that stood against the Horde. From a small regime of soldiers, guards, and princesses remaining, this was the last bastion of hope for Etheria and all who inhabit it, and the last line of defense between the Horde and utter annihilation.

Within one of the chambers of the beloved castle, Princess Glimmer could be seen pacing back and forth. Everything from the days prior had lead to disaster. After a rescue mission that they thought ended with Entrapta's death, the Princess Alliance had all but disbanded. The princesses that once inhabited the halls every meeting had left to secure the protection of their own kingdoms, unwilling to risk the lives they could lose and leave their kingdoms unguarded as a result.

It was a tragic ending to the first and only mission the alliance had preformed as a team, and it still wasn't left without additional fallout. In order to save Catra's life from a wicked magic cast by Shadow Weaver, Glimmer was forced to use every ounce of strength and magic she possibly had to escape a mystical binding Shadow Weaver placed on her using the Black Garnet. And while it may have ended successfully, it didn't come without it's drawbacks.

Ever since they escaped from the horror that was the Fright Zone, Glimmer found herself experiencing a painful glitching with her powers, one that erupted at random intervals all around her, and leaving her in a worse state of pain than the last. None of their methods of trying to stop the corrupted magic had worked in their favor, and it was proven that the radiating aura of red was growing dangerous and deadlier with each burst.

The little hope they did have at this point relied solely on Catra's ability to find a means to heal her with the sword, prompting her to head out on her own in a means to find the Beacon. There was already present in the air leading up to her departure as Catra was clouded with the guilt of Entrapta's passing and the Princess Alliance's fall, feeling responsible after everything that's happened. With the state of mind she was in when she left, there was no way for Glimmer or Bow to know how she was feeling since she left.

Or any way to tell how she was doing,

"She said she was-"

* _rrrrrrrrtttttttttt_ *

"Ghhh," Glimmer groaned as she was overcome with another flash of the red magic, "going to get training-"

* _rrrrtttt_ *

"to fix me!" The Princess of Bright Moon continued back and forth as Bow watched her from the cushion against the window. "How long is that going to take?"

* _thunk_ *

"OW!" With a yelp, Glimmer rubbed her aching shin as she tried to dull the pain, grumbling at the frustration building up to this point. "What kind of monster puts a chair in here?!"

"Okay. I'm worried, too, Glimmer," Bow returned to his feet, trying to help her relax as he leaned her against the pillowy chair, "but taking it out on the furniture isn't going to help.

"We can't just sit here and hope she comes back eventually." She argued in distress, jumping back to her feet. "We have to do something."

"Like what?"

* _knock_ *

* _knock_ *

* _knock_ *

At the sound of the door, the princess silently moaned as she answered it, revealing one of the queen's personal guards in its way. "Princess, there's, uh... something here to see you."

"Don't you mean  _someone_?" She asked back in confusion.

"No, I mean  _something_." Exiting down the hallway, Glimmer and Bow shot each other a look as stood at the door's entryway, watching as to who, or what, came to see them.

Down from the hallway in a majestic and regal manner, they spotted the orange haired alicorn making its way towards them. With all that's happened, they had almost forgotten about this horse's existence, remembering it as the same one that carried Glimmer all the way to Bright Moon Castle when she first met Catra. With the horse taking the lead of the girl, the trio of would-be friends managed to travel all the way down to the Rebellion Headquarters without having to worry about Glimmer's exhausted state, having spent all of her magic up at that point.

It was also one of the fun times Glimmer could recall with Catra as she exposed Catra's personal fear of the horse, her animal instincts kicking in as she had never met such a strange and unruly creature such as it. It almost made her wish she maintained that fear throughout the first couple weeks they knew each other because it would've made a convenient and humorous means to scare Catra off or get back at her for all the times she picked on Glimmer and Bow in the past.

Sadly, all good things had to come to an end as Catra quickly overcame her fear of it a few hours after arriving to Bright Moon, the magicat attempting to use her fear of the horse as a means to get the sword's transformation working for her. Instead of getting it to transform herself, after hitting it angrily against a rock, she inadvertently ended up transforming the horse itself, from an everyday work horse that grazed along the meadows, to this enchanting creature with a horn, wings, and a golden orange-colored mane.

"Our horse!" Bow stated, wondering whatever became of the creature since hearing of it back at the Princess Prom.

"I am my own horse." It replied with a smug grin. Spreading its wings out further as it raised its front hooves to the air, the horse neighed proudly before the two. "Call me...  _ **Swift Wind**_!"

"..."

"..."

"...AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The sudden shriek of terror and fright nearly caused the horse to jump as Glimmer and Bow hugged each other tightly.

Horses were an everyday part of Etherian life. They helped transport the various edibles and trades from one town to the next. They excelled at providing great entertainment for everyone within Etheria from jousting to horseback racing. With horses being one of the everyday part of life, there was nothing to fear for the two.

What there  _was_  to fear was the fact it told them its name. No, not even that. The fact it so much as talked to begin with brought all sorts of craziness and fear into their mind. Was their horse secretly some malicious, demonic, creature that ate the flesh of little children? Did it infiltrate Bright Moon intentionally to attack the castle itself?! There was no way to tell what the horse was thinking or what its purpose was.

All they knew was that this impossible oddity was too hard to accept as reality!

"OUR HORSE CAN TALK!" Bow exclaimed, pointing to the majestic being shock as he held Glimmer.

"Yeah, yeah, I can speak my own mind now, pretty crazy." Swift Wind said in a casual tone as he strolled his way into the room, ignoring the gaping and shocked expressions that stared at him. "So, I'm thinking-"

"HE'S A TALKING HORSE!" Bow squealed again, the face of disbelief being present in his and Glimmer's eyes as they stared.

"As we've established. Now-"

"HE HAS WINGS?!" Of all the things Glimmer has seen in her life, nothing has ever compared to anything like this. A horse having wings is one thing. A horse being rainbow-colored is another. A horse having rainbow-colored wings, AND that can talk? That is the craziest thing she has ever seen in her entire life!

With an unamused look in his eyes, the horse stared back as they approached. "Okay, I'll give you two a moment to freak out, and then we need to talk."

"HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUH-!"

The horse. Was. TALKING! It was a real, honest to First Ones, talking horse! How did the guard who brought him into the room not freak out like they were? Or how was she already over a spectacle of a marvel like this?! This wasn't some magical creature, or at least not born magical, that descended from the heavens or came out of a portal from another dimension that was present before the two. This was a one-hundred percent, certified, talking horse!

There were so many things running through their mind at that moment that they didn't know where to begin! The fact it seemed conscious of its state, the way it addressed them fluently and in a royal manner, the very detail that it knew their names, knew how to speak in their tongue, and came all this way just to talk to the two of them, all of it culminated into a spectacular wonder of the world, one with its own mind and voice to speak from.

Oh yeah, and who could forget the important part about all of this?

IT WAS A TALKING  **HOOOORSE**!

"Great!" He had to put an end to the moment himself, fearful of how many years this could continue. "I think Catra needs our help. Since Catra transformed me, I've been able to feel where she is at all times. It's like instinct." Swift Wind explained as he turned to the window, staring out of it with determination. "But now I feel a pull, as if I'm being summoned to her side." He paid no mind to Bow as he pet his incredible wings of beauty, his eyes sparkling after he did. "As part of Catra's herd, I need your help. Will you come?"

* _rrrrtttt_ *

"Ngggh... Of course. Lead the way." Glimmer nodded as she stepped forth.

"But Glimmer, you're glitching." Bow pointed out, noticing how the glitching was becoming more frequent as of late.

"It's what got us into this mess to begin with." The sorrow in her eyes was impossible to resist as she spoke. "Catra left to save me. Now it's time for us to save her. You in?"

"Always!" There was no way he was going to turn her down. After all, the Best Friend Squad, title still pending, always stuck together! "But I don't think your mom is going to like us leaving so soon after our mission."

"She doesn't need to know." She smiled as she made her way to the door. "We'll sneak out and be back before my mom even realizes we're gone." And with a simple pull of the door handle, it became clear why that plan wasn't going to work to begin with- because the next thing she saw was her mother smiling at her, her hand already raised as she prepared to knock. "Ahh! Mom!" She yelped, trying to switch to a casual persona as fast as she could. "What, uhh... What are you doing here?"

"I was coming to see why my guard was escorting a horse into your room." She explained.

"I'd like to think of myself as more of a role model for all horse kind." Swift Wind commented, nearly making the Queen jump as he butted in right next to her. It took the silent stare of the Queen to make him realize everything wrong with what he just did. "...I mean, uh... What talking horse? What are you talking about?"

As opposed to the previous expressions he was greeted with, she met his quirky antics with a curious brow, smiling a little in fascination as she crossed her arms. "You should get going if you want to track down Catra."

"You're... not going to stop us?" Glimmer couldn't tell exactly how she was supposed to take that. Confused? Thankful? A mix of both? Her mother was fully aware of her plan and show little sign of resistance.

"Glimmer, I told you I regretted giving up after your father died." Her mother's warm smile was an interesting change of scenery as she patted her cheek comfortingly. "I will not consign you to the same regrets."

 _Now,_  she knew to smile. It almost felt like a dream to the two of them as they reconciled after many years of silence and frustration to one another, thinking back on how one five-minute chat between mother and daughter opened up locked box of emotions between the two that they haven't felt in years.

Nudging her head against her daughter's, the Queen smiled at her daughter's selfless actions, which is what she knew she should've been doing since day one, before she stood at attention. "Commander Glimmer, I order you to continue your mission to find Catra, and bring her back home."

"Right away, Your Majesty." Her daughter replied with a little embarrassment. Something as simple as this would never have played out so easily between the two if it wasn't for that wonderful night. "Come on!" With the order given to her fellow allies, the Queen watched as her daughter and friends ran out of the room, Bow giving a respectful salute as he always did first, followed by the horse doing the exact same thing, using his feathers as an arm, and rushing out behind him.

The trio knew what their top priority for this mission was, Angella knew this perfectly well. And despite whatever fears she may have that could await her daughter and her friends, she knew they would be safe as long as they had each other.

"Uh, when we're back," Swift Wind quickly spoke as he poked his head back into the room, "I'd like to talk about freeing all the horses in your stable." He continued his list of demands even after Bow continued to push him out of the room. "I think that's-

"Later!" Bow waved goodbye with a nervous smile.

"Hey, I'm still talking to the Queen!" He neighed.

"...So now the horse is demanding things from me?" She sighed. "He definitely belongs to Catra."

...

...

"Hey Entrapta," Adora called out as she entered the interrogation room, "I got your note, but I'm not sure I under... stand... what..." Everything around her drew to an eerie silence as she examined her surroundings.

What was once a glorified interrogation room where the worst of the Horde's criminals were subjugated and interrogated for their information no longer existed within this place. Where there used to be tables for discussion, shackles for imprisoning, there were now computer screens that lined the right wall, a lab table for studies and experimentation on the right, and power converters and a whole bunch of other gadgets and gizmos that filled every corner!

And the traditional shackles and restraints, of course.

To her surprise, she didn't seem to be the first one to find herself in the room either. There in the center stood a curious Scorpia as she examined the deeply affectionate Emily, one of the many fantastical inventions that Entrapta reprogrammed or made from scratch. It was built with its own emotional settings that Entrapta could adjust, as well as an upgraded plasma canon that could melt through the walls in a matter of seconds!

The newly added wall in the leftmost corner of the room can attest to that, the newly added slabs most noticeable next to the currently rusty hunks of metal that stood adjacent to it.

"Someone's been busy I see..." At the sound of her voice, Scorpia turned around from her current playmate as she offered her a hearty hello.

"Hey, Adora!" She waved, clutching a similar note she received from Entrapta as well. "You sleep well?"

"Er... Y-Yeah, I'm fine." Scorpia knew it was better not to question the small bags under her eyes, not after the events of yesterday. She might not have known what Adora went through yesterday, but she was close enough to her friend to tell when she was in pain, and based on her appearance, Adora was in a  **lot** of pain.

Why wouldn't she be after the events yesterday? To learn that the person you were close to all your life since childhood, to find out they were nothing more than a backstabbing freak who was only your friend purely out of selfish desire, was beyond the realm of tragic. Adora had never felt an emotional pain as severe as her revelation yesterday, realizing that after all this time, Catra saw her as a mere tool to make her life easier.

It wasn't something she got over through a good night's rest, nor could anyone hope to achieve such a sense of relief. Throughout the night, she must've woken up at least half a dozen times in discomfort, trying to push through the tears that welled up in her eyes from time to time as she was plagued with memories of her life with Catra.

None of those memories brought comfort any longer. All they did was plague her with the false sense of senscierity and innocence, reminding her that all the good times she thought she had with Catra were nothing but lies. Why would they bring anymore comfort after what she's been through? What part of her mind fooled her into thinking she could ever trust Catra again? Did her mind simply like tormenting her like this? Did it think if it showed her any more memories from her past that she would find it within herself to ever forgive Catra for the way she treated her?

Because, news flash, it didn't.

If anything, all it did was fuel her hatred for the Rebellion. The reason? Well, aside from the fact everything about their lives were great until they came into the picture, it's because Catra was fully intent on using them to fulfill her own selfish desires. She couldn't imagine Catra having her way after all that's happened to her, all the suffering she endured for the sake of her friend. Her first order of business was to crush the Rebellion with her own two hands, and she would use any means necessary at this point to make it happen.

"I take it you got the same letter?" Adora asked, wondering if she had a better understanding as to what was going on.

* _clank_ *

"Ah, Adora!" The voice of a familiar scientist rang out, catching Adora's attention as she exited the circular vent. "I see you got my note!"

"You mean the one that happens to drop right on top of you from the air vent while I was eating breakfast?" Adora joked a little.

"Yes, that's the one!" The perky scientist confirmed as she began working on one of the newly powered generators in the room, connecting wires and massive cables to one another. "I've made great strides in analyzing the data from the First Ones data crystal you brought me. Just look around you!"

"I've... noticed..." She wasn't completely sure how she should feel about the wondrous technology that littered the floors and the walls around her. She ran her fingers across one of the metallic surface as if she was checking to see if it was real, unable to believe that all of this amazing technology was surrounding her. "Where did you even get all the parts for all of this? I haven't approved your affiliation with Lord Hordak yet, so I doubt he sent any of this."

"Oh, you know," the scientist mumbled on as she worked, "here and there... in rooms."

"Did there happen to be people  _in_  these rooms when you took them?" The Force Captain asked knowingly with a smirk.

The geeky scientist had a nervous grin on her face as she poked two tips of her hair in innocence. "Well... not when I went back to take the stuff."

"Heh heh... it's fine, Entrapta." Adora assured patting her shoulder. "Like I said before, you're one of us, among friends."

"Hmhmhm!" It was impossible for the scientist to not chuckle back at this.

It's true about what she said, right down to the very detail. All of her so-called  _friends_  had abandoned her in this place without so much as a worry or care in their eyes. They had plenty of opportunity to come back for her, like Catra did with Adora, and they had yet to act up on it. Here, she was surrounded by the enemy who embraced her scientific nature and didn't poke fun at her quirks and weird behavior. She truly felt like she was part of a team for once over here compared to the Princess Alliance.

"So, the data..." Her eyes shined like a starry sky as she squealed. She couldn't bring herself to say what she had found, instead opting to show her new friend personally. With the data crystal in hand, she inserted it into a perfectly-shaped slot into the computer board, watching with Adora as the crystal began to glow blue, displaying its various details on the computer above it.

"Wow!" Scorpia cheered as her eyes lit up. "Hah, cool!" Feeling her scientific nature take hold, she took the opportunity to pull out a small notepad and a pencil, writing down the amazing details and knowledge she was processing through her mind.

"Look at these readings. It's incredible! This seems to confirm my theories about the techno-organic nature of First Ones machinery, resulting in thaumaturlogical compatibility between magic and science!" Entrapta explained, drawing closer to the amazing computer in a trance. "HAHAHAHAHA!"

* _click_ *

"Whoa, Entrapta," Adora clicked her fingers in an attempt to snap her out of it, "you with us? Now, I'd like you to repeat what you just said. But this time, pretend the rest of us don't have the same level of education as a scientist studying a neutron star, okay?"

"Scorpia seems like she understands." She commented, gesturing to the red scorpion who was still writing in her mini notebook.

"Uh huh... Hey Scorpia, how are you doing with that doodling in your notebook?"

"Superb!" Scorpia squeaked, showing off her incredible artistic talent for the world to see. It displayed three familiar friends, one with pigtails, one with a scorpion stinger, and one of them having a shadowy blackness right under their feet, which Adora presumed was supposed to be her and her shadowy abilities. "I call it, the Super Pal Trio! This is me, that's you, and I think this one is clear. Come on. I'm a bit of an artist."

Adora's point had been made, almost too much at that. With a deep breath, Entrapta tried dumbing it down to a level the average person could understand, speaking slowly and clearly as she did. "I looked at the rock, which is a crystal, and used math- Wait, do I have to explain math to you, too?"

"I'm pretty sure we're good on that." Adora kept her cool as the scientist explained, not being put off by her strange behavior and her mannerisms. "What I want to know, though, is whether or not that crystal gave you any data that could improve our weapons or something."

"Weapons? Hah! This is so much bigger than weapons!" Entrapta could not emphasize that enough if she wanted to, stretching her own hair in exaggeration. "This could change  **everything**. Etheria's not just a planet, Adora. Whatever the First Ones did to it, it went deep."

"Deep? What do you mean by that?"

"You're... asking  ** _me_**  about my theories?"

"Uh, yeah? Why, is that a problem?"

"Aaaauuuughhhhh!" Adora was convinced she practically broke the girl as she saw the impressive amount of drool and shine from her eyes as she squeezed her head. "I've waited years for someone to ask me about my theories!" Finally! Intellectuals who were on the same possible wavelength as her! People who finally understood the knowledge of science all came down to the questions that were asked! "Hang on, I made a model!"

Against her will, Adora was dragged along behind Entrapta as the scientist grabbed her wrists with her twintails, Scorpia trailing shortly behind her.

They might've been the strangest combination of friends, but they were the best pair of friends she could ask for all the same. Brain and brawn, short and tall, and both kindhearted and peaceful. In this time of Adora's life, being surrounded with friends was what she needed most, because after everything she's been through, she wasn't planning on losing them, and she was ready to defend them with her own life.

...

...

* _swiff_ *

* _zzzt_ *

"Are you done yet?"

"Ghhhhhh!"

* _swiff_!*

* _zzzt_ *

"Catra, you've been at this for an hour now-"

"Shut up!" Catra growled as she attempted to strike at the mysterious being for the hundredth time. She didn't care what it took as long as she could hurt this "Light Hope" through any means necessary. It didn't bother her that each and every attempt to strike the woman was met with her phasing straight through her, she didn't take the hint that she could just reappear somewhere else immediately after. No, she didn't want to give this person the satisfaction of seeing her as anything other than angry. "You ruined my life!"

"I apologize for any misgivings you might have ex-x-xperienced," Light Hope apologized with a slight glitch, "but everything that happened, and everything that was destined to happen, was outside of our control."

"I don't want... huff... to h-hear it..." Catra panted, taking a moment to catch her breath as Light Hope appeared in front of her again. "Everything that's happened... is your fault!"

"I'm sorry?" The emotionless being questioned.

"You heard me! All of it! Everything from the sword, the stupid Rebellion, my life?! Everything was going smoothly in my life until you and this stupid sword came along!" She shouted, trying to swipe at the being once more. "Yeah, I had a fair number of problems in it, but it was still better than any of this junk!" She could not have been more certain of her declaration.

Everything from this sword to where she is today has been one giant disaster after another. Sure, she was still scared of Shadow Weaver, and she would never get to taste the sweet success of having a single victory over her if it wasn't for Glimmer and Bow. And yes, she finally had more people she could actually call friends since getting the sword. She wouldn't deny the positive aspects that came from her life.

What she  _ **loathed**  _was everything else about it! She had a somewhat decent life in the Horde with Adora, her closest friend, she wasn't forced upon so many responsibilities like this out of the blue, she wasn't tasked with some impossible task like leading an entire Rebellion against the very people who trained and raised her since infancy. She didn't have to worry about possibly losing the best friend she's ever had since childhood either, the scar on her goodbye still freshly etched into her heart.

No matter what truly started it, Catra was convinced. All the problems she came upon since becoming She-Ra, everything that's ever happened to her at this point, has been because of this one stupid sword, and the woman known as Light Hope.

"I apologize, Catra, but everything that you've experienced has been due to a mistake." She apologized again.

"You're darn right it's a mistake!"

"I do not think you understand my meaning. Everything that's happened with you, since the sword's founding, has been a complete accident."

"An... accident?" Curious at the statement, Catra retracted her claws, wanting to further inquire about this. "What do you mean it was all an accident since I found the sword?"

"I mean exactly as I foretold, Catra. The Sword of Protection, the very weapon you carry in your possession, was never meant to pass on to you."

"...Pffffffffft! Hah, yeah, that's a laugh." From unbridled fury to bellows of laughter, Catra just couldn't maintain a solid emotion with this woman. She's going on to tell her, after everything that's happened, after all the denial Catra boasted about these events playing out, were actually true? She was almost convinced the woman was purposely trying to lower her guard here, as to why remained the mystery.

"I'm afraid it'sssss true." Her body glitched as she assured. "The possibility of you finding the sword was something that went completely unchallenged. Nobody thought these events would play out as such."

"Tch, okay, yeah, sure. I'm not this big  _destined_  one you've been irritating since the moment I found this sword." Catra scoffed. If the machine from earlier read and simulated her memory, there was no way to tell if it was trying to play at her emotional state as well, possibly suggesting that she was in another simulation as before.

"As I've stated, you were never supposed to find the sword, Catra." The holographic being seemed to be limited in its responses to her, most likely from a bug, given the amount of glitching Catra's seen.

"Uh-huh, fine. I wasn't supposed to find the sword. I went into the middle of the forest where a sword just happened to be waiting for me, and you're telling me I wasn't supposed find it? As if! I mean who else would've... found the... sword..." The face of revelation slowly grew over Catra's face as she lowered her gaze.  _No..._

It was impossible.

Absolutely, impossible.

Sensing the feel of doubt and confusion filling Catra's mind, Light Hope responded, "I'm afraid you've already come to the same conclusion, Catra." With a wave of her hand, Catra watched as a large screen appeared out of thin air in the middle of both of them. Despite her disbelief, no matter how much she wanted to look away from the picture, her eyes were drawn to the single, solitary, image that was displayed between them, depicting the one person she completely forgot about on that day.

Within the image itself, she saw her. A lone friend of hers who was now a Force Captain, standing solid and proudly within the image as a symbol of hope, donning the form of She-Ra as she stood against the cliffside overlooking a beautiful blue ocean, and it's gorgeous orange sunset.

"The one who was meant to find the sword, goes by the name, Adora..."

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**A/N: Yeah, i think the writing went pretty okay, all things considered ^^. Remember earlier (if I actually did) mention that whatever episode's author's notes it was that I was going in completely blind because the episode was just bland and forgettable? Well, while this one isn't bland in the slightest, I probably remember LESS from this episode than I do the last one XP So some parts of it miiight be a little iffy here and there.** _

_**Anyway! We're rounding down to the final chapters here folks :P! On top of that, next chapter, we learn all the bits and secrets to the sword and Catra's finding of it, will all be revealed!...or most likely i'll have forgotten one or two details by mistake XP it's been over 2 months since i did the first 2 chapters, so sue me XP! On an interesting note, i'm curious to see what sort of fan theories you guys might be able to cook up ^^ I think i'll make a list of the closest/most-accurate theories to the winners, as well as any i find generally funny and whatnot XP.** _

_**Lol, anyway, hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!** _

_**Now if you'll excuse me... AVENGERSS TIME BABA!** _


	46. Episode 12: Light Hope Part 2

_**A/N: Hey boys and girls! Say, do you like Flashback episodes :D!** _

_**Audience: NO!** _

_**Author: Well too bad, here we go ^^!** _

**_Lol... *sigh* I'm gonna be straight with you guys. This might be the worst chapter i've written yet, and I don't mean just storywise either. When I started working on this yesterday, it was during a period where I went 2 entire days devoid of sleep, so i have no idea what was going on through my head at the time. That explains the story-telling issue of things._ **

_**The other issue is the technical issues of this, and I mean that in every sense of the word. See, throughout all of this, I rewrote some parts. A lot.** _

**_Like a LOT a lot T_T!_ **

**_Throughout the entire thing, I was writing and rewriting in the middle of this, going back to past paragraphs, going back to the ending to continue where I left off, went back to write somewhere in the middle again for more detail, had to reread the entire thing SEVERAL times to make sure I didn't mess up any continuity, went to the end to write again for 10 seconds, had to re-edit a scene above again, go back to the end to continue, went back to make 2 changes, reread it a second time to make sure i didn't forget anything, went back to the MIDDLE to make consistencies again, THEN BACK TO THE END, and I think you get where I'm going with this X/_ **

**_I'll be honest and fair, I'll delete this chapter if the feedback wishes for it. There were so many things wrong in the middle of writing this (like my "brilliant" idea to do it despite being without sleep for 2 days so who knows how rusty or what my mind was doing P_P). It is however a slightly necessary chapter because it'll answer a majority of the questions shown through the entire story so far no matter how badly it's written._ **

**_So, it's kind of essential even if its bad. I seriously don't know what i was thinking as I did the first 2/3rds of this fic, and like I said, i'll delete it if the feedback requests it. The overall point of this chapter was to answer questions that were different from the show, specifically most of the stuff involving Catra._ **

**_So with that said, i apologize, and hope you guys can get some enjoyment out of it all the same!_ **

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

"W-What do you mean I wasn't supposed to find the sword?" No matter how many times Catra's question was answered, it still left her baffled.

Catra. Defector. Magicat. She-Ra-in-training. Out of all the things to describe her as, recently, she discovered that one of these things did not fit like the other, and that part happened to be the She-Ra part.

Not much happened throughout Catra's day since waking up, not anything she found worth reminiscing anyway. From what little adventure her day had so far, she woke up almost completely encased in a mechanical spiders' web, broke out, was given her sword back by the very spiders that tied her up in the first place, was transported to this strange place immediately after touching it, and then found herself running into the very person who started this insane adventure of misery and woe for her.

Light Hope.

There were so many questions she had to ask after she spent the first hour of her time trying to claw away at her. Why wouldn't she be angry at the person who basically turned her life upside down since day one? She's lost her home, she's lost her life, she even lost the greatest friend she could ever ask for! All because this stupid lady she met after touching the sword the first time said she was destined to do something.

Now, not only was she finding out she wasn't supposed to find the sword to begin with, she was also discovering that a certain  _someone_  else was supposed to, somebody who's friendship she had recently ruined.

"I meant exactly what I said, Catra." Light Hope replied, completely devoid of emotion. "You were never supposed to find the sword. Adora was."

"B-But you said I was suppose to!" She argued. "You said my name, you were asking for..." She had almost forgotten the entire conversation that took place the first time she came across the sword. It was during that brief glimpse into her memories that she suddenly remembered every word.

"We were never calling your name, Catra." Waving her hands through the air, Catra watched as numerous holographic screens of varying sizes were displayed. All around her she saw hundreds of different images, from graphs and charts, images of of Catra and Adora, and various screens displaying possible videos that were waiting to be played. "The day that you found the sword, an error occurred that we had not anticipated."

"An error? What kind of error?"

At this, Light Hope turned to the girl as she brought one of the monitors up closer. "You." With a single touch, Catra watched as a small video began to play, depicting the true events of the first time she found the sword.

_"Balance must be restored." It stated. "Etheria must seek a hero." The next two things Catra saw were very confusing to her. The first one was an ancient-looking temple, one she was sure were within these very woods given the scenery surrounding it._

_As for the latter image however, it was not only confusing, but harder to make out given the blinding light that surrounded it. All she could see here was a mysterious swordsman, possibly a knight, with flowing long hair and a cape, standing on what appeared to be a cliffside. Whether she was willing herself closer or the strange voice was controlling her imagery, she found herself being drawn closer to the mysterious figure, followed by what sounded like a baby's cry._

That was when everything began to distort around the Catra in the monitor.

 _"A... ra... Ra..."_  As the video played on, Catra watched as the scene shifted directly from Light Hope's viewpoint, staring at the girl as several statistical graphs and readings were taking place as a red outline filled Catra's body within the video.

"Your heart was impure when you formed a bond with the sword." Light Hope spoke as the video continued to play. "You ended up corrupting the sword almost entirely at first touch, distorting any details and information we would have provided for you otherwise."

"Impure...?" Catra mumbled as she viewed the scene. She might've been full of herself occasionally but there was no way she would call herself impure. Knowing this Light Hope lady, she was probably just trying to get under her skin. "I doubt it helped being over a thousand years old, either..."

_"Err... Or... Inv...Er..." The source of the mysterious figure finally revealed itself to her briefly, appearing as a mysteriously tall purple woman, who became just as distorted as the previous images did, all while everything around her was swallowed in a surrounding darkness. "Err... Y-Y-You are n-n-not-"_

_*bzzzt*_

_"-n-n-not the-"_

_*bzzzt*_

_"-tore bal-al-al-al-al-ance-"_

_*zzzt*_

_"What are you talking about?" Catra finally found her voice as she asked the strange figure. "Not what? You're not making any sense!"_

_"Y-Yo-Yo-You must-"_

_*bzzzt*_

_Normally this kind of conversation would've annoyed Catra to no end, feeling like she was speaking to someone over a broken radio. But for the first time, she found herself more curious and confused on a situation, and slightly afraid. "Must what? What do I have to do?!"_

_"Y-Y-You-"_

_*zzzt*_

_"-Ra-"_

_*bzt*_

_The voice began to fade as darkness slowly filled her vision._

_"Ca-"_

_*zzzt*_

_"Catra... Catra..." Were the last recognizable words she could gather before everything went dark, almost immediately being filled again as the voice changed to one of familiarity._

...

"That doesn't make any sense, though." Catra said as she tried to get her barrings on what she had witnessed.

"Would you like me to play the video, again?" Light Hope inquired.

"What? No, I mean... Why did you keep calling me to the sword later on instead of Adora? You had me dealing with a killer headache for three straight hours until I came back to find the stupid sword!" Of all the past experiences Catra's had in her life, pain was one of them she wished she could forget. From full-out torture to severe migraines, there were a handful of painful times Catra prayed she could ever forget, sadly being cursed by all of them.

"Because when you found the sword, at first touch, you automatically formed a connection to it. The sword drew you in and allowed you to find it again, as it would have with Adora if she found the sword." Light Hope explained, showing three different screens of a detailed graph, statistics about the sword, and an orangish outline of Catra's person with a couple of readings coming off of her.

"Okay... then why did you change your mind? If you wanted Adora so badly, then why did you choose to stick with me?" There was a disturbing silence lingering in the air as Light Hope stared at her.

Catra had no idea how she was supposed to be talking to this woman. First off, she was a hologram. That alone made the conversation really awkward when the person, or thing, you were talking to wasn't real. Second, there was no way to grasp what she was thinking. Everything she said was blunt and emotionless without any tone to her voice hinting at how she was feeling. And third, she had all the answers if Catra could come up with the questions.

If she ever came across Light Hope again in the past, she always told herself she would have a lot of questions for her. How does she get this sword to work? How does she transform into She-Ra successfully every time? Why did it feel like this blade had a mind of its own?

But now, here she was, being swarmed by an endless amount of questions filling her head without the ability to directly speak her mind. She couldn't tell if Light Hope was affecting that at all or if it was all the stress and confusion she's suffered since she came to this stupid place. All she knew was that if anyone could answer her questions, it was Light Hope.

No matter how painful the reality came to be.

"We never, as you put it, changed our mind, Catra." She replied, pulling over another display. This one had half a dozen outlines of people, all shaded in blue, as they stood under the magnificent Sword of Protection that shined above them. "We were trying to task you with the duty of finding Adora since the beginning." Swiping across the screen, Catra watched as another familiar scene played out, displaying the second time she met Light Hope.

_"Hello. I am Light Hope. I have been waiting a very long time for this moment."_

_"Y-You can see me?" Catra questioned still in disbelief as she got to her feet._

_"Yes." Light Hope responded with an almost robotic tone. "I could not reach you before until you had forged a bond with the sword."_

"While we weren't expecting anyone else to find the sword," Light Hope explained, "we did provide a failsafe protocol on the off chance it occurred. We call it the Finder's Initiative."

"The  ** _Finder's Initiative_**?" Catra repeated raising a brow. "I'm pretty sure you didn't mention anything of the sort when we met the second time."

"As I've said, due to your impure heart, the details and explanations we had provided were disrupted. We were unable to fully convey our intentions to you as our message at that time were predetermined."

_"I apologize for the discomfort previously, but there was an malfunction created when you first came into contact with the blade." Light Hope explained, adding on to Catra's confused state._

_"Malfunction? What, was the sword broken or something?"_

_"I can not comply in my current state. This message is broadcasted in the event of an unforeseen circumstance such as this. I can only respond to certain statements."_

_"You're kidding... right?" Catra asked in somewhat hopeful disbelief._

_"I can not comply in my current state. This message is broadcasted in the event of an unforeseen circumstance such as this. I can only respond to certain statements."_

"Sheesh, you weren't kidding about that. What about this whole 'Finder's Initiative' thing? What exactly was I supposed to do?"

"The Finder's Initiative is a safety protocol in the event that the sword was to fall into someone else's hands. If you had received the entire message, it would have informed you to search for the one known as Adora, and return the blade to her. Once the sword was in her grasp, we would have set her on the right path."

"The right... path?"

She nodded. "The path to becoming She-Ra."

_"Affirmative. This sword was created in ages past for the one who was chosen to wield it."_

_"Chosen to wield it?" Catra pondered the statement for a few seconds. "You mean... me?"_

_..._

_"DATA CORRUPTED. Etheria has need of you, Catra." Catra nearly shouted in anger when she heard the annoying "DATA CORRUPTION" line again, finding herself thankful that it had more to say after. "Will you answer it's call? Will you help fight for the honor of Grayskull?"_

_"A Gray-Skull? It's honor? What are you talking about? You're not making any sense!"_

_"If you wish for all the answers you must find me..." Light Hope stated as she began to slowly back into the blinding light, her form dissipating along with the scenery around her._

_It... It really wasn't asking me to fight for them... Just to help them..._  The disgruntled Catra said to herself. Every word that she had received from the ancient Light Hope was literal and precise. When she asked for help, she was  **just**  asking for help, not involvement.

_"FIND... ME..."_

When the screen faded, all that Catra saw was an empty screen showing her own reflection, staring at the magicat in the surface who had her ears lowered like she did.

Catra's heart sank a little in dismay as she summarized this. All this time, she thought she was destined to be some incredible warrior from a prophecy, just by pulling a wondrous sword from ancient times that would've made her a princess.

Here, she was learning that she was nothing more than practically a bystander, who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. A mere nobody that wasn't anything unique or talented whose life they decided to bring down even further than it already was. All this time, all the effort she had wasted, was for naught.

Based on what this Light Hope lady was supposedly telling her, Catra was, all things considered, a complete and total accident.

"So... I was... never supposed to find the sword at all then?" Catra guessed accurately.

"Correct. When I realized the data was still corrupted from your exposure, I left behind an emergency follow-up of instructions to come find me, so we may speak personally without interference of any kind."

"But then why did it let me turn into She-Ra then if I was just an "accident", according to you people?" Asking one question to an ancient being continued to leave her with more questions at this rate.

"That was part of the Finder's Initiative." Pulling a screen directly from above her, she tapped away at the holographic projection until it displayed a detailed outline of She-Ra standing next to a blue outline of the average person, with an arrow directing straight from the person to She-Ra. "As carrier of the legendary sword, you were granted a limited amount of its abilities to assist you in finding the true owner of the blade. You were given a basic understanding of our language and technology, as well as the ability to borrow a portion of She-Ra's power."

"You mean the one that barely  _ **worked**_  half the time?" She scoffed crossing her arms. "I could barely get that sword to work for me when I wanted to, so why don't you try explaining that!"

"I can." Catra almost regretted challenging her on that. "Your reasoning and personality were against the sword's own judgement. It found you lacking in honor, sincerity, and purity, all of which individually would have given you the power to transform, regardless of the inhibitor placed upon the sword."

"The inhibitor?" Catra looked off to the side as she remembered Entrapta's exact words.

" _Great! So anyway, good-ish news, depending on what you want to hear and don't," Entrapta went on as she flipped through a handful of papers, "based on what I found, there is a small inhibitor keeping the sword's power from, being fully utilized."_

_"Fully utilized?" Catra repeated, looking back to the other two who gave her a shrug. "What is that supposed to mean?"_

_"It means there actually is something in the sword keeping you from using it's full power." She clarified._

"So it wasn't the sword's inhibitor that was keeping me from using it..."

"You had only shown one such case in which the sword granted you its power outside of your time of need." Catra knew perfectly well which time that had to have been, recalling the first time she was honest with herself after being threatened by the Queen. " As such, the blade's limited power would only grant you its strength when it was deemed most necessary."

"Most necessary..." That did explain a small portion of her past annoyances, which annoyed her in turn.

Until now, the two most important times she found herself actually requiring the sword was when they were attacked by a giant bug in the Whispering Woods. The other time was when the ridiculous Captain Sea Hawk lead them into the middle of the ocean in order to show off, forcing them to fend off a giant sea creature that towered over them. It's a wonder what would've happened if Catra didn't have She-Ra's strength at that time.

It also explained the other occurrences where it didn't work. She wasn't fighting anything dangerous when she was practicing in trying to transform after arriving in Bright Moon, the soldiers weren't intending to destroy her when she made her way through a Rebellion Training Camp, she was just trying to transform in front of the Queen for her own benefit the first time, and she managed to overpower the behemoth-like Force Captain she encountered back in Plumeria. Granted, it would've made the battle a lot more easier, but apparently the sword thought she was capable enough as she was.

It didn't get rid of one major concern she had. "But what about when I came across Adora, then?" She shot back. "Adora gave me a chance to transform back in Salineas with the Watergate! If you or this stupid sword had let me back then, she would've joined her side and then I could've handed her the sword in the first place!"

"I will admit fault on our part in its design." She admitted. "In addition to the other possible conditions, none of which you were found redeeming for," Catra couldn't tell if she meant based on her personality or based on her appearance at that, "the sword would not allow the Finder to transform if they were in the presence of She-Ra nearby, even if they were in danger. It was a means to help others track and locate She-Ra if they were ever to search for her."

She scratched at her head in frustration as she tried to process all of this. "I don't understand. You're saying, all this time, you wanted me to  _find_  Adora so she would become She-Ra? You weren't asking me for my help whatsoever?"

"I apologize for the misunderstanding, again. But all we required from you was your assistance in returning the sword to it's chosen wielder. The moment Adora came into direct contact with the blade, all of its necessary knowledge and detailed would've transferred to her immediately."

"When she... hang on a minute, that doesn't make any sense! Adora's already come into contact with the sword before, so why didn't it work?"

"Are you sure it was direct contact?" Light Hope questioned.

"Yeah!... I mean... kind of... Ugh!" She didn't know what was starting to annoy her further at this point, the realizations she was coming to or the fact Light Hope seemed to have an appropriate response to everything she had to ask.

...

* ** _Clang!_** *

_"Ghh!" Catra grunted as she was lowered to one knee, trying desperate to push the massive claw off her sword._

_She didn't think she'd ever find herself on the opposite side of a claw trying to cut someone. If anything, she always thought she'd be the one clawing someone's face off, not the other way around. What's more, it wasn't just anyone's claw in particular that she was dealing with either. It was the darkened claw that belonged to the one single friend she had in this world._

_Adora._

_The blond Force Captain continued to grin as she looked at her other gargantuan arm of darkness, flexing the tips of her fingers while ignoring the person she was playing with._

...

_"You're... letting us go?" Glimmer panted, doing her best to keep herself off the wall._

_"No." Adora replied firmly. It was then that Catra noticed the string over Adora's chest that ran all around her from her shoulder to her left thigh. Trailing the string itself, Catra's jaw dropped as she removed the last thing she needed from her back, holding it out in her hands, still in its sheath._

_The Sword of Protection._ *

...

It was never direct contact, no matter how picky the details were. She never touched the sword directly with her own two hands, the shadowy darkness covering them obviously didn't count, and the sheathe itself was custom made by the crafters within the Rebellion, giving Catra a means to carry it on her back. It wasn't anywhere near First Ones technology, and even if it was, there was no guarantee it would've somehow connected Adora to the sword anyway.

"And... if I did return the sword to her... how would she be set on the  _right_  path?"

"We would display the same information to her and then some. She would have been informed of the important destiny that lied before her. With her, she would have most likely joined the Rebellion instead, and waged war directly on the Horde."

"Then that means..." Catra's eyes lit up with a spark of optimism for the first time in ages. If she got the sword back to Adora, she could get her to join the Rebellion! If she did that, she could learn or master the sword within minutes, add a powerful new ally to their cause, find a way to heal Glimmer, and most importantly, allow Catra the chance to make amends with her and hopefully prove to Adora that she never saw her as a tool.

Blinking, Catra quickly looked in all directions, looking for an exit. "How do I get out of here? Where's the sword?"

"Catra-" Light Hope tried to acquire her attention as Catra walked about.

"I know what I have to do now. If I can get the sword back to her, then I can-!"

"The sword will no longer respond to Adora's touch." Light Hope stated, freezing Catra in her place. She wasn't bothered by the look of confusion directed at her from the troubled magicat. "Now that the Alpha Protocol has been initiated, the Finder's Initiative has been rescinded."

"The Alpha proto..." What did she mean by that? What the heck was the Alpha Protocol, and what did it have to do with... Oh no. "What did you do?!" She hissed. Did this pest of a First Ones do something else that she wasn't aware of? Something that, most likely, botched her chances with making amends with Adora?!

"It is not out of what we've done that the Alpha Protocol has been initiated," with a pull of her hand, Catra watched as she brought over a new before them, "but what she did."

The scene she displayed brought pain and torment through Catra's heart as she watched the ten second loop of an all-too-familiar scene. It wasn't anything that happened that far into the past, it wasn't something that happened past the last week. it wasn't even anything that happened beyond the last twelve hours.

Here, Catra watched, as Light Hope replayed the video of Adora's betrayal, the very moment Adora turned her back on her after Catra's selfish past had literally caught up to them. The scene showed the ten-second interval as Catra had made her way to her best of friends just seconds before finding herself captured by the ferocious spider-like robots that forced her to the ground. There she could see just how helpless she was as Adora turned her back on her, watching as Adora went through the small door of light, the very same that slowly dwindled as the door closed itself, eventually leading it to perfect darkness.

And from there, against her personal wishes, Light Hope had the video repeated over and over again.

"Adora's heart has been consumed by an conflicting darkness. With anger, sorrow, confusion, and fear overwhelming her, the sword cannot recognize her anymore." She explained, popping up smaller displays next to the scene depicting her emotions.

Already Catra was starting to worry as her ears drooped along her head, the excitement displayed by her tail dwindling down to a small waft. "W-What, that?" She tried to play off with a nervous smile. "That wasn't anything! S-She was just having a real bad day, alright? Just give her another chance, she'll come around."

"I'm afraid it's too late for that, Catra." Before Catra was given the chance to counter, Light Hope threw out her argument as she displayed other various scenes from Adora's life since Catra's defection. Among them, Catra could see the twisted sense that had taken over Adora in those short intervals of her life. "When our defenses downloaded your memories, it also scanned for signs of irregularities, corruption, on Adora's behalf. The amount of details we received were quite... troubling."

...

_"Your little friend never cared about any of us since day one." Lonnie continued to talk down as Adora lowered her head. "She didn't care about who she hurt, she didn't care about who was involved, and she didn't care about you. All that little freak ever wanted was whatever benefitted herself. End. Of. Story."_

_"...push ups..." Adora muttered._

_"What?" Lonnie nearly flinched as Adora grabbed the collar of her vest, pulling her closer so she could see the anger burning in Adora's eyes._

_"I said push ups! One-Hundred of them! Now!" She ordered._

_The current screen gave off a small buzz as it shifted to a few moments after her order. "I want to hear you count!" She ordered, pressing her foot onto Lonnie's back. The girl grumbled louder at this but refused to bark back. Again, the scene skipped to a few seconds after. "I didn't say to stop counting! Start over!" Adora shouted down to Lonnie, continuing to apply pressure to her back._

...

_"Adora... I really can't... I'm sorry..." Catra didn't know how much longer she could keep apologizing. It wasn't for a lack of effort, she didn't have much time to fix the Sea Gate's core._

_"...I am too." Adora kept her gaze intensely on Catra as she raised her wrist to her face again._

_"Adora, don't-!_

_"This is Force Captain Adora, do you read me Scorpia?"_

_"Yup, loud and clear, Adora." A staticy Scorpia said over the radio. "What are your orders?"_

_"Adora, please, don't do it!" Catra begged raising a hand forward. Adora stared at her sternly, making Catra wonder what was going through in her mind. Was she going to listen to her? Did this situation warrant enough to hope for it?_

_There was plenty of hope present in this situation, none of which reached the two best friends._

_"Take down the barrier and everything around it!"_

_"No!" Catra lunged the Force Captain as fast as she could, too little too late as Adora slipped the radio off her list and into the water below them._

"She... She was just under orders for that." Catra argued, trying to find a means to defend her friend. "She wasn't doing any of that because she wanted to."

"She didn't seem unwilling to give you a chance, did she not?" Catra has never hated a person as much as the lady she needed to answer all of her questions. Every time she had a comeback, Light Hope had an easy rebuttal to make, dampening Catra's optimism and continuing to fill her with doubt as time went on. "Orders are not a thing one must do all the time. She was perfectly aware of her orders, and she chose to follow them."

...

_"Catra..." She spoke softly. "I'm sorry all of this happened..." With a heartfelt apology, she slowly wrapped her arms around her captured friend, embracing her in a hug that provided her the only source of warmth she could feel at this moment. And from here, she leaned her head further to Catra's right ear as she whispered the most shocking of words to her. "But I did warn you, didn't I?" From the corner of her eye, she could see it._

_Adora grinned, letting Catra be the only person to see it._

_This. This was the trap. All along, she tricked Catra from the moment she came here, by putting Catra in a trap she knew she would never be able to escape from._

_By letting Catra be herself._

...

All around her, Catra couldn't comprehend what she was seeing. The memories, the ones she has and hasn't seen before, were all shocking to see played back to back against one another. She remembered each of the events she bore witness to personally, with some of the unseen ones adding on a sense of guilt to Catra's already downridden conscious, remember how Adora commented on how much she's been defending her since leaving the Horde.

Are acts of violence against the people she considered friends truly the means she used to do it?

"I... This isn't what it looks like!" Catra's faltering argument was becoming more obvious to the artificial First One.

"Are you sure?" Turning her head from Catra to the monitor, the magicat followed suit as she watched the next display that took place, almost trembling for a second at what it was.

Glimmer's interrogation.

...

_With that, she displayed her red-tinted eyes, one devoid of almost everything. "Now I'm not going to feel bad about what I do next." She stated monotonically._

_"D-Do next?" The Princess gulped at how she worded that. "What do you mean by that?" Instead of answering the girl outright, Adora opted to provide a demonstration. Without batting an eyelash, she casually walked her way to the console, standing in front of it as she started to turn the device on._

_"Thanks to Shadow Weaver, she was kind enough to make a few modifications to the restraints you're currently stuck in." Adora explained going on. "So, let's say I ask you a question, and I don't like the answer. And then, perhaps out of shock, or confusion, I accidentally hit this."_

_*B_ _ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT!_ _*_

_*"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Glimmer cried out in agony. In one fell swoop, the electricity around her exploded in a mad frenzy, covering her entirety until Adora lowered the settings again. That pain, the surge she felt right now, felt like nothing compared to what Adora put her through in the last three seconds alone. She felt like her entire body was being shocked simultaneously, like bolts of lightning were striking every single part of her body at the same time._

_"We'll call that, "letting my finger slip"." Adora joked, barely twitching a face as she did so in an uncaring mood. "So, the way this game is going to work is like this. I'm going to ask you a question, and you're going to provide me with an answer. And every time I'm not satisfied with what you give me..."_

_*BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT!*_

_"Aggggggggghhhhhhh!" Glimmer cried out in pain, physically cried out in pain. The pain she was feeling was so barbaric compared to what she felt seconds ago. This person, this supposed person, was the friend Catra cherished so deeply?!_

_"Are we clear?"_

_"What do you want?" Glimmer cried out asking._

_"I want to know how to break the spell you put on Catra." Adora replied firmly. "By the time this session is over, you're going to tell me exactly what I want to hear!" A small portion of her anger rose at that, no matter how hard she tried to keep it down._

_"I don't know anything! There is no spell!"_

_"Liar!"_

_*BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT!*_

_"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Her entire body wracked with pain as the surge continued._

_This, was Adora's payback. This was the device that was going to solve all her problems. Watching as the princess cried out in pain, she proceeded with the electrocutions._

"There were no orders given to her at that time. She wasn't under any orders to interrogate your ally, or the barbaric means she used to extract the information." Catra tried to look at her for any sort of expressional response, though, none was given.

The sight of the interrogation alone was enough to almost frighten Catra. Her friend had changed more deeply than she thought, all for the sake of trying to save her. Glimmer's suffering through the interrogation was another part of guilt that was starting to weigh upon Catra's mind, seeing how Adora only did it for her sake.

The sake of their friendship.

And it still wasn't the darkest moment of Adora's life, in terms of resolve, that is.

...

_And with her red-colored eyes opening, she continued, "I'm tired of always being the nice one. I am never allowing people to use me again, Catra. Not you, and not Shadow Weaver. And if Hordak tries to use me next, I'll get rid of him too."_

_"Get rid of...? W-What are you planning to do, Adora?" There was anger in Adora's tone, no matter how much she tried to force herself to repress it._

_"Isn't it obvious?" To emphasize her point, she drew the shadows into her right arm, tightening her gargantuan form into a mighty fist. "I'm going back to the Horde, Catra. I'm going to do everything in my power to keep you from achieving your selfish dream. And that starts with me, burning down everything that can hep you achieve your dream. Starting with the Rebellion," at this, Adora turned her back to her as she started to walk away, "and everyone in it."_

...

"Adora's descent into darkness has grown progressively worse in such a short span of time." Light Hope finished as the last display vanished in front of them. "I fear what she will become as time moves on."

"But... Yeah, but..." Catra didn't know what to say. First she was told she wasn't supposed to find the sword, aka an accident, then she was told Adora would have joined the Rebellion if she had just gotten it to her in the first place, and  **now**  she was being told, and shown, the corruption and cruelty that Adora's been descending into in front of her very eyes! "It never would've happened if your stupid simulation thing never ruined her in the first place!"

"Our defenses did nothing to affect her in her time before coming here." She retorted. "It also would have recognized you as the Finder if you were purified by the sword by your time of coming here."

"Purified?" There were a number of ways that could've been taken and not one of them made any sense to her. "What do you mean purified?"

"Did you not noticed?" She asked in wonderment. "The memories it showed you?"

"My memories...?" How could she forget? She could never forget! Since day one of joining the Rebellion, she's been plagued endlessly by these barrage of visions of her past. They usually last seconds in the real world while anywhere between several minutes to half an hour could pass in her mind! "That was... You mean to tell me the sword is responsible for haunting me?!"

"It wasn't haunting you, Catra. It was trying to purify your heart of its darkness." Her explanation did nothing to ease the doubt clouding Catra's mind.

"Yeah, I think we both have two very different definitions of the word "purify", lady." She snarled.

"Think about it, Catra. What were you feeling towards the end of those memories?"

"I don't know," she shrugged, "confusion at why it was happening? Frustration at how annoying my past was? Take your pick, I got a list of complaints to make about 'em."

"I mean within them, Catra. What did you feel towards the ends of those memories?"

"I don't know, I just..." She tried to think as she scratched her head. "I... I don't really know what I was feeling. All of them were different, but I...I don't know. I just know when I was with Adora, I was feeling... safer, maybe? Relieved?"

"You were feeling peace, Catra." Light Hope stated. "An emotion you haven't experienced in a long time, one you can't even recognize anymore. In each of your experiences, no matter how frightful they were, you always felt a sense of calmness and serenity. For one to be able to use the sword with ease, one of several conditions must be met, one of which is being-"

"-at peace..." Catra stared at her right hand as she clenched it softly. Is that really what she was feeling at the end of all those memories? Something along the lines of peace? She knew there were some memories that were happier than others when she was a kid, and she did like a few days out of her childhood growing up, from the ones she saw anyway.

Was this supposed to be what peace felt like, then? Happiness? Calming? She really couldn't say. She knew there were a handful of times she was feeling happy or calm, yet during the few experiences she could turn into She-Ra, she always felt some sort of wave washing over her, assuring her that she could transform again. During the few times she was actually happy in the Rebellion or calmed after a stressful day of work, she felt nothing.

When it came down to it, what truly was peace?

"...So... what's this whole Alpha Protocol thing you mentioned then?" Catra asked with morbid curiosity. Every time a question of hers was answered, it left her a little more depraved of her optimism, and was starting to fill her with worry.

"The last hope we have as of now." With this, Light Hope pulled up the final display she had to offer.

This one depicted another basic character outline, filled in blue, on the left hand side of the image, and a reddish filled-in outline on the right hand side, that appeared to be in the shape of She-Ra if Catra guessed accurately. The strange part was how in-between the two was an outline of the sword, with an arrow pointing to it from the blue outline to the sword, and, to her confusion, an X standing between the She-Ra outline and the sword.

It gave off a dreadful feeling in Catra's heart as she stared at display. Whatever the image was showing her, somehow she knew, it was going to end badly.

"The Alpha Protocol is the system in place should the current She-Ra perish, or if she has been deemed unsuited for her destiny. Should She-Ra be incapable of fulfilling her task under those conditions, ownership of the sword would transfer."

"Transfer to who?" With so many other thoughts clouding her mind at the moment, even the obvious stuff didn't fully reach her at the time. Waiting several seconds for a response, she turned her attention back to Light Hope, seeing the woman staring directly at her. There were no words, no expressions to read, all Catra had to go by was the lingering silence until it struck her. "...Y-You mean... me?"

"That is correct."

"But you just said I wasn't worthy of the sword to begin with! Why are you suddenly throwing the sword at me now? We should give it to Adora while we have the time!"

"You're not listening, Catra. Even if Adora was to grab the sword, nothing would happen. To her, it would be nothing more than a sword created by us, and she will never be able to awaken its power, not on her own. She will never be able to reclaim the sword unless the darkness vanishes from her heart."

"Then... You mean..." Catra's eyes wavered as she looked down, staring into thought.

There was no going back for Adora. There was no way for Catra to fix everything, to bring Adora back on the right side of this war. As long as she remained in the Horde, she would be their Officer. As long as she hated Catra with the utmost contempt, she would do everything in her power to make Catra, and the people she cared about, suffer. And as long as Light Hope and the sword were in doubt of Adora's heart, she would never be able to reclaim her destiny.

The sword belonged to Catra now, whether she liked it or not. All that has happened to Adora, from her suffering and grief, her epiphany over what their past has lead to, the people who've manipulated Adora behind the scenes, all of it had lead to this moment. Every ounce of bad luck, every abysmal dilemma that could and has happened, has been building up to where they were now.

All of this, right from the beginning, has happened, because Catra came across the sword first. She didn't know anything about the sword back then, and barely wanted anything to do with it other than to turn it in to the Horde, just to give herself some fancy big promotion. Her greed was what separated her from her best friend, her lack of emotion and heart was what was holding the Sword's power back, even with the inhibitor.

"...Let me see if I got this straight..." Catra inhaled deeply and released a calming breath as she prepared her long winded summarization.

"I was never the one who was meant to take the sword, but because I came across it by accident and touched it, that started some Finder's thing that couldn't even talk to me because my heart was screwed up or whatever. Because of that, I could never get the sword working, and my friends had to pay for that. So I ran around wasting time while Adora was being corrupted on the other side."

"After awhile, we finally meet each other again, but because of the stupid defense thing running around this place, it showed us scenes from our own past that sent Adora off the deep end, and because she left me behind, that automatically makes her unworthy of having the sword anymore. And because of that, you activated some Alpha thing in order to take the possession of the sword away from her, and now you're giving it to me despite the fact you never wanted me in the first place. Am I understanding everything here?"

"Essentially, yes. I do apologize for the confusion and grievances you might be experiencing through all of this, Catra, but Etheria has need of you now. More than ever." At this, the multiple displays and images around her began to dissipate within a matter of seconds, disappearing in the air around them. When the last one finally came to an end, Catra found herself nearly blinded as she was engulfed in another bright light emanating from Light Hope's chest.

She might not have understood a detail or two here, and it was safe to say there was plenty she forgot to mention. So many emotions were running through her at the time, distracting her from all possible questions she had yet to answer, her mind clouded in an emotional void. Light Hope seemed insistent on making Catra the new She-Ra, a plan Catra couldn't tell if it was a mistake or not to do so. But there was one thing Catra was aware of as she prepared to witness the destiny Light Hope claimed she had.

Everything that has happened to everyone she came across, has been her fault. She was not a hero.

She was not a She-Ra.

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**A/N: Gawd, that was painful to write X_X... Like I said people, apologies for the quality, reeeeeeeally really sorry, and if you guys want me to I'll take down the chapter later. I'm hoping it did at least answer your questions though. And to be fair, the entire chapter, when it came down to it, were two people talking back and forth to each other. The fact i turned a single conversation into an over 7.4k words is astounding to me :/** _

_**Anyway, hope you all enjoyed! Next chapter we'll finally return to the main plot as we hear the traditional story of the past and First Ones and whatnot, with some changes to fit catra of course ^^** _

_**Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon ^^!** _


	47. Episode 12: Light Hope Part 3

_**A/N: A thousand thanks to the fans who supported the last chapter and alleviated my fears/worries over it X) I know I say that a lot occasionally like how "this is a bad chapter" and whatnot, but i genuinely meant it last time around with a great sense of worry, so I am overjoyed to see that the feedback as kicked off ^^ Thanks a million to the supporters who make this series possible. Hopefully this chapter makes things fun and exciting as much as the rest of the series.** _

_**And not to toot my own horn, but I think the cliffhangerS i left on this one will make things rather interesting/exciting for the next chapter X) You'll have to read on to find out what I mean....** _

_**  
With that said, enjoy!** _

 

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_**...** _

 

_**...** _

 

 

As the light faded from the scenery, Catra could finally open her eyes again without being blinded. All around her she saw a dazzling array of lights dancing about, twirling back and forth and raining stars across the background. Crystals grew from the ground beneath them along the sides as holographic projections were thrown across the sky above her. From one long and twisted explanation that she had just escaped from, Catra was about to find herself pushed into another, detailing the origins and history of the first ones and their connection to She-Ra.

And surprisingly, after all the time she's spent trying to learn the mysteries of the Sword of Protection and the people who created it, Catra found herself unable to care anymore. It can easily be attributed to the long and twisted explanation Catra recently had involving her role in all of this and what it meant for her. Since the very beginning of when her adventures began and everything she's been through, she discovered what might have been the most shocking realization she's ever had in her life.

She was an accident. Nothing more, nothing less. Her finding the sword was a stroke of luck, an unintended outcome that wasn't even predicted by the technological advanced race known as the First Ones. She wasn't chosen for some big prophecy or tasked with a large responsibility because of her skills and her qualities, she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, and that's what sent her life spiraling out of control.

All this time, all she was tasked with doing was finding Adora and giving her the sword to begin with, a message that was never clear to her as her own impure heart, as Light Hope put it, corrupted the message and task that was given to her. Because of this, she wasn't aware that she was given a mere fraction of She-Ra's power, being dubbed as the "Finder" as her title, and never became aware of the fact that she wasn't She-Ra to begin with. She wasn't asked for help in saving the world or some important thing like that. All she was required to do was to put the sword into Adora's hands.

That's it.

The reality of the situation would've been a little easier to cope with if it wasn't for the details that followed. Of all the time wasted on Catra's end, she never understood what her true purpose was. The sword had deemed Adora far too corrupted to become the true owner of the sword. She couldn't give it back to Adora and fill her in on her big destiny, and that made any attempts to reconcile with Adora after everything Catra did to her all but impossible. There was no way for her to bring Adora back to her side, and she only had herself to blame.

It didn't even cheer her up when she heard the one positive aspect, what she would've considered positive months ago, out of all of this. Since it was determined that Adora was too corrupted by her time in the Horde, thanks to Catra's abandonment, a system known as the Alpha Protocol had been put in place. With it, Catra discovered that ownership of the sword was transferred entirely over to her, which, presumably, meant she would be granted access to its powers too, at least to the extent of allowing her to transform.

Not a day went by where Catra didn't wish she could learn how to use the stupid hunk of metal she's been cursed with, and after all this time and everything she's been through, now that she had it... she wasn't happy about it. It didn't bring a smile to her face, it didn't brighten her mood in any sense given everything she's lost as a result, and it didn't relieve her to know that all of her past problems with the sword were part of some Initiative program that limited her access to the sword's powers.

All it did was make her feel empty inside. She wasn't destined for greatness, she wasn't wanted for her own strength and skills, and she wasn't planned for out of all of this. She was nothing more than an accident since the day she joined the Rebellion, and up till now, everyone she has come to care for suffered because of her.

She was the farthest thing from a She-Ra, and now she was being told she was the closest thing to one.

"Alright, so... What are you anyway?" Catra asked with a greatly reduced sense of enthusiasm. It was hard to take anything at heart when you had your entire world come crashing down on you in the span of ten minutes.

"I am a being created by the First Ones, as you call them." She answered as the scenery continued to warp around them.

"Yeah, I'm getting tired of hearing about those guys. Who the heck were they?"

"The First Ones were explorers who journeyed from beyond the stars to settle Etheria." When the warping finally came to an end, Catra found herself standing within the center of what appeared to be entrance again, albeit much shorter with several design variations to it, one of the key notes being how it was smaller. "They built this place for the original She-Ra, Adora, the Crystal Castle."

Catra gazed in wonder at her surroundings as she tried to take everything in with all that's happened to her in mind. Beautiful crystals were etched into the walls of this place, lights refracting and giving off a beautiful sparkle to everything it touched. The glitter that lied around them were almost as dazzling as the stars themselves. She was so entranced by its beauty that she nearly jumped as Light Hope materialized right in front of her. "Ahh-!"

"I have waited a long time for the original She-Ra to offer her this destiny," the artificial being turned with Catra towards the stained glass behind them, depicting an image of She-Ra, "and now, that role belongs to you, Catra."

"Tch,  _sorry_  for the disappointment." She muttered under her breath as she walked over to the monument.

"Do not take my words at face value, Catra." She tried to ease the girl's stress, noticing the increase of agitation coming from her. "I harbor no ill will towards you or anyone who would have come to the same fate as you have. I am simply explaining what's necessary for you to understand."

"Yeah, because that makes it bet-"

"You are now She-Ra, Etheria's Champion," Light Hope continued, cutting her off as she materialized on her left, "appointed by the First Ones to protect and unite our planet."

"Unite?" Catra thought to herself briefly at the word. There was something almost coincidental about it and what she was doing in the Rebellion. "That almost sounds like the Princess Alliance-"

"There have been many before the original She-Ra," she interrupted again, "but that line was broken." The scenery around them filled with a violet hue as another image appeared before them. Here, Catra watched in curiosity as a golden figure of She-Ra floated in front of her, seeing her appearance and how drastically it differed from her own. Stepping forth, she noticed how the She-Ra stared back at her, aware of her existence, as she held her hand up to hers, while many other She-Ras floated behind the first one. "You are the first She-Ra in a thousand years, and the eighth one to be given the title directly through the Alpha Protocol."

"The eighth?" Catra turned back as the line of She-Ra in front of her started shattering one by one, withering away. "So I'm not the first one to have been given the title?"

"Correct." Waving her right hand, Catra looked back as numerous holographic images were created of various size and races. Some of them had packs on their back, others were carrying satchels. The one constant she saw among all of them was the sword held firmly in their hands or on their back. "Through the eons, nearly a hundred different people have come across the sword as you have, and have been given the task of finding the She-Ra of that time."

"Nearly a hundred? If there were that many people coming across the sword, then why didn't you just make it so whoever found the sword would become the next She-Ra?"

"Many of my data banks have been slightly distorted through the passage of time, but while I try to fix them, I can answer your question based on my observations. It's easily a matter of precaution and safety for the worlds, and all who inhabit them. If we allowed the sword to exist without a means to limit its power to those who would do harm with it, many worlds, and the lineage of She-Ra would have ended long ago. Would you prefer someone with vile intent was given the sword instead?" Just thinking of someone as sinister as Shadow Weaver coming across the sword was enough to give the magicat goosebumps as she shivered.

"Eehehheheh, I get your point." She rubbed her chin as she tried to process this. "So, based on what you're saying, now that the sword belongs to me, I'll have access to all of She-Ra's powers, right?"

"Technically, yes."

"...What do you mean technically? Technically yes or technically no?"

...

...

At the same time of the conversation, on another side of the world, three proud members of the Horde stood within the center of the interrogation room as the Officers gazed at the technological display of Entrapta's model.

"Behold, Etheria." Entrapta introduced. This was about to get very interesting for the young Force Captain known as Adora.

After the events at the Beacon, her certainty and resolve to destroy the Rebellion had reached its limits. She loathed Catra for all the times she used their precious friendship for her own gain, the selfishness the girl displayed in trying to acquire anything she could get her hands on and befriending the right people for it. If Catra cared more about some stupid hunk of land more than she did the people who raised the two of them, then she was dead to her.

With this, she was more than interested in anything that could bring an end to the Rebellion as soon as possible. She wanted Catra to know her pain, to feel what it was like to experience the same dread and despair she felt after Catra abandoned her all those months ago. Even if Catra couldn't feel it, the last thing Adora wanted from this point onward was for Catra to obtain her kingdom, requiring her to help the Rebellion in their war against the Horde, the people Adora would continue to fight for.

As such, when Entrapta came along with the news of the Data Crystal Adora had stolen from the Beacon, she was more than excited to learn what she's found. She would still hold onto her own morals for anything else, but if she came across anything that can be used as a weapon, anything to destroy Catra's dream, she would be more than glad to use it, and made her all the more curious as to what she was witnessing in front of her.

Here, she, Scorpia, and Entrapta were looking at what appeared to be a large metallic replica of the planet itself, with wires strewn around it and a couple dozen greenish bulbs inserted along its sides. It was a technological advancement that Adora had never seen before, and she was looking forward to the results that followed this display.

"The First Ones didn't just settle on the surface of Etheria." Entrapta explained, walking around it as she felt along the machine with an arm of hair. "Their technology runs throughout the planet's core!"

"You mean they dug to the center of the planet?" Adora asked, checking out the numerous wires and bulbs that came from the giant sphere.

"Eeeeee!" Adora fretted she broke the girl at that as she let out a high-pitched squeal, shaking her fists up and down. "No, it's much much  **MUCH**  bigger than that! They didn't just dig to the center of the planet's core, they created the planet's core! This entire planet is all First Ones tech!"

...

...

"Everything on Etheria is connected." Light Hope said as Catra watched the constantly-changing scenery. "The princesses are granted power over the elements through their Runestones." Directly in front of her, Catra backed away as she watched holographic projections of the people she did and didn't know grow in front of her. There were no details to them other than their outlines and color, with a handful of them being familiar to them, and many more that she's never seen before.

"As She-Ra, it is your duty to bring the princesses together. Only then can balance be restored to Etheria." At this, Catra looked around until her eyes came across the figure that she knew as Glimmer, walking towards the pink hologram with uncertainty in her mind. Giving it a small poke through the chest, Catra drew her hand away as a large hole appeared temporarily from where she touched it, and watching as it grew back a few seconds later.

"Okay, this is cool and all, and I'm sure it's really helpful, but-"

"You are correct, Catra. It is helpful." Light Hope interrupted once again as she continued to reveal her destiny.

...

"And what are these suppose to be?" Adora asked as she leaned over to one of the colored bulbs.

"Runestones." Entrapta replied. "From the data I've managed to extract, they regulate the planet through the princesses. They're directly connected to each other and to the planet's power grid in a delicate balance! Huuuuuuff!" The purple-haired genius exhaled after her long breath of words.

"They're connected...? What does that mean?" Adora was unaware of the beautiful revelation that would come from this question.

With stars in her eyes and another squeal being suppressed in her throat, Entrapta revealed, "Which means, they're our best access point to hack the planet!"

...

"When the princesses and their elements are in balance, Etheria functions as it should." Waving her hands, Catra nearly choked on a gasp as Light Hope changed the scenery to the familiar scene of when Adora invaded Salineas with her warship, the scene being paused at the very first time Adora and Scorpia fired a powerful blast of energy from its cannons to the Sea Gate itself. "But the Horde is destroying us in their quest for power."

Waving again, the simulation changed to the setting of the desecrated Whispering Woods, the spot she came across with Madame Razz some time ago on the left side, and a view of the siphoning station that was stealing the power of the Hearts Blossom, the building within the Horde base that stole all of its energy, on her right. After her experiences with the woods and her time in the Rebellion, the sight that never gave so much as a scoff to the burning land now shocked her to her core. "There is no predicting what they will do next."

...

" _Hack_  the planet?" Adora questioned. "Like how? Can we control its weather or something?"

"Actually, we might very well be able to!" Entrapta confirmed with an excited nod. The great desire of knowledge and optimism was pushed aside as it made way for a look curiousness and complexity as she walked over to her lovable droid, Emily, patting her head. "But it's not that simple. There's only a handful of Runestones in the whole world. I would need access to one of them to even know where I could begin."

"What, Runestones?" Scorpia spoke up from behind her. "You mean, like the Black Garnet? Cause, heh, we have the Black Garnet." It warmed Scorpia's heart to be able to contribute something to the conversation of technology and wonder, even if she didn't understand half of what she was saying.

"T-The Black Garnet? You have a Runestone? The Fright Zone has a Runestone?!"

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot!" Adora bumped her own forehead against her fist softly. "You said your family gave it to Lord Hordak, right?"

"Yay, you remembered!" Her face brightened as she clapped her claws together. It was good to know she had actual friends that listened to her for once, instead of the guards who only butted in to ninety percent of the conversation whenever she had one. "We gave it to Hordak when they landed, who gave it to Shadow Weaver, who... You know, you tell a friend, he tells a friend, it's one of those things."

"WHERE IS IT?!" Scorpia found herself being jumped on as Entrapta pulled her over to the hulking woman with her two lengths of hair. "Can I see it? Can I touch it?!" Peering into her eyes, Scorpia had to resist the urge to shutter as she stared into the hollow void that was Entrapta's sparkling, starry, eyes as she swirled around her with her hair.

It took all of Adora's physical strength to pry the overexcited girl from her other friend, the knots of hair wrapped around her making it difficult to pull off by herself. "Whoa, hey, calm down. Now, what exactly are you planning on using the Black Garnet for?"

"If we hack the Runestone grid, we could boost the Garnet's power and use it for... Well, anything. As a power source, as-"

"A weapon?" The announcements and reveals coming from this girl were getting Adora something to hope for. Discovery lead to knowledge. Knowledge lead to power. Power could be used to destroy anything that threatened to harm her or the people around her. Based on Entrapta's erratic behavior and excitement, she could tell whatever this was leading up to, it was going to be big. And the bigger it was, the more powerful it had to be.

Scorpia herself was just as eager as Adora was, even if it was for a different reason. If this thing turned out to be as big as Entrapta said, then that might get her off the hook! She could make it up to Lord Hordak for assisting in the princesses escape and the sword's accidental return, and escape whatever cruel judgment or punishment Hordak had planned for her if she failed!

Scorpia was so excited for their big discovery that she didn't even realize the strange behavior Adora was displaying at the possibility of making a weapon, finding it to be rather unlike her compared to her usual protective demeanor. She wouldn't have cared if she did, though, since she could easily chalk it up to the same level and reason for excitement that left Scorpia beaming with joy.

"Potentially." Entrapta walked around massive sphere as she rubbed her chin. "But if it's like my other experiments, the results will be explosive!"

"I... don't think Shadow Weaver would like that." Scorpia commented shaking her head.

"Oh yeah... Shadow Weaver..." Muttering to herself, Adora took a few steps away as she stared off into thought, all while the other two watched her.

"I don't get it, what's the big deal?" Entrapta whispered, leaning over towards Scorpia.

"Shadow Weaver's kinda like a mom to her. I don't think she'll want to mess with anything belonging to her."

This was the moment it all came down to as Scorpia waited for Adora's reply. What was the blonde Force Captain going to do about all of this? This was a matter of Adora either betraying the closest thing she's ever had to a mother, and the leader of the Horde who took her in and raised her to be the person she was today. Whoever she betrayed was going to leave pain in her heart regardless, and an entire lifetime of guilt soon after.

The pros and cons to betraying them outweighed each other perfectly! If she helped Shadow Weaver, she would become the new head of the Horde. Anything she said would go, she could make whatever rules she deemed necessary, and help millions of people throughout the world better if the Horde went under her leadership. But she would also be known as a traitor to the Horde, possibly being shunned by half of the army itself depending on how she disposed of Hordak, and it wouldn't just be her word over the Horde either. There would also be Shadow Weaver, standing by her side, throwing a thought or two into her direction, practically making the rules herself.

Then again, if she betrayed Shadow Weaver, she could expose a large traitor to Lord Hordak himself. She would gain his admiration and his respect if she was to do something as large as this, and it would be more than enough to put her back in Hordak's good graces, as well as that of the rest of the Horde, for her service. But it would mean turning her back on the person she's known since she was a child, betraying someone she held most dearly. To turn your back on someone who was family AND betray them at the same time would have left the ultimate form of guilt over one's consciousness, no matter the reason behind it.

There was no suggestions Scorpia could give Adora at this time. She was going to stick with her dear friend until the end, like a good friend should! And after the kindness she was shown and the decency she was offered, despite technically being a prisoner, Entrapta was prepared to do the same. Besides, even if it wasn't for the same level of reasoning, there was too much fun stuff around here to experiment with! This was her chance to experience an entirely new generation of technology, and she wasn't about to let that go to waste!

Finally, after what felt like forever, Adora raised her head at long last as she turned back towards her two remaining friends with a grin. "I've made up my mind."

"And?" Scorpia waited with anticipation in her veins. "What's the plan?"

"Simple. We're going to do what Shadow Weaver wants us to do." She stated without any hesitation or pause.

"You mean..." Entrapta couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence, Adora nodding in confirmation all the same. It felt like they were about to dethrone the Queen of the Rebellion itself this felt so big!

"Yes. We're going to do betray Lord Hordak. Then, we'll bring this war to an end."

The determination in her voice was real, the fire in her eyes never faltering. This is the grand realization she's had after waiting all of this time, the ultimate choice that she had to make. This was the first step towards a greater destiny for her, her friends, and the Horde, and she wasn't going to let this opportunity go to waste. "I'll do whatever I think is necessary to bring the Rebellion down, including removing any obstacles that get in my way. And I already have the perfect plan to do it." Without another word, the Force Captain made her way out of the room, contemplating all the fine details she would need to set out for this.

All the while being completely unaware of a small pair of glowing yellow eyes that stared at her from the large pipes above, never realizing the blue-skinned imp that was spying on the three of them as it tread its way through the ceilings and the pipes that scattered around the ceiling.

...

The inner sanctum was considered one of the most sacred places within the Horde, the throne of power belonging to the wise being known as Lord Hordak himself. The leader of the Horde, the keeper of all the technological prowess that the Horde had to offer, and the one bringing Etheria closer by the day into his grasp.

The leader was nobody to be trifled with. His technologies could incinerate entire cities within minutes. His soldiers could raze towns in under an hour, taking away anything of potential value and capturing citizens, traitors, and princesses that the Horde came across. His power was matched by his knowledge, his ruthlessness never being quenched without the sight of victory in his view. He was the perfect example of what a leader should be, and the very definition of a nightmare itself.

Under his watchful gaze, nothing went within the Horde without his notice. From the high tech security that littered the halls and checkpoints of the Fright Zone, to the defense systems that were so advanced people would be lucky enough to lose a limb if they ever activated them, everything that ever was, and ever will be, for the Horde has lead him to this. He would never falter in his mission, and he would deal with traitors and enemies however he saw fit.

Including ones that were brought to his attention directly by his allies, like this little imp that crawled atop of his throne's armrest, sitting dutifully for his master like a good pet should.

"What do you have for me, little spy?" He knew whenever his pet returned to him directly, there was always something that warranted his attention.

Opening his mouth, instead of making any noise from himself, Hordak listened as he heard the sound of a certain Force Captain being played back to him, waiting in silence as the recording played back. "We're going to do betray Lord Hordak. Then, we'll bring this war to an end. I'll do whatever I think is necessary to bring the Rebellion down, including removing any obstacles that get in my way. And I already have the perfect plan to do it."

A normal leader would react immediately, sending guards to dispose of the traitor or taking care of the potential threat themselves. A skeptical leader would build up his defenses around himself, lying in wait until the traitor had exposed themselves to ensure what he heard was accurate, then spring the trap instantly to catch the traitors in the act.

However, a remarkable leader, one with the foresight and keen intellect such as him, would simply grin at the news. He didn't feel any fear at the knowledge he acquired, he didn't harbor any rage towards the individual, he didn't seem to care about what this Adora was going to do and the means she would use to do it.

All he did was smile, chuckling to himself as he petted his obedient servant along its head.

"Hmhmhm... amusing..."

...

...

"Ghhh!" Catra grumbled a little as she waved her hands through the holograms, waiting until they finally disappeared and returned to wherever they came from. "Look, I get the point, okay? I'm supposed to be She-Ra, I have to finish some garbage the original She-Ra was supposed to do, be some savior, blah, blah, blah, I'll finish it later. What I need to know is-"

"Is there something you do not understand?" Light Hope raised another hand, returning the holograms to where they were, much to Catra's annoyance. "I can start again from the beginning if you'd like."

"What? No, please, you don't-"

Within seconds, the living hologram appeared where she had at the beginning of the conversation, leaving Catra to groan as she banged her head against the wall to calm her frustration. "Ghhhh! Look, I get all of that-!"

"Have I mentioned you are the new She-Ra?" She appeared a foot away from Catra's face in wonder.

"Ack! No, I got it, thanks, whatever. You still haven't answered my biggest question: Will I have access to She-Ra's powers, and can I finally transform now?"

"Yes," she quickly added in before Catra could cheer at this, "and no."

" _And_  no? Make up your mind already, jeez!" Catra was about ready to pull every last strand of hair she had off of her head. When this woman wasn't being annoying, she was being unclear. When she decided to clear and specify, she was being annoying about it. Why couldn't she just be one or the other and just stick to it?! "Why do you keep saying yes AND no?"

"I believe there is a misunderstanding on your part, Catra." Within the palm of her hands, she created two miniature variations of She-Ra; the one she has transformed into, and the one that a past She-Ra could transform into. "The form that you know as She-Ra is not the true form that you are to bear. With the inhibitor removed, you should be able to transform into the form you've come to know with ease, but that form is merely a fraction of the true form of She-Ra."

"Wait, give me a second here. Are you telling me that the person I've been transforming into isn't She-Ra at all?"

"No. I'm saying based on the conditions, you've only ever been able to acquire a fourth of She-Ra's form, and the power that comes with it. Even with the inhibitor, you were never limited in how far your form of She-Ra could go, just it's power." At this, an expression of curiosity grew over the emotionless creation, observing Catra from head to toe. "Interestingly enough, you are the only She-Ra discovered through the Alpha Protocol that hasn't been able to fully utilize the form of She-Ra. Then again, it isn't too surprising."

"And what the heck is that supposed to mean?" Now on top of being annoyed, she had to start putting up with being insulted too? How is it that the more she learned about how to be She-Ra, the less she found herself wanting to be She-Ra of all things?!

"As stated, there are several conditions that must be met, if you are to truly ever access the sword's power. First off, you must always be honest to yourself, and your heart." Catra had to resist the urge to scoff at this as she turned away. She didn't like feeling all cheesy and emotional at the best of times, yet she was willing to put up with it if it meant she could finally become She-Ra.

"Two, the wielder of the sword must be pure of heart. Only when you finally allow your heart to be at peace will becoming She-Ra be second nature to you. If you don't mind me saying this, your behavior and emotions we have witnessed in your memories have left you less than desirable for the sword."

"Hmph, I'm going to bother going there..." The feline crossing her arms. She didn't need a reminder of what she was referring to, she had plenty of those still scarring her at this very second. It was her greed and selfishness that lead to her heart being impure, and corrupting the message she should have received since day one. She couldn't bring herself to mention how it worked things out with Adora within the last day, the terror of that event never leaving her mind.

"Third, you must-"

"Look, let's cut the junk from the meeting, all right?" Catra interrupted this time, waving her hands through the small holograms so they would disappear. "I can only be a fourth of She-Ra right now. Fine. I'll deal with it as I go along. Can you at least tell me right now how I can heal my friend for crying out loud!"

"Your friend?"

"Yes!" She was getting a word through to this woman! "My friend! Glimmer, Pinky, take your pick! Something happened to her after she used her magic against Shadow Weaver's, and she's lost her magic somehow because of it! How do I solve her problem?"

"The connection with her Runestone was disrupted." Light Hope revealed, leaning in and popping out on her left.

"Then can I fix it?"

"Yes. With training, you will be able to do many incredible things."

"Huh! YES!" Catra cheered louder than she's ever had before. FINALLY! SOME ACTUAL GOOD NEWS FOR A CHANGE! Not only that, she was also being told she could do many more things with the right kind of training. Talk about a big bonus! "Finally! Thank you! Jeez, finally something good around here." Looking around with a smile on her face, she spoke, "Okay, just tell me the healing thing first so I can fix her. I'll come back later then for more, so let's jump right into it. Where do I start? How long will it take? A few hours? A day or two? Or-"

"Years." The answer swept away all the joy and excitement the girl has felt for what's feels like forever in one, solitary, word.

"Y-Years? No, no, no, I'm not looking to learn everything right at this moment! Just tell me the healing thing, I'll come back some other time for the rest!"

"Catra-"

"Listen to me! All of this happened because I was tricked at some stupid party, and my friends got captured as a result. And now she's hurt after having to save me, we lost our whole alliance because I couldn't keep my anger in check, everyone's mad at each other for an argument I started, it's all my fault, and I..." Catra squeezed her head as she tried to fight back any terms that would have formed.

This was the moment she's been waiting for after long last, the chance she could finally turn things around. The last thing she wanted was to break down again and end up in a sniveling fit before she could get the right words out, the right questions asked. Shaking her head clear, she took a deep breath as she continued, "I need to know how to heal my friend, okay? I need to know how to fix all of this."

The one she came to know as Light Hope tilted her head at this as Catra took a couple deep breaths in an attempt to calm down. Catra didn't know where this conversation was going again, and she couldn't afford to waste a hundred years in this conversation alone, not when somebody needed her for a change! With a small blip to her person, a technical glitch from the looks of it, Light Hope nodded.

"Yes. Your mission is to fix the planet." She didn't have so much as a twitch as Catra glared at her.

"My mission is to fix my mistakes. That's  _ **IT**_! I need to find a way to heal Glimmer, find the other princesses and restore the alliance, find a way to apologize to Adora for what I've done... This is the only reason I came here. Got that? I needed to find a way to fix everything I've done, I... I'm tired of being a screw up."

"You are now She-Ra. Your purpose is to fix all of Etheria, not a few individuals. You can not help only your friends."

"Says you!" She growled squeezing her fist. "Look, the inhibitor thing is off or whatever, right? Fine. If you're not going to help anymore than that, get me out of here so I can get back to them. I'll find some way to fix this as I go along!"

"Catra," for the first time in this conversation, the magicat found Light Hope trying to preform some sign of comfort, placing her glitching hand on her shoulder, "you do not yet realize the power you have. You are distracted by your attachments from the greater importance."

"GEEEEEEEHHHH!" This close. She was this close to tearing her own ears off at the impossible rage this woman was reaching. "Forget it! I'll find my own way out!" She huffed, stomping her feet away as she stormed off. "I'll do your stupid task with or without you. I might as well if you wanted me to be the next She-Ra, right?"

"We did not pick you even now." Re-materializing at the front, Catra came to a stop as she announced this. "Our data searched every person you've come into contact with. We've analyzed their powers and their strengths, as well as their personalities, and found many of them just as suitable as you. If any of them had come across the sword first, if they had become the Finders, they would have been just as acceptable as the next line of She-Ra."

"You... You still don't want me to be She-Ra?" For an emotionless program, she definitely knew what to say where it hurts.

"Your qualities for becoming She-Ra were incompatible with all the ones that came before you." To emphasize her point, like she had with her previous explanations of how Catra came to be, she created hundreds of different screen-like displays all across the room. This time, they depicted various scenes from Catra's life, all the moments her selfishness, pride, arrogance, everything that made her today, at the moments they were at her worst.

"You have shown anger towards those you recently met." She said, revealing one of the many displays of more recent time. Here, Catra winced a little at her own disgust, seeing the time she first came to Thaymor and the anger she had towards a group of children just for bumping into her.

The next scene she showed was during her first trip to Plumeria, showing off the boastful Catra in her She-Ra form, lounging around like she owned the place as she leaned back in her chair. "You gave in to pride and arrogance at your own misunderstandings. The fault may not lie solely on you, but you gave in to those emotions regardless. Your desire for attention outweighed your duty, and you were willing to leave it all behind for the people you barely knew."

The third, and what she hoped to be last, scene she displayed was the end of her mission in Salineas, right after she fixed the Sea Gate and saved the kingdom. It was another of Catra's darkest moments towards her friends, showing unbridled rage and contempt for Glimmer as she threw the sword at her feet, resigning her duty as She-Ra back then. "And you've shown hatred to your own allies who were trying to help you. Your actions and emotions towards them were unbecoming of anyone known as She-Ra. Had your possible anger not been quelled by the memories you were given, you might not be here today."

Seeing as the magicat had enough, Light Hope discarded the remaining images into nothingness, observing as Catra remained silent, and in pain. "It was because of your detachment to others that you were found most suitable for the role of Finder, had it been deemed necessary to initiate the Alpha Protocol. And now you are allowing yourself to be connected again, to make the same mistakes as Mara did before you."

"M-Mara? It was the one word that Catra managed to question at her time of grief. Everything about her had been the same up till now, no matter how much she considered Glimmer and Bow friends. People kept getting hurt by her physically or emotionally because she's never learned to control herself. She wasn't wanted as She-Ra back then, and she still wasn't wanted now. She was a gamble they were forced to use, and to Catra, they had the least bit of desire to use her at all.

"She was the one who came before Adora, who could not let go of her own emotions, as you." Behind them, their location changed and warped to a cliff side overlooking a pink sunset. At the edge of the pointed-out cliff, Catra saw her. The one known as Mara, the She-Ra that came before. The very person someone mentioned in Catra's past earlier.

"Mara... Isn't that the old hag's daughter? What happened to her?" She asked, never removing Mara from her sight.  _Come to think of it, how old is that hag then?_

"Mara was the last official She-Ra before you. She struggled with a power she could not control, a power that went wild because she could not keep her emotions in check, and one that became too much for her mind." They watched as Mara collapsed to her knees, planting her sword firmly in the ground in front of her. Her eyes wavered with despair and madness, eventually being engulfed in a bright light that changed the scenery again.

Here, Catra stood, standing face-to-face with Light Hope along the open field of the plains, under a night's sky. "She... she snapped?"

"She was compromised." Light Hope clarified. "She gave in to fear and faulty reasoning. She let her mistakes take advantage of her fear. She let uncertainty blind her to reasoning. She let all of her emotions spiral out of control until there was nothing left but a hollowed anger. Her desperate actions led to devastation. Mara stranded us in the empty dimension of Despandos." From above, Catra saw a burning star of red falling out of the sky, crashing away from them and nearly consuming them in a large explosion that spread from its impact.

She nearly forgot this was all an illusion as she covered herself for protection, the very emotions Light Hope warned her about, affecting her mind in turn. "She is the one who broke the She-Ra line. She nearly destroyed us as a result." Returning to the original setting at Catra's side once more, she turned her head towards the girl that was destined to bring salvation after a millennium had passed.

"It was here that I waited Catra, for one thousand years. Alone, and in the dark, hoping one day She-Ra would return." For a change, Catra stared back at the ancient being with an ounce of sympathy and pity. "I did not know if She-Ra would ever return, Catra. As I've said, I harbor no ill will towards you or your actions of the past. It is not solely your fault for who you've turned out to be. Etheria has a greater need of you now more than ever." The girl didn't so much as twitch as Light Hope stood behind her, placing her hands on both of Catra's shoulders in comfort.

"Will you finally answer its call, Catra? You are the last remaining hope we have for this world, and all life." Lifting her head again, Catra saw several holographic displays of the people she's been with and the scenes that took place, from the scene of her yelling at a distraught Glimmer and injured Bow who's hand she scratched away, another image Glimmer as she was being tortured, a distorted screaming echoing around her, and lastly the most painful memory she's ever had to contend with.

The sight of Adora glaring at her before leaving through a door.  _"Goodbye, Catra."_

"Adora..." She muttered reaching out for her. Shockingly to her, it wasn't even the most painful memory that was displayed. That depiction went to the hologram she saw after, revealing a chipper Entrapta smiling back at her as she sat in a holographic portion of the skiff they took to save Glimmer.

_"I think our chances of everyone surviving this just raised dramatically." She happily stated._

"You feel guilt for your mistakes, and regret for what you have done. It is better if you let them go now. As you said, what has happened has happened with your own two hands, and you now have a chance to amend them. Are you willing to answer Etheria's pleas?

All of them were real, none of them fixed. This is who Catra truly was, inside and out, from beginning to end. She wasn't She-Ra. She wasn't a Hero. She was a person who wanted to experience greatness in her life, and currently found herself wanting redemption for a change. Here, she had that opportunity to do so. To make up for her past mistakes, to fix everything that she had ever ruined, and be someone that people would look up to.

She could be the greatest person that ever lived now, she could be cherished and seen for the generations to come! People would cry at the opportunity to meet her in person, to wish every day that they got to be the kind of person Catra was. Nobody would see her as a freak anymore, and she had nothing left to lose!

She had every reason to accept her role, and none to turn away from it.

"Will you fight for the Honor of Grayskull, for everyone who has need of you?"

"...No."

...

...

* _shoom_ *

"Adora?" Shadow Weaver acknowledged with surprise as she saw the girl standing in the center of her Black Garnet chamber, with Scorpia and Entrapta on her left and right respectively.

She was curious as to what the girl wished to discuss with her when she invited her here half an hour ago. With all that's been happening around here lately, there could be any number of things, ideally anything related to betraying Hordak or not. She would've accepted either answer, though preferred the former, as she would go on to plan around it soon after. If Adora wanted a part in her grand scheme or not, that was fine by her.

All she wanted to know at this time was why Adora, who seemed determined as she wore her head band at the time with her hands behind her back, Scorpia, and Entrapta had been waiting for her until now.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, waiting as Adora walked over until she stood right in front of her.

"I've given a lot of thought about your offer, Shadow Weaver, and I've decided." Shadow Weaver's heart fluttered with joy at the possible prospect of what she was saying.

"And, what specifically is that, my dear?"

"I've decided to accept it." Adora nodded before giving a respectful salute. "You were right. The Horde does need new leadership. Why shouldn't it be me? My only condition is that they join us." Adora declared, gesturing to her two friends behind her as they waved. "I'm not leaving them behind in all of this."

Shadow Weaver didn't know what to say. All the time she spent planning and manipulating people around her, all of it has resulted in this one perfect moment of utter happiness. She played her parts carefully, molded Adora perfectly into the way she needed her to be, and finally, came out at the very top of it.

She had everything she had needed here. A loyal supporter who she knew would call the shots in her favor, a lovable daughter she's shown affection to for the purpose of her grand scheme, and a role as her right hand who would mold and shape the Horde as she saw fit, allowing Adora to do whatever trivial things she wanted to do with it, as long as it didn't interfere with her own ideals.

Most of all, she had won. She had beaten Lord Hordak.

"Oh... Adora..." With a tender, loving, eyes that could be shown through her clawed mask, she gently stroked her cheek. "You have no idea how happy this makes me. You have made me very proud on this day."

"I would like to know, though, why you want to overthrow Lord Hordak, mother." Her blackened heart skipped a beat as she heard this. Adora was perfectly molded in every way she needed her to be.

"Yeah, I wouldn't mind knowing myself, too." Scorpia added, waving a little.

"Same here." Entrapta waved as well. "I mean, the guy does seem to be a genius if he has this entire army behind his call. Clearly someone like that can't be incompetent or anything, right?"

"I want to overthrow him because of his narrow-mindedness!" Shadow Weaver hissed as her hair flailed about in anger. Turning her back to them, she made her way over to the Black Garnet, her prized possession, and the source of her power. "That fool of a leader thinks too small. He wants to dominate the world around us? What's the point if he doesn't take advantage of what he has and uses it to crush our enemies?!"

She scratched her hand against the Runestone slowly, staring at her own reflection. "We could have all the power we needed, all that we want, if he would open himself further to the possibilities, Adora!"

"The possibilities?"

"Imagine, not just one person, but an entire army empowered by our Runestone with one simple spell. Think of the secrets that could be unlocked if he didn't limit access on our own experiments, what we could learn if he wasn't cowardly enough to leave things the way they were! With me- I mean, me assisting you, Adora, we can finally turn the Horde into the greatest power that Etheria- no! The entire Universe has ever known! It can be all ours, Adora, and it will be. Now and forever!" These were the true colors of Shadow Weaver.

They weren't black or as red as they first appeared to be. They weren't even a color. They were a coldness that rang throughout the room, touching everything and anything that she came into contact with, the very way Shadow Weaver preferred herself being as.

This was the beginning of the end for Lord Hordak, and those foolish enough to stand by her side. With hers and Adora's magic, Scorpia's brute strength, and Entrapta's scientific intellect, they would become the most unstoppable force the Horde had to offer, one nobody would ever be foolish enough to challenge!

She played her cards right, down to the very last detail. She made the right enemies, the right allies, and a single daughter who she appeared to dot over since the moment she came to the Horde, all for this second of exhilaration that she was now experiencing for the first time in her life.

This was eternal bliss, one she was sure Adora was sharing in as she continued to stare at her.

"...Did you get all that, Lord Hordak?" Adora asked as the monitors came to life.

"Loud and clear, Adora..."

 

_**...** _

 

_**...** _

 

_**...** _

 

_**A/N: It gets harder trying to be inventive and not reuse the same word every single paragraph. Trouble is when you're writing an isolated scene repeatedly (like 8k words worth X/) it's hard not to. Either way hope you all enjoyed this, and have fun with those cliffhangers! Mayev i'll be evil for once and go an entire day on purpose without posting anything, just to add to the suspense XP lol** _

 

_**Seriously though thanks again to those who've continued to show support. I hope you continue to enjoy the series as we draw near the end of the episode and make way to our GRAND FINALE!!!** _

 

_**Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!** _


	48. Episode 12: Light Hope Finale

**_A/N: HOOOOOOOLY BALLS i think this is a new record :O! I'll be honest, I actually did come to a good cut-off point earlier in the chapter, and I'm pretty sure some fans will notice where, but then I thought it seemed a little too short, and since the episode was nearing its end, I decided to see it through to the end ^^...hooooo boy, now you know why I try not to do more than 5-7 minutes worth of footage per chapter T_p (it was also the only excuse i could come up with to post and finish this season faster so I can start watching season 2 XD)_ **

**_Lol, anyway, hope you all enjoy!_ **

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

"Lo-Lord Hordak!" Shadow Weaver was incapable of thinking what to say, the words emptying from her lips out of sheer instinct. "W-What are you doing here?"

This could not be happening. Not here, not now! Here was Lord Hordak, over the monitors, watching over them with a fascinating curiosity as he grinned. He had heard everything that uttered straight from Shadow Weaver's lips, all of her wicked plans and schemes lying before him in a big healthy basket of betrayal. The amount of shock that dripped from her head was nowhere near in comparison to the shock she had at just  _who_  betrayed her.

Adora. Her Adora.

Everything she's spent years in the process of detailing and perfecting had suddenly crashed right in front of her very eyes. Since day one she had molded and crafted her one true ally into being the perfect soldier. Obedient, strong, wise, all these things were what Shadow Weaver bestowed upon her since the moment she was found. She was her little spark, her little gem, the shining key behind all of this that would've made this work all the way through!

She had Adora trained by the best of instructors and teachers around here, she offered her the most care and comfort to ensure that she would always look up to her, almost like a mother. She did everything she could to provide for her and scold her when she considered it the most necessary. She never laid a hand on her like all the rest, never tried to purposely scare her except whenever she truly needed it. She was the closest thing to a daughter, something she made sure Adora was well aware of to make sure she would never risk the chance of betraying her.

Why would she ever expect Adora to betray her of all people? She was the closest thing she had to a mother, she was the one person to give her a gift, the head band which granted her tremendous power. Adora had nothing to gain from betraying her other than entering Lord Hordak's good graces, and there was no way she could ever want that.

And here she was now. Standing in front of her with a prideful grin as she looked back to the leader of the Horde, the one who lead the Horde through his mass of intellect and creative genius. He was the one who waged war upon this world, and he was the one who decided what happened and where. Failure was not tolerable to him, multiple times or even once.

Above all else, there was no room in his Horde for traitors.

"I came to witness everything for myself, Shadow Weaver." Hordak replied, petting the head of his useful pet as it appeared over the screen. "I admit I was quite surprised when I heard you were planning on overthrowing me, though, given your tenacity and pungent for

power, it wasn't unexpected."

"M-My Lord, there must be some mistake!" Shadow Weaver tried to defend her innocence as she formulated a plan. "I have always shown the utmost loyalty and respect for-"

"Save your breath, Shadow Weaver." Hordak scowled, the pet hissing in his master's defense. "I always knew you were up to something the day you started dotting over a single child throughout your life. Your strive for compassion and good fortune were always a means to an end with you, no matter how much care you showed."

"How much..." Shadow Weaver turned her attention to the Force Captain who stood her ground with authority as Scorpia approached from behind her. "I don't know how he found out, Adora, but no matter what he says, you mustn't listen to whatever he had to offer you! You can still turn this around-!"

"Hahaha!" At the sound of his cackling, the dreading witch turned back towards the mocking Lord. "Offer her? I didn't even have to approach the young officer about this. She came to  _me_ , willingly!"

"Sh... She what?" Adora? Her Adora? The one she had shown affection and wisdom to throughout the years? She went to Lord Hordak himself about all of her plans? "How... That's not true-!"

"Why wouldn't it be true?" Adora spoke nonchalant, the expression on her face hiding whatever thoughts were going through her mind. "You always did tell me, Shadow Weaver. How to undermine my enemies, how to exploit them. To make allies in the right places and enemies in the wrong. I'm just doing what you've been teaching me after all these years." She grinned. "Quite frankly, I thought you'd be more proud of me."

"A... Adora..."

"You were right about her, Shadow Weaver." Lord Hordak deemed as his pet jumped off screen. "The girl is full of surprises and promise. You should hear what she has planned for the Black Garnet."

"T-The Garnet?"

* _bzzzt!_ *

Hearing this, the group looked back towards the Black Garnet itself, seeing a certain scientist continuing to adjust the wires and metals of the machine she was building around it. Already, the girl had a semi-functioning control console as well as a several power-adapters that were running around the Runestone itself. The confusion growing over Shadow Weaver's mind was almost perfectly matched by the stroke of fear that as starting to engulf her.

"What are you doing?!" She roared angrily, Entrapta giving a slight "eek" at the rage directed at her. It took all of her power to hold back Emily, her personal droid, from charging the wicked witch from threatening its master.

"Whatever she wants to, Shadow Weaver." He answered in her stead. "Since the girl came to the Horde, she's increased the firepower of all our weapon and technology in a process that have taken our own scientists years to come up with. Whatever she is doing with the Black Garnet, she is allowed it. As I've said to you before, the Black Garnet is mine to do with as I see fit. And with all that I've witnessed till now, I see little reason to continue allowing it in your hands."

"Y-You-You can't do this to me!" The blackness in her hair began to spiral out of control as the rage began to escalate. "I've unlocked its secrets, the power that lays dormant in it! I've learned how to harness its power for magic, learned to transfer it into a useful weapon! It belongs to me!"

" **Not**  anymore. Force Captain Adora, Scorpia. Please see to it that our new prisoner is escorted personally to her new cell."

"Yes, Lord Hordak." Scorpia saluted with a nod, running her way over to the biggest traitor the Horde has ever known.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" With a mad howl that rocked the entire room, Shadow Weaver blasted her dark powers in all directions in a massive wave, temporarily engulfing Scorpia, Adora, Entrapta, and Emily in one sweep, and destroying the monitors as they stretched across the room. When it subsided, the girls, and robot, were shown to be frozen in place, a red aura lighting off their bodies as a result. "YOU WRETCHED INGRATE!" Shadow Weaver screamed, amassing the shadows around her as she approached the one who betrayed her.

"I GAVE YOU EVERYTHING! COMPASSION! SUPPORT! I HAVE NEVER TREATED ANYONE THE WAY I'VE TREATED YOU, AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME?!" Adora showed no signs of fear as Shadow Weaver towered over her. The last time she towered over her like this, she got the scolding of a lifetime, something Adora always feared to see again. "ALL THAT I'VE DONE, ALL THE TIME SPENT, HAS BEEN WASTED BECAUSE OF YOUR STUPIDITY CHILD! ALL MY WORK! ALL MY EFFORT! DASHED AWAY BECAUSE YOU COULDN'T THINK FOR ONE SECOND COULD YOU?!"

"I WILL NEVER ALLOW LORD HORDAK TO TAKE WHAT IS RIGHTFULLY MINE, DO YOU UNDERSTAND!? I'VE WORKED TOO HARD FOR ALL OF THIS TO LET IT BE SHATTERED BY ONE MISTAKE, BY YOU OF ALL PEOPLE! FOR ALL THE ATTENTION I GAVE YOU, FOR ALL THAT I'VE HELD DEAR, I RISKED IT ON YOU, AND YOU DO THIS TO ME! WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF?!"

"...Tch...pft...pffffffft! Heheheheh!" Laughter. The girl was actually laughing. She jerked her elbows around as she convulsed into a massive fit of laughter, her lower head keeping Shadow Weaver from seeing her face. "Tch, hahahahahaha!"

"WHAT'S SO FUNNY, YOU FEEBLE WORM?!"

"Hahahaha! Oh, boy... I don't know what's funnier right now. The fact you've wasted so much time on me," with probably one of the most sinister smiles she's ever seen on the girl's face, Adora lifted her head, surprising Shadow Weaver that she could move at all, "or the fact you think you're still holding me."

* **crash!** *

There wasn't enough time to so much as blink before what happened next. With the gem glowing off of Adora's band, the Force Captain gave a mighty roar as she slammed Shadow Weaver across the room with one swing of her gargantuan, shadow-covered, arms. The dark witch couldn't even comprehend what just happened, nor how it happened, as she rose off the ground again. From here, she could see Adora grinning, continuing to walk over to her with no signs of fear, despite the red aura that surrounded her.

"What?!" How was she still moving? How was she resisting her control like this? That gem didn't nullify Shadow Weaver's own powers. She shouldn't be able to do this! "How can you move like this?!"

"Oh, poor, Shadow Weaver." Adora continued to taunt. Shouting, Shadow Weaver blasted at her with deadly streaks of red lightning, never caring at this moment about who her intended target was. This was nothing more than child's play for Adora as she casually dashed off to the side, avoiding the pain streaks that nearly struck Scorpia. "You still haven't learned a thing after all this time, have you?"

"See, while I was stuck being the obedient little slave of yours that answered your beck and call," Shadow Weaver blasted another wave of her darkness directly at the girl, only for Adora to easily block it with the palm of her hand, "I've been training. Ever since you gave me this gift, this wonderful head band I thought you made with love, I've been training. Practicing. Honing my skills for the day I ever came across Catra again, the one you lied about being brainwashed."

"Arrrrrrgh!" With both of her hands, the murderous witch blasted the largest bolts of lightning she could muster, firing more than a dozen of the deadly bolts in a cone in front of her, leaving no chance for the girl to escape. At least, she assumed she had no means to escape. But Adora was clever, quick-thinking. With one arm raised to the sky, the three watched as a massive tentacle sprang from her arms, latching on to one of the ceiling pipes and pulling her out of harms way.

Following her trail with their eyes, they saw Adora hanging from under one of the sturdy pipes, a look of glee and amusement crossing her as she created another gargantuan clawed arm on her left. Before Shadow Weaver could even think of what she was doing, they saw and heard as Adora pulled away one of the massive pipes, crushing it and releasing the contents that filled it as it spread across the chamber.

Steam.

* _ffffffffffffft_ *

The pipes gave off a hollowed groan as the white smoke danced across the room. Dissipated and spread around like this, the three who were being surrounded by the thick fog felt very little in comparison to what they would have suffered if they took it at full force. There was barely an increase in humidity as Shadow Weaver's vision began to obscure, losing sight of everyone around her until all she could see was a room full of white.

She cautiously stepped forth into the fog as she heard Adora drop down from the ceiling. She was going to give her the biggest piece of her mind when she finally grasped her hands around her throat again!

"And during my practice," Shadow Weaver turned in all directions, hearing the voice echoing all around her, "I learned a few tricks."

"Haaaa!" Behind her, Shadow Weaver threw a combined bolt of her lightning and shadow at the same time, penetrating the fog for a few seconds as she tried blasting what she picked up as the source of the voice. What little she may have seen of a shadowy figure through the penetrated fog ended up being too fast for her as it disappeared immediately after, the fog filling up the small vacant hole soon after.

It still wasn't enough to deter the witch as she continued blasting wherever the source of the sound appeared to be coming from.

"I learned how to harness my shadows better."

* **crash!** *

"How to defend my body with it while using it to attack at the same time.

* _Bash!_ *

"How I can easily nullify your own shadows against mine with just a thought!"

* _ **crush!**_ *

"Not a day went by where I didn't devote my life to you and the Horde, just to find out you've been using me since the moment I met you!"

"How could you betray me like this Adora?" Shadow Weaver tried to maintain her composure as she steadied her magic. Blasting around wildly wasn't going to help. She needed to figure out a way to draw Adora out, and think of a plan after she did. "Did anything I did for you mean nothing to you? Was it so easy to turn a blind eye and betray me like this?"

"No. Not at all." The girl didn't drop an ounce of her tone as she spoke, eluding Shadow Weaver's attention as she tried to find her. "In fact, I never wanted to do this. I wish I didn't have to do this."

"Then it's not too late, Adora." She stood at attention as he placed her hands behind her back in a calming manner, hiding the small pool of magic she was gathering in her palms. "Join me now, and we can still take out Lord Hordak, together! The Horde would be ours for the taking, Etheria for us to rule! All of it can be ours, now and forever."

"And why would I want that?" The girl wasn't falling for any of her words of comfort, whether through her training of repressing her emotions with the head band, or through sheer will. "Why would I want to help the person that never showed any real love or care for me since I was found? What makes you think I would ever help somebody that showed me false compassion throughout all of my life, to make me think I was cared for by someone I looked up to, to find out I was just a pawn in your game?"

"It hurt, Shadow Weaver." At long last, the fog started to dissipate, revealing the room around her. She saw Scorpia, Entrapta, and Emily still frozen, and the broken monitors with glass lining the floors, but no Adora. "It hurt a lot. Almost as much as your methods to train young children." Getting fed up with the game of cat and mouse, Shadow Weaver directed her magic into both her sides, attempting to sweep the room in one go. Unfortunately, like before, it was met with little result as she struck nothing, adding on to dissipate the steam further.

"I know what your cruelty does to children, Shadow Weaver. It confuses them, makes them wonder what they did wrong, makes them fearful to the point where they only think of themselves, and it turns them into freaks. Your methods have gone on to ruin the Horde, Shadow Weaver, and that's when I decided." Without warning, the very instant that Shadow Weaver turned around, she found a shroud of shadow covering around her forehead, crushing against the gem that housed her powers. And for a split second, she saw the look on Adora's face, the look in her eyes that showed Shadow Weaver what she was feeling.

It was sinister pleasure.

"I don't care anymore."

* **CRUNCH!** *

"Noooooooooo!" With a single squeeze around her mask, unable to see the little tendrils directly touching the gem, she heard it. That one sound of untimely horror that Shadow Weaver had always feared to hear. With little specks of red dropping in front of her, she watched helplessly as the source of her power, the gems extracted from the Black Garnet directly, were shattering before her very eyes. All at once, the power and shadows that had engulfed the room quickly receded, the red aura diminishing over Scorpia, Entrapta, and Emily as they could move again.

Powerless, after Adora released her grip on her, the witch dropped to her knees, scrambling to pick up the shattered pieces of the gem as they turned dark and lifeless. "No.. No no nooooo!" She cried. It was over. Everything she had worked up to till now, was officially over, all because the one person she trusted the most betrayed her.

"I might never know what you did to Catra to turn her into this," Adora commented as she circled her. "and I don't care about that either. All I know is what you've taught me, and I did exactly like you said. I saw an opportunity to get rid of you, and I took it, like you've always been telling me to."

This... This is what she's been turning Adora into all these years? This couldn't be! Where was that innocent little girl that stood in front of her all this time? What happened to that perky smile that was plastered on her face whenever she saw her, even if she wasn't smiling? What in Etheria's name happened to turn her into this?

She worked her tirelessly to ensure she would never turn her back on her. The lessons she taught her she thought she would never use against her, not with the  _love_  that she showed her. Not a day went by where other children didn't wish they were in Adora's place, being under Shadow Weaver's constant and good graces, instead of fearing for their lives in case they ever did anything to Adora instead. Nobody wanted to be Adora's enemy, and dew ever wanted to become her friend because of her relationship to her.

She caused Adora's rise to power, and caused her own downfall.

"I've created a monster..." She finally realized, squeezing the remains of the gem in her grip.

"No," Adora was still giving a wicked smile as she squatted in front of her, "you've created your replacement. Someone as young as me who's surpassed you in just about every way. And that should be a very comforting thought for you."

That was when Shadow Weaver remembered the head band over her forehead, the one that amplified her emotions tenfold when she didn't suppress them. Whatever minor thoughts she was harboring at this time was a result of it, the implications causing her to act as cruel as she was now. "Adora, listen. This isn't you talking, this is the headband-"

"I know." Adora butted in, waving her hand uncaring. "And I don't care. Out of everything you've taught me growing up, this was the one thing you were wrong about, Shadow Weaver. I shouldn't be trying to suppress my emotions with this thing, I should be embracing them! They give me such a sense of relief that I didn't think was possible before! And it's all thanks to you that I have this now, and it's the only reason, and out of respect for raising me, that I convinced Lord Hordak not to execute you for this."

"Adora..." Lowering her head, the dark witch refused to show the solemn look in her eye as Adora continued to gloat. "You forgot about one thing, child."

"Oh? And what's that?"

"Without me, you will never be able to harness the Black Garnet's energy. Your stupid head band will be as useful as a paperweight when you finally drain it of all its power."

"Huh, really now..." Rising up to her feet as Scorpia approached Shadow Weaver from behind, she watched as Adora made her way over to the Black Garnet, standing in front of her as a proud symbol of the Horde.

The source of Shadow Weaver's power, the Runestone gifted to the Horde by Scorpia's kingdom, and the key to turning this entire war into their favor. Here it stood, as tall and mighty as Lord Hordak himself, letting all who gazed upon it awe and wonder at its magnificence and importance.

Placing her hand against the crystal, she closed her eyes as she concentrated. Until now, Shadow Weaver has never been able to see Adora preform this task on her own, the girl never managing to siphon a mere fraction of the power the Black Garnet was capable of bestowing upon her head band. She always needed Shadow Weaver for help with this, the black witch being her one source of power throughout all this time, the one person who could harness its power for herself and all she wished to share it with.

Until today.

Against Shadow Weaver's beliefs, against her wishes, it was happening. With a slight tingle running across Adora's hands, she watched as a small strip of red lightning danced around the back of her hand, being siphoned through Adora's willpower, as the energies were pulled directly to her headband. There were no words to describe the feel of what was happening between both of them, Shadow Weaver in a state of utter disbelief, and Adora feeling refreshed like she slept for a hundred hours in one day.

This power was amazing! Astounding! It was no wonder Shadow Weaver was so drawn to its secrets and all it had to offer! With something like this within the Hordes' grasp, there was no end to the possibilities they could use this thing for, and with all that Adora and Entrapta had in mind, they were going to see it used to its full potential, and a means to turn this war around in their favor.

At long last, Adora let out a sigh of sweet relief as she felt the power wash over her, the headband on her forehead rejuvenating with new life. The girl had finally mastered the means to draw the garnet's power to herself, without Shadow Weaver's assistance. There was no longer any use for Shadow Weaver, and she might not be kneeling here if it wasn't for Adora's, her  **pupil's** , good graces.

"Ah... much better." Adora smiled as she stared at her flexing fingertips. "So, you were saying?" As expected, the witch went silent at this. She knew there was nothing else to say, nothing she could do to defend herself. "That's what I thought. Scorpia, restrain Shadow Weaver and bring her to a fresh cell. I don't think we'll be needing her anytime soon." Nodding, Scorpia grinned as she picked the evil sorceress up from her armpits, dragging her away as Adora examined the Black Garnet, all while Entrapta was still messing with the machine.

* _shoom_ *

"Ah!" At the sound of the yelp, Adora and Entrapta turned towards the door, growing surprised at the sight of a familiar figure and the two royal guards who escorted him. "Lord Hordak!"

The leader scowled at the sight of he disastrous witch, the former second in command who had earned her spot at his side until recently. He would have seen the witch burned or hanged like she should be, if not for Adora's one condition in return for all of her obedience. "Get this garbage out of my sight." He ordered. Scorpia gave a respectful salute as she continued dragging her away, the two guards following alongside her as Hordak entered the room personally, examining the ruined room and its steaming destruction.

"Lord Hordak." Adora greeted respectfully, kneeling before him with her head down and her fist planted to the ground.

"Adora," he greeted back, allowing the girl to rise again, "you did quite well. In your sentencing, I gave you a week to atone for the great loss you caused, and tasked you with finding a way to replace our spoils. And what did you do? Not only do you return in just one day, you managed to acquire a powerful new ally, discovered advanced technologies from the Data Crystal you unearthed, and rounded out a high-ranking traitor who has been in our midst this whole time. You've more than tripled your necessary contribution, Adora, and I personally thank you for that."

"You honor me, Lord Hordak." Adora gave a small bow at this, suppressing her emotions within his presence.

"However, one question still eludes me about you, Adora." The sound of his voice was enough to warrant her full attention. "How can I be sure I can continue to trust you throughout all of this?"

"Because I only have two conditions, My Lord." Adora stated, holding up two fingers. "One, I never want me and my friends to ever be seen as your pawns, or expendable."

"I would never dream wasting such valuable allies." His tone was genuine, as well as his commitment. He gave the girl what should have been an impossible task, granting her a single week out of his blessing, and she returns with a prize three times the size of what she was required to in over a day. He would be a fool to betray the trust of someone so valuable such as her! "And your other condition?"

"It's ready!" Entrapta announced, smiling with excitement as she rubbed her hands together.

Instead of answering his question, Adora turned her back to him as she walked over to the Black Garnet again, examining all the wires and power modules hooked up to it that Entrapta managed to place within minutes. This was what all her time and effort was going to come down to, and, at long last, it was time to see the results. Without so much as a word, she gave Entrapta a simple nod, the scientist shrieking with excitement as she threw a pair of purple goggles over her eyes.

"This is gonna be so much fuuuuun!" Rapidly clicking against the control module all the wires and machinery was hooked up to, smiling with uncontrollable glee as she cracked her knuckles. "Alright everyone! Lets. Get. WEIRD!" And with the flick of a switch, it happened.

* _whoooooooooooooooooooo-!_ *

The machine hummed to life as Adora and Hordak were in fascination, seeing massive bolts of the Black Garnet's energy swirling around the mighty Runestone. The power ran all throughout the cables connecting to the great gem, stretching up to the ceiling and against the walls that the cables protruded out from. Whatever this machine was, Hordak knew that he was going to be thoroughly impressed with the results.

And he was not disappointed.

Against all the walls around them, they witnessed as a handful of red crystals, the ones that illuminated the room lightly and decorated this dreary place, began to shatter. Black smoke began to rise from the crystal itself as power was being generated through its core, creating a massive wave of energy the likes of which has never been seen before! It didn't limit itself to destroying the crystals either as Adora noticed all the shadows across the room, from the smallest crevices to the ones under their feet, were being drawn towards the Black Garnet, adding on to fuel its power.

The fortress rumbled violently, the residence of the mighty citadel feeling the ground shaking beneath them, as the Black Garnet finally exhumed its power. In one mighty burst, straight from the crystal, Adora, Hordak, and Entrapta watched as a giant pillar of energy burst through the ceiling, the entire fortress, and blasted into the sky. In a barrage of black and red, the powerful beam shot straight into the clouds, erupting them into a thunderous storm as red lightning protruded out from every angle of the pillar's blast mark, booming the noise of thunder all around the Fright Zone.

Forget tripled. This girl has managed to quintuple her contribution to the Horde in a day's time, a feat never made possible before in all of the Horde's history. This lone Horde Officer was a goldmine in and of itself, Hordak looking back as he saw the girl squeezing her fist out of her own excitement at the display.

Whatever else this girl wanted he would make sure she was given. He would never turn away such a useful asset to the Horde, as long as she showed promise.

"I want to burn the Rebellion into ashes."

...

...

"Come again?" Light Hope inquired as Catra stepped away.

"I said no!" She growled, squeezing the claws against her palms.

"Catra, do you not understand your importance? All of Etheria is counting on you-"

"My  ** _importance_**?!" She gritted her teeth angrily as she glared back. "What exactly makes you think I'm important around here? That I'm necessary anymore?!"

"Since I've joined the Rebellion, I've made it look like a joke, got my friends captured and tortured, couldn't pull off one single mission without losing somebody's life because of my own recklessness, caused a huge uproar that resulted in the Princess Alliance to disband, can't pull off a stupid healing magic that I need to save my friend, lost the best friend I ever had in my life, and now this!"

"You're telling me that I was never chosen to begin with, that I was just in the wrong place in the wrong time. I went through all of this nonsense, all of this craziness, when in reality, all I was required to do was a stupid delivery girl the entire time, and even that I couldn't pull off because my heart wasn't  _pure_  or whatever cheesiness you claim it to be, that the form of She-Ra was only a fourth of what it was capable of and I'm still not capable of pulling off the true form of She-Ra because of my personality!"

"And you know what? I'm fine with that part. I don't want to change for anyone other than myself, big whoop! I relied on my speed and recklessness the entire time, to think on my feet while fighting off my enemies. That's probably the one thing I've come to learn about myself out of all of this. But you want to know the one part that bugs me as of now, the one incredible reality that you just threw on top of me out of this? You!"

"You guys never wanted me to begin with, yet you took me anyway. Since finding the sword, my entire life has been torn apart from my livelihood, my home, and the one friend who now has a personal vendetta against an entire Rebellion because of how I treated her in the past. You practically didn't give me any choice, you asked me to help with an annoying message you weren't advanced enough to get out properly, and then, right then, you have the nerve to ASK for me help, again, even though you still don't want it?! After everything you put me through, after how much you've ruined my  _life_ , you're asking ME for help?!" The magicat panted in exhaustion as she finished her long winded retelling.

She could not recall the last time she ever felt as angry as she does now. She was hurt, confused, betrayed, scared, and above all else, enraged. After everything she's experienced up till now, all the horrible stuff she had to put up with since she became, or thought she became, She-Ra, just to find out no one wanted her actual help in the first place, and instead wanted the help of someone else?

It was painful to take all at once.

"I understand your anger, Catra. You have every right to be upset right now." Light Hope acknowledged as the girl pulled at her own ears. "Etheria has need of you, Catra. The Alpha Protocol can not be undone once it's been activated, and it wouldn't recognize Adora if it was. You are the last-"

"Get me out of here." The bile in her voice was filled with disdain, Catra being unable to look Light Hope in the eyes as she ordered her. "I am not a She-Ra, okay? I will  **never**  be She-Ra, and it wouldn't matter if I was." Pain was all she could feel at that moment inside her heart, her ears twitching as she pent up the emotions swirling inside of her. "Everyone gets hurt because of me. I ruin everything no matter how much I try to make things better. If I tried to be She-Ra, I could end up destroying the world myself for all we know. I'm not a hero, I'm not some great leader, I'm..." She paused as she faced her right hand, watching the claws extend from them as she frowned.

"...I'm just a freak..."

Nothing would get through to her, she realized. Her emotions were rapidly changing her moods on a dime, her confusion was keeping her from seeing the importance of what her mission was. She might be able to tell what was going on through her mind with the readings they had, but there was no way to gauge what was going on in her heart. Being built to understand emotions meant nothing to someone if she couldn't process emotions themselves.

After a brief silence, Light Hope raised her hand as it shined, creating a small triangular pink door right next to Catra. "If that is your decision, then so be it. We can not force you to fulfill your destiny, yet you will always be She-Ra until then, or you perish."

 _Right now, the latter seems preferable._  The ex-She-Ra said to herself, walking over towards the triangular door of light. She didn't want to die herself or anything, that was a fact. She would fight tooth and nail if someone tried to harm her. But if her end meant that a new She-Ra would take her place and be tasked with saving the world, then it sounded better in the long run. Knowing them, they would be able to get everything done right, do so without screwing everything up.

"But know this last condition, Catra." Light Hope said as she held up three fingers. "The final requirement to obtain the true form of She-Ra, the last role you need to fulfill in order to summon the sword's power, is to acquire a sense of selflessness." To Catra's surprise, the last statement actually made her stop before she walked through the doorway.

"Selflessness? Pffft, what do you think I've been doing this whole time? Standing around wagging my tail back and forth like an idiot?"

"I'm referring to  ** _True_**  Selflessness, Catra." She reaffirmed. "Once you obtain a sense of that, when you finally let go of your past, when you think of saving the lives of others over yourself, only then will you finally don the true form of She-Ra."

"...You're wasting your time, lady." At this, Catra turned back towards the doorway, walking through with the final word. "I'm not who you think I am." And with that, she vanished from the simulation as the pink door closed behind her.

Not a second after, Light Hope observed her surroundings as the entire place began to rumble. Some sort of outside interference was affecting the inner world that she was presently in, distorting the scenery and herself in the process. Someone or something has tapped into the Runestones' powers, and began to corrupt the world of Etheria itself.

She was a program, she knew that since the beginning. She was tasked with ensuring the destiny of She-Ra and finding those who were worthy of becoming its champion as best she could. She was taught how to respond and react to the emotions of others, even though she was incapable of experiencing real emotions for herself.

And yet, for just one moment, she swore as she lowered her head, and she felt a twinge of sadness.

"Then all is lost..." Lost was the world. Lost was the Champion of Grayskull. Lost was the being known as Light Hope as she disappeared from this crumbling simulation.

...

"Ngh..." Catra moaned as she came to, blinking her eyes awake slowly as she felt around. "Now where am I?" She had to be back in the real world, she was sure of that. Leaning up from the flat surface of the strange room, she was back in the Crystal Castle, lying against a small altar surrounded by crystals behind it as tall as she was. This was definitely the Crystal Castle, she could tell at first glance. The intricate markings in the ground, the fact there were crystals around this place to begin with, and the sense of helplessness as she curled her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her knees and her tail against her feet.

What was she to do now? She didn't get anymore powerful than she was when she left Castle Bright Moon the other day. According to Light Hope, the form she had been using after all of this time was a fourth of She-Ra's actual power, on top of a fourth of the power she had access to due to the inhibitor that had been placed upon the sword. That meant even if she could transform into She-Ra, the form she's incorrectly known her to be, that she would still be at a fourth of She-Ra's true power, and that did nothing to help her.

She came her over a day ago to find a way to help someone, somebody she considered a new friend out of a pair of friends she now had. She wanted to actually help her, to find a way to heal her after her own personal mistakes, and set out on this mission with the intent of returning with a means to do so.

And now she had nothing to return with. With the sword lying at her side, there was no way in knowing what to do now. Every time she helps, she makes things worse. Everything she ignores a problem, it escalates and eventually comes back to bite her, like how she ignored the way she treated Adora after all these years, and saw what she turned into as a result. She messes up everything no matter what she does, all because she was around.

Maybe that was the solution to this problem? If she stayed here for the rest of her life, maybe everyone else would be okay. She wouldn't be directly helping them in the process, and it wouldn't be ignoring them either if she was doing it with them in mind. "Yeah, sounds about right." She mumbled, burying her face into her knees.

Just sitting curled up like this, staying within the Crystal Castle where no one else knew to find. Maybe that was her ultimate purpose in life? Staying away from everybody for their own benefit, so she could finally do something useful for once by not being in the presence of anybody. If she was She-Ra, she assumed any of the security that lingered around here wouldn't trigger anymore, and that meant she wouldn't have to deal with those pesky robot spiders in the process.

Just sitting around here for the rest of her life, away from others so she could do no wrong. It almost felt like a suitable punishment after everything she's done, everything she's messed up. Her. Her sword. And the Crystal Castle. All surrounding her as she experienced the one fear she had that toppled Shadow Weaver most of all.

Complete, and utter, loneliness.

...

...

"And then I realized I'm free, but the other horses aren't." Swift Wind regaled to Bow as he, the archer, and the Princess of Bright Moon continued down their path through the Whispering Woods.

This was the weirdest form of traveling Glimmer's ever experienced. She's ridden with horses plenty of times in her past, through training and for fun when she was little. She was used to riding on top of them through a path, walking along with them in a dense forest, and so forth. Those were all completely normal circumstances where one would be traveling with a Horse, using them to haul cargo or help with their businesses, it was just fine.

What she wasn't used to was the current situation she found herself in. First off, the Horse with them was the one that Catra transformed accidentally into this flying orange-maned, beautifully-winged, horned alicorn. Secondly, it was talking. It was fully capable of human speech, was self aware of his surroundings, and was able to interpret thoughts and emotions like an everyday human being. And third, the part that really made this awkward was how they weren't the ones leading the horse to wherever Catra was.

He was leading  _them_  to where Catra was.

In all fairness, it shouldn't be that weird, she guessed. With how bizarre the horse ended up looking after Catra transformed it, it only made sense that there would be other alterations to it, not that it lowered the weirdness factor it had going for it. With some kind of sixth sense-like intuition, the horse knew where Catra was at all times, and was leading them towards their lost friend through the Whispering Woods, knowing they would be incapable of finding her in time otherwise.

With that, a part of her wondered how she was doing, if she received any help or training for the sword like she set out to do. It hurt seeing her in the way she did before Catra left the castle, feeling like she was personally responsible for everything that happened following the rescue mission to save her. Feeling like she caused Entrapta's loss, followed by the incident with the Princess Alliance disbanding, the magicat felt like she was the one to blame for all of it, feeling as if she was supposed to burden herself with these thoughts and feelings.

It was a cruel reality to live with in that mindset. She hoped whatever thoughts were in her mind right now that she'd at least be okay. "And I named myself, "Swift Wind", after the swift winds of revolution, and left to go kick down the door stables. Freedom, equality, and hay for all!"

* _sksksksk_ *

"Do you guys hear that?" Glimmer asked as the group came to a stop. There was nothing in these woods that ever turned out to be okay or normal on their end, the most friendliest thing being whatever they could outrun. The rustling went on as it drew ever closer to the trio, increasing in volume, getting closer by the second without giving away who or what they were. It could have been an attack, it could have been some form of giant monster, or-

* _clak-clak-_ *

"Agh-!" Glimmer and Bow coughed to themselves as the dust was kicked into their faces. Without pause or hesitation, a dozen green-colored deer-like creatures burst through the forest, letting out small yips of panic as they ran passed the heroes, kicking dust all around them as they galloped away.

* _Skraaahhhhhh!_ *

What they were running from made itself known as the trembling picked up again with an increased mass and a ferocity hidden behind it. Through the underbrush of the trees and through the woods, the group saw one of the massive bug creatures, the very same that attacked them when they first met Catra, charging straight towards them.

"Acckkk-!"

* _rrrrtttttt_ *

"Ngh!" The girl's shriek of terror was followed by another burst of her glitching, the red aura of pain falling over her in the small instance that she screamed.

"Get behind me!" Seeing the tired and painful state she was in, Bow pushed himself between between the princess and the monster, pulling back his arrow as he prepared to fire. The last time he met this thing, it was safe to say he was terrified. It was big, terrifying, filled with an unquenchable bloodlust, and jaws big enough to eat him in one bite. It was thanks to his adventures with Catra, though, that he prepared to stand his ground, having witnessed and fighting off creatures nearly twice its size.

Thankfully for him, the fight never came to be as the creature screamed, running along in the same direction as the deer-like creatures did before it. The three blinked at this, perplexed as to why such a vicious animal would suddenly let them go, turning to one another for the answers.

"What was that about?" Glimmer asked as Swift Wind walked along the path the giant creature made through the trees.

"I feel something..." The horse's ears lowered in fear as worry overcame his face, a detail they were still trying to get used to. "We should run... No!" He jerked his head straight away as he turned in the opposite direction every second. "We have to get to Catra. Get Catra, then run."

"Swift Wind, what's wrong?" The archer's never seen him so distressed before, much less at all.

"Something bad!" He whimpered. "We have to find Cara, fast!"

...

...

"Amazing!" Entrapta giggled aloud as she continued studying the data she was getting out of this amazing machine! It just went on to show what sort of masterminds the First Ones were, the studies and technology leftover attesting to years of progress. "The garnet is siphoning energy at a near exponential rate, yet the output is still building!"

"What does that mean?" Adora asked as she examined the module with Scorpia beside her. She didn't think this thing would be blasting a wave of energy as constantly as it did. Throw in a spark here, a ray of energy there, and she thought that'd be it! She never thought anything anyone could make in this world could result in something as grand in design such as this!

"It means things are getting interesting~"

...

"Is it me or is it getting colder around here?" Bow rubbed his arms around as he tried to warm himself up. From a sunny disposition to a rather frigid air, he could feel the icy winds blow across him with every breeze, almost like Winter was here.

Which is exactly what it was as Glimmer watched one snowflake after the other float from the sky. "It's... snowing?" Glimmer's surprise at the falling snowflake was well met as the sky started to rain its frozen flakes.

"That's impossible. It never snows in the Whispering Woods-"

* _WHOOSH!_ *

"Ah!" The two cried out as they were blasted by a powerful force of wind, feeling a hurricane's force of wind blowing the freezing snow over them. Forget snowing, this sort of weather  _never_  happened in the Whispering Woods! The two were being blown back by winds they've never experienced before, struggling just to stay on their toes as they did. Swift Wind wasn't fairing much better, the benefit of his added weight keeping him down matched by the unhelpful push against the winds as he stood his ground,.

Grunting, he forced his wings to cover his head as best he could, taking one step at a time as he fought to push back against the mighty wind and its terrible freeze. He folded over the left side of his wing, providing some cover for Glimmer and Bow as they ran over to his side, holding onto him for dear life.

"What's happening?" Glimmer shouted, speaking over the loud gusts.

"The bad thing!" Swift Wind neighed in response, drowning out the noise. He was powerless to pull back his wings as the large guests of wind as the intensity nearly doubled in the short amount of time. From above, the group could see the blackened sky as it shot out a massive bolt of lightning, signifying the terror that was affecting the weather and everything around it. The ground itself trembled as thunder crackled in the air, Swift Wind doing everything to fight against the powerful force that blew away at his feathers.

"We can't stay here!" Bow yelled, fearful of the terrible lightning they just witnessed. "Swift Wind, do you sense Catra anywhere?"

"Ghh..." That's right. He had to think of Catra throughout all of this. He was her mighty steed, and no matter what terrible danger they were about to face, he had to press on against it. Concentrating as hard as he could as he closed his eyes, his horn lit up for a few seconds, trying to get a reading on wherever his beloved master was. "Ngh... Ov-Over there!" He declared, pushing his way over to the large beam of blue light standing over the forest.

The two felt tightly as they moved together as a team. If this was how badly things were for them, how bad were things for Catra, who continued to wait further into the storm?

The trek itself was a harrowing experience for the group as they ventured through the forest. Throughout their half-mile journey, the group came across the foliage and greenery around them as it was decaying, the withered vines matched by the missing animal life that flourished through the woods. It didn't matter if the woods themselves were dangerous, they were home to a wide assortment of life, from the animals that inhabit it and the people that lived alongside it.

It was also one of the very few means of protection the Rebellion had against the Horde. Aside from its dangerous wildlife such as the giant bugs that skittered through the land, the woods themselves were filled with magic, confusing and disorienting trespassers that tried to traverse the woods against its wishes.

The Horde had resorted to desecrating the forest up till now, forcing them to spend precious time and resources while the war loomed around them. From fighting off the giant beasts and annoying insects that lived within it to the woods doing everything it could to keep the Evil Horde out of its home, it was the last line of defense standing between the Rebellion and annihilation. Now, if things continued the way they were, they would have easy access to the woods themselves, and worst of all, a straight path to the Rebellion.

All they did have working for them at the moment was the lack of animals cutting them off from their path. With Glimmer's powers as wonky as they were, she had no means to fight off any of the possible creatures they could encounter, almost being thankful for the giant catastrophic calamity affecting the weather if it wasn't for the fact it was destroying the forest in the first place.

Finally reaching the illuminating Beacon, the three looked against the wall and the ground beneath it, searching for an entrance. The walls were sturdy and the ground was real. How were they supposed to pull or push open any sort of door? "This would be a great time for my POWERS TO COME BACK!" The princess stammered angrily.

"Wait. Wait. I know this!" Swift Wind announced, the ideas coming to his mind from seemingly nowhere, almost like Catra's knowledge of First Ones technology. "Hang on, I think I can..." Focusing his powers, glowing his horn as he did, he kept one eye opened as he brushed the tip of his horn against the Beacon, touching one of the many symbols that were still glowing. With a small flash of light, the intricate symbols began to illuminate, the ground ahead of them starting to come undone in lights of blue and pink, lowering to the lower levels of the ground and providing entree at long last.

The group wasted no time for idle chitchat as they ran on through, the entrance closing right behind them. The walls brightened as Swift Wind passed by them, the others following behind not two feet away. Apparently the Beacon was aware of his connection through some means as it followed. The other two, however, appeared to be less than welcomed within these sacred halls as the walls began to burn with a bright red.

Throughout the halls, Glimmer and Bow listened as an eerie screeching sound could be heard. It's unusual sound gave little comfort as it appeared to be getting closer, sounding less than protective of its sanctuary and more along the lines of hungry.

"Um... What is that?" Bow asked nervously. Shifting his eyes around for a sec, Swift Wind gestured his head in the other direction.

"This way!" He ordered, running down the hall with the two giving chase. The lead could not have brought them to a better spot as instead of a long twisted maze filled with death traps and monsters, around the corner, they came across their beloved friend, finding her sitting along the pedestal where she's remained since awakening, still curled up in her own legs as she hugged herself.

"Catra!" The three called in unison, overjoyed as they rushed over to her side.

Immediately, Glimmer and Bow threw their arms around her in sweet relief as Swift Wind ran behind her. "Thank goodness you're alright!" Glimmer smiled happily. The sense of joy and fulfillment slowly started to disappear as she felt the silence coming off of the magicat who barely twitched an ear at their arrival. "Catra?"

"Hey, you okay?" Bow asked, shaking her by the shoulder. He was met with little resistance as she lazily waved his hand away, refusing to let herself go as she hugged herself again.

"What are you guys doing here?" She muttered. This was a tone unlike anything she or Bow have ever heard. There was no anger, no joy, no emotion, just... emptiness.

"Catra what's wrong?" Glimmer's never seen her like this, in any sense. She was always quick to react emotionally in whatever way she deemed fit, and could change her feelings on a fly.

"Why aren't you talking?"

What fear they had that she would ignore their worry was fortunately swept away, even if it did nothing to calm the worry itself, as she lifted her head a little. Here, Glimmer could see into her eyes, seeing how they were vacant, empty. There wasn't an ounce of the Catra she knew and lived with in was something else entirely, like she had completely given up with herself.

"You know, it's funny how life can work around here." She began, putting no effort into her words. "You fix one problem, you end up with another. You ignore one problem and it still comes back to bite you anyway. Everything's been for nothing since I joined the Rebellion... it's all a mistake."

Her two friends looked to one another with concern, feeling like they understood where she was coming from, being further than they could possibly imagine. "Catra, we already told you. It's not your fault about what happened with Entrapta-"

"You don't understand." Catra cut her off, lying her chin between her knees. "It was all a lie. I... I was never She-Ra." The were taken back by this remark, trying to decide if they should be surprised or confused at the announcement.

"What do you mean you weren't supposed to be She-Ra? You've always been She-Ra, remember?" Bow reminded, trying to give his support with a comforting smile.

"No, I mean I'm literally  ** _not_  **She-Ra. I was never made She-Ra by the sword, I was just some errand girl who was supposed to look for her."

"You mean... you actually weren't She-Ra? But what about your transformation? Everything you've done since you joined us?"

"It was just a small taste of it. I learned I was never supposed to find the sword in the first place, it was a complete accident. The dumb sword made me a "Finder" or whatever, it never trusted me to be She-Ra. The one who was supposed to find the sword, the one I've angered to the point of wanting to destroy us? The entire time, it's been Adora."

"Adora?" That was a name the two recognized, Glimmer feeling goosebumps spreading in her skin at the thought. "You mean your friend from the Horde? She was supposed to be She-Ra?"

"Of course she was." What little emotion Catra did put in that reply was the small amount of disgust she could pull out. "She was the one the First Ones wanted since this all started. It was always supposed to be her, it was never about me. Why would it want me anyway? I've been nothing but a screw up since I joined you guys. I've practically made it easier for the Horde to destroy the Rebellion after all I've messed up."

"This again? Ugh, look, Catra-"

* _Skreeeeeee!_ *

All eyes, save for Catra's, were drawn to the darkened corridor at the sound of the mighty screech. In the darkness down the hall, the three gasped in terror as they saw hundreds of glowing red eyes drawing closer from the darkness, the sounds of ferocious beasts following behind the eyes.

"Ack!" Glimmer yelped, shaking Catra's shoulders hastily. "Look, Catra? Why don't we discuss this later? We need to get out of here right  **now**!"

"Just leave me alone, Pinky." The magicat said in a request-like tone, hiding her face in her knees again. "They won't bother me anymore, at least that's what I was told after being made She-Ra against my will now."

"Wait, you are She-Ra now? Which is it?" Glimmer glanced at the approaching arachnids.

"Catra, now would be a real good time doing the whole She-Ra thing..." Bow hinted as he armed himself. Hearing this, Glimmer noticed as Catra tightened the grip of her arms around her knees, pressing her face deeper into her knees.

"...Bow, can you give me a full minute to talk to her?"

"He can give you two with my help!" Swift Wind declared as he stepped over to Bow's side, spreading his wings as far as he could to block the approaching creatures, and give the little ladies some privacy like a true gentlemen should. This was his first interaction with Catra since obtaining the ability to speak, and he refused to allow her to mope around like this when he wanted to get to know her. If Glimmer could snap her out of her stupor, then he was ready to lay his life on the line!

Grateful for their help in buying her time, she gave Catra her undivided attention as she kneeled in front of her. "Catra, we need you right now, we need She-Ra, whoever you want to be."

"What I wanted  _was_  to be She-Ra, Pinky." Catra replied, lifting her head a little again. "What I didn't want was to be someone's burden they had to put up with because they had no choice. The First Ones didn't want me, they were forced to because of how Adora turned out. All this time I was meant to bring her to the Rebellion, and now that our past caught up with us, because I never spent a day trying to go back for her like I should, she became the person she is today. It's all my fault... it was always my fault."

"Catra, everyone's made mistakes in the past, but-"

"Ugggh, would you just stop it already!" She groaned irritably. "Don't you even get it?! I was never supposed to find the sword. I was a complete accident since the day I met you! I could've ended up in the exact same place Adora is right now! We were never meant to be allies, Glimmer, or friends. Knowing myself like I do now, I'm pretty sure... I'm pretty sure I would've been your enemy, and this conversation would never have happened."

"So what?" It was the first question Glimmer managed to get out that got more of a reaction out of Catra as her tailed twitched for a moment. "Catra, there's no telling what would've happened if you became She-Ra or Adora did. Maybe you would've joined her and you'd both be in the Rebellion? For all you know, maybe she would've gone back to the Horde with the sword and we'd be having a She-Ra to face right now. There's no way in knowing, but that's not enough reason to suddenly give up and quit."

"I'm not giving up, Glimmer, I'm just... staying away." She stated, resting her right cheek against her knee. "All I've done at this point was make things worse for everybody. I ruined the Princess Alliance, I... I'm responsible for what happened to Entrapta, and I do mean entirely by the way, and I... I haven't done anything useful. All i've done was push any possibility of a future Princess Alliance further away, and lost the best allies we could have hoped for. I can't change myself, Glimmer, I can never change myself."

"B-But-"

"Don't even bother with me, all right? The best I can do for you is to remain here for the rest of my life. That's the best I can do for anyone around here." Sighing, she glanced over to the sword still resting at her side. "Considering all that's happened, it would've been best for everyone if I never existed in the first place."

* _crash!_ *

Checking on them, Glimmer panicked about what she should do as Bow and Swift Wind fought off the giant spiders. The mechanical creations were easy to dispatch for the lone archer, firing off several explosive arrows that bombed away at the creatures' heads, destroying whatever life they had as they collapsed.

Swift Wind himself was proving to be a capable fighter as well, for being a horse at that. When one of the horrifying monsters attempted to blast a large sticky webbing at their new ally, the horse easily dodged out of the way, taking flight a few feet off the ground to avoid the shot. Without missing a beat, he dove his way straight into the creature's skull, crashing his legs straight through the robot's head, and shattering it to bits. With freshly destroyed body at hand, he decided to barricade the lower half of the hallway the best he could, pushing the robot's massive body against the entrance as Bow braced against the robot too.

Unfortunately, their assistance was starting to falter. Bow was running low on arrows, and there was no telling how many more of these bots were going to appear on the other side of their makeshift wall. Already, Glimmer could see half a dozen mechanical legs protruding from around it, two of which actually pierced through the wall itself and nearly hitting Bow and Swift Wind respectively. They were running short on time.

And so was Catra.

Glimmer couldn't tell what had happened to her to make her this way in the day that she's been gone. This was a new mix of irritation, anger, guilt, practically an entirely new emotion specifically created for Catra to show off to her. The girl didn't have any sense of accomplishment in her eyes right now, the small lights of hope that used to fill them unknowingly being darkened by her sorrow. Glimmer couldn't think of any other way to get through to her in their time of need, not when the clock kept ticking.

Sighing, Glimmer resorted to the last tactic she ever wanted to use in a conversation, standing off to the side as she regretted what she was about to do.

"Catra, I'm sorry about this, but..." Catra barely had a second to see what she was talking about before she felt it.

* _ **WHAP!**_ *

"GET OVER YOURSELF!" She shouted angrily, right after slapping Catra across the face at that, much to Bow's and Swift Wind's surprise as they continued holding back the bots.

"I'm tired of always hearing about how you need to do everything perfectly, Catra! You're not perfect, okay? Nobody is! You think just because you're She-Ra now you should be able to do everything flawlessly now? That you're incapable of making mistakes like the rest of us are? News Flash Catra: everyone makes mistakes! It's a fact of life, it's not something that will ever go away, and people have to deal with it, all right!"

"..."

* _whap!_ *

"Ow!" Glimmer yelped in return as she was struck across the face, looking back to a glaring Catra who was growling. "What was that for?"

"What do you think? I've already been slapped twice within the last day and I draw the slapping limits at three!" She yelled. "And you're still not getting it, Glimmer! Everything I've done has gone on to make things worse-!"

"You haven't done anything wrong that you should be ashamed of, Catra!" Glimmer shouted back, actually surprising Catra. This might have been one of the first times she ever cut her off and had been angrily about it. "Are you forgetting everything you've done since joining the Rebellion? You inspired the entire Kingdom of Plumeria to rise against the Horde!"

"T-That was just a scheme Shadow Weaver came up with to-"

"You fixed the Sea Gate in Salineas with your own two hands, and fought off your crazy friend doing it!"

"But I wouldn't have to fight her to begin with if I-"

"Do I even have to remind you of how you stopped Entrapta's computer virus and an army of killer robots  _while_  still being under their control in the first place?"

"Well why don't you mention how I went crazy in the middle of a stupid vacation at Mystacor while you're at it!" Catra challenged, unable to believe she was being talked down to by Glimmer of all people.

"Oh really? Gee, let's do that then." She showed no signs of backing down as she crossed her arms. "Why don't I remind the girl who was being possessed by Shadow Weaver and driven to insanity in order to destroy the Lunar Lenses? Why don't I go on to say how immediately after, that same girl had to conquer her fears, got the sword to transform into something that she could fight back with, and fought off the one person she feared most of all in her life!"

"Y-Yeah, we-well..." What was going on here? How the heck was she losing to Glimmer like this? She was nothing more than a mama's girl to Catra, always trying to do her proud and gain her acceptance, and here she was staring down Catra no matter how threatening she tried to make herself look. "Then maybe you should ask Entrapta, huh? Ask her how I did on our last mission? Why don't you tell me while you're at it! How's that for a challenge!"

"Catra, did you build the ventilation systems to burst out the fire that ended Entrapta's life?"

"N-No, but-"

"Did you not save Bow before me and get him out safely? And fought off another person who bullied you throughout your life?"

"Y-Yeah, okay, mayb-"

"And how was I supposed to escape on my own, Catra?" That was the biggest question of all she decided to shoot at her. "If I broke out on my own with my magic, how was I supposed to escape the Fright Zone, huh? How was I going to get far without someone to lean on or carry me through half the complex while being chased by a legion of Horde followers and deadly robots? I sure didn't have a plan for that. All I know is if you guys never came around, I would be rotting in a prison cell somewhere alongside Bow, or worse."

"..." ...Well... this is a first. Lowering her right knee against the slab she was sitting on, she tried to think. What was she supposed to do in this situation? What the heck was she supposed to say to counter her? She couldn't afford to screw up again, but she couldn't find a way to argue after every detail she considered minor was shot back to her.

Seeing her friend struggling to come up with something, Glimmer's expression softened. Sitting along the slab next to her, she rubbed her back. "Catra, everyone has made a mistake at least once in their life, okay? We're in the middle of a war, and I guarantee you we're all going to make plenty of more mistakes before it's over. But it's not a mistake to keep on fighting, not when you're trying to fix everything you've done. It's only a mistake when you don't try to fix what you've done."

"It... Glimmer. I already told you, I'm not-"

"You told me  **they**  didn't pick you to be She-Ra, Catra. I don't know who you're talking about, but that's all you said. She didn't, they didn't, it doesn't matter what they think. You became She-Ra because you were chosen." Lifting up the sword between them, she pushed its grip into Catra's chest. "Don't you get it by now? The First Ones might not have picked you to be their champion, Catra, but the sword did." The look of amazement and shock growing on her face gave Glimmer something to smile about, seeing the light starting to return to her eyes.

 _The sword... Chose me?_  Looking back on it now, she never really gave too much thought about the sword. If the blade was as powerful and advance as the First Ones claimed it was, who was to say the sword itself wasn't actually alive? That it didn't have its own thoughts or feelings?

In fact, right at the beginning of all of this, she had nearly forgotten the one time the sword actually  _talked_ to her...

...

_At the same time, Catra grinned to herself as she peeked around the tree she was hiding, taking a moment to enjoy the usefulness of the Whispering Wood's creatures. They gave her everything she needed to perform the perfect escape, and a way to dispose of the two delinquents without causing her further discord. Now she just had to be on her way, find her way back to the clearing that she found her sword, and make her way home from there!_

_"See ya later guys, thanks for the assist." She joked to herself as she began to walk away._

_That was when another of the unexpected list of things happened. Before she could take her third step away from the tree, the blade glowed with a blindingly fluorescent light, one that blinded her for merely a full second, before disappearing again all the same. The timing of it along with her actions helped Catra put two and two together, though she was incredibly skeptical of what she was thinking._

_"What?" She asked it as if it could speak. She stared at the blade as if expecting an answer, growing irritated by the second. "What? You want me to go back there and help them?" Once again nothing, yet something told her that's exactly what it wanted. "Are you kidding? Forget it!" She grumbled looking back behind the tree. "I mean look, they're doing fine, I'm sure they can handle it anyway."_

_The line of certainty quickly dwindled as she saw the twos' bodies being thrown against a tree with Glimmer landing on top of Bow before falling to the ground. Despite the injury, Bow seemed to be the least injured of the two as he quickly got back to his feet, frantically firing several ineffective exploding arrows at the creature while protecting a temporarily out-cold Glimmer._

_"Well... they're still doing fine... sorta..." She mumbled growing increasingly unsure. She looked back to the blade in annoyance as if expecting an answer, never getting one no matter how hard she stared. "Look, it's not like I owe them anything anyway, remember? They're the enemies, we're not on the same side, and your my ticket to a better life!" Once again, nothing. That's when her attention was caught by the frantic shoutings of Bow again._

_"Glimmer! Glimmer! Wake up!" He yelled shaking her worriedly. He grumbled as he stared back to the giant monster itself. The last stand he was prepared to make for himself was using the study bow as a weapon, the other arrows most likely having little to no effect that could delay the creature any longer._

_"Mmmmmmh..."_

...

If it did, that might've meant it truly was capable of making its own decisions, and if that was the case, then... then did that mean it actually chose her?

"...Glimmer? Why... Why are you guys being so nice to me? After everything I messed up? What if I'm not even She-Ra like you said?" How... How could they do this? Why were they wasting their time with her after everything she revealed? Even if she saw them more as friends, it didn't mean the feeling felt reciprocated half the time, and given the circumstances she was currently in, she didn't think they would want anything to do with her.

She wasn't She-Ra, she kept messing up, she made everything worse. She was far beyond the point of faulty and more of an accident waiting to happen, she was... she was a freak. Someone who did more harm than good based on her personal experience. A jerk who abused her friends' trusts for her own benefit, like Adora said.

Why were they treating like this?

"It's like I keep telling you, Catra." She replied with a smile, patting her shoulder. "We're your friends, and even if you mess up, we'll always be by your side."

"..." The magicat turned to the blade as she held it in her hands, staring at the familiar reflection as always.

What if she was wrong about this? What if she was wrong about everything? Maybe she wasn't supposed to be She-Ra, maybe she still isn't She-Ra based on what Light Hope told her. What if the very next mission they went on could be their last, like it was with Entrapta's last mission? What if she doomed everyone from the start and lost the entire Rebellion as a result? What if everything Light Hope and the others said about her was true? What if...

... Why? Why did she care what they thought? She was Catra, one of the best soldiers the Horde could ask for, the person everyone labeled a freak. She was always talked down to and insulted by her peers and the kids she grew up with. They always told her she was never capable of accomplishing anything, they never saw her as one of their own like Adora did. They were quick to point out her mistakes and mock her for it, conflicting her with numerous feelings and issues in her heart. And they were with the Horde, the force that threatened to destroy Eitheria.

So why should she care!

She proved those neanderthals wrong about everything, continued to prove them wrong about everything! It's like Glimmer said, she's accomplished so much! She saved an innocent child from a collapsing building, obtain a partial form of She-Ra and stood before the Queen. She encouraged others to fight for their lives rather than succumb to the horrors of living in the Horde, she had the brains to fix a broken Sea Gate that no ones worked on for thousands of years! And so much more!

She defeated Shadow Weaver of all people. Shadow! Weaver! The person who tormented her throughout her childhood, who took the liberty of assuring Catra would never raise a hand against her or disobey her orders ever again. She pushed passed her pain and fought her off, and actually foiled one of her masterfully designed schemes!

Come to think of it, so what if she was an accident? It was an accident when she turned the sword into a shield and used the Lunar's energies to defeat her. It was an accident when she observed the ancient symbols from a First Ones writing in Salineas and managed to fix a lost piece of technology. It was an accident when she sent her remaining friends through the ventilations and saved most of them as she stayed behind.

It was an accident when she came across the sword to begin with.

She gave a stern look at her own reflection as she contemplated all of this. Her recklessness is what caused accidents to happen and lead her to this moment. And yet... maybe that's what the Rebellion finally needed...

"...Glimmer?" Catra spoke, Glimmer noticing the hint of emotion behind her voice. "I really, really,  **really** , hate you." Lifting her head towards her, she gave a small grin, giving Glimmer the idea despite already having a pretty good one.

"Catra! You're back!" She was unable to resist the urge as she threw her arms around her neck, squeezing her tightly. She didn't return the hug and she didn't try to push her away. For once in Catra's life, she welcomed it. "Bow, she's finally back! Isn't that great?"

"Um, yeah..." Bow couldn't bring himself to give any sign of relief or joy as he pushed against the robotic wall, shaking nervously as he watched one spear-like appendage piercing through the wall and nearly hitting him each time. "Any chance you could wrap this up so we can get out of here?"

"Like TODAY if possible!" Swift Wind added.

"...Did that freaky horse just talk?"

"Yeah, long stor-"

* _rrrrrrrrtttttttt_ *

"Ahhhh!" Glimmer cried out, nearly falling over as she collapsed in pain. Fortunately Catra, being the swift feline that she was, jumped to her feet in the nick of time, catching the weakened princess before her face met the ground.

"Glimmer!" As great as her newfound optimism was, it still lead to one very important problem. "I still don't know how to heal you yet..."

"I-It's okay." Glimmer gave her back a small smile as the aura disappeared around her, holding her stomach. "We'll come up with something. We should be getting out of here as soon as possible before the storm gets any worse outside."

"The storm?"

"Long story. Talk later. Run now!" Bow sputtered, sliding off from the wall as he and Swift Wind ran towards the two. Without their support, the broken wall of robots came crumbling down, revealing a lone spiderbot among a sea of them that let out a high-pitched screech. Taking the hint, Catra nodded to the rest of them as the four ran their way out of the room that quickly started to fill with them. "I thought you said they wouldn't hurt you?"

Catra followed along the wall as it gave a colorful wave along the symbols, as if directing her towards the exit itself. "Yeah, but I'm pretty sure they're not all buddy-buddy if I help the people they consider enemies!" She pointed out. It was a fair point, not that they were in any position to argue.

Making his way to the head of the herd, gesturing to himself with his head, Swift Wind helped the heroes as they climbed onto his back, all while Swift Wind concentrated his magic into the horn again. Without needing to touch it, pulling Bow at the end of the trail, Swift Wind gave flight as the small ramp-like door lowered above them, providing a means of escape from this dangerous Beacon and throwing themselves out into the world that was falling apart.

"Jeez," Catra yelled almost instantly as they exited, rubbing her arms for warmth, "what happened to the weather around here? Everything's freezing!"

"Catra!" Glimmer caught her attention as she pointed directly ahead of them.

Down the path the horse took, Catra could see a handful of broken down branches, some the size of her head, others bunched together to make a solid barrier to anyone or anything at its level. Grumbling, with one clean sweep, Catra cut through the mighty underbrush, lowering her head like the others as they continued to run until one of the bolts of lightning struck a tree further up ahead.

"Swifty!" Catra called out, giving the horse the idea as he nodded. The path ahead of them was wrought with dangerous from the forest they were running in and the weather that snowed upon them. Spreading his wings out, Swift Wind let out a proud neigh as he flapped, taking flight towards the sky until the four passed above the clouds themselves, out of harms way as the terrible weather affected the world below them.

"Guys, look!" The bowman pointed to the layers of clouds that looked more sickly than the last.

They couldn't believe their eyes at what they were seeing. All across the distance, as far as they could see, the storm ravaged the lands as bolts of red lightning blasted out of the sky. With every bolt, a thunderous crash soon followed, the wind picking up off and on as they made their way across Etheria.

"It's not just the woods, it's-"

"The entire world." Catra knew what this was. It was exactly as Light Hope told her about the world coming to an end as long as the Princess Alliance faltered. This is why Princes Alliance was necessary, to combat against insane threats such as the weather bursting out of control.

"Huh! Bright Moon!" The pink-haired princess gasped. "Swift Wind, we have to hurry!" She pleaded as they made their way back to the Rebellion.

Nothing really changed between the time Catra left to train herself and the time she came back with them. She-Ra-wise, at least. She was still the same person with a complicated personality and an unpredictable future. If this was all the result of what Catra did by accident, then she was going to fix it, with or without the Sword's powers. There was no way to tell if it was working at long last, or if it would end up being a plain sword she held on her back.

All she knew was that for the first time, she didn't care. She would be the very person she wanted to be, and she wouldn't let what others thought about her say otherwise.

She just hoped the person she was didn't have to fight Adora in the end...

...

...

Walking over to the rail of the balcony, Adora and Scorpia took in the view. The lightning was at its worse here than anywhere else in Etheria, with each crackle of the sky giving off a tremendous boom. From what Adora could see as she gazed out into the distance, this dark power was covering the far reaches of the Fright Zone and well beyond it, maybe to the world itself! If the machine they used was capable of this sort of thing, there was no telling what would happen if Adora or Entrapta managed to find some way to direct its energies directly at the Rebellion.

"Wow- Ah!" Scorpia cried out in fear as she covered her head with her claws, blinking as she waited for the horrible lightning to pass. "What do you think its doing?"

"I don't know." Adora replied, staring up at the sky that rained with energy and life from the Black Garnet. She was now the owner of the powerful Runestone with Shadow Weaver gone, save for Hordak who still had the first say. With its power, she could unleash who knew what kind of power against the world, the Rebellion. This was the moment in her life that she wanted to bring this war to an end, and the thought of it made her grin as her head band gave off a small reflective shine.

"But I'm fine with it. I think it's time to bring this Rebellion to a close, Scorpia."

It was time for War.

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

**_A/N: Annnnnnd another satisfying (hopefully) conclusion to the end of another episode! Phewfta, am I tired. I think the amount of words I added can prove that :/_ **

**_Anyway, this is it people! We are down to not just the big finale, but the last episode of Season 1! Hoooooooooh mama, am I excited for the action in that ^^! It also will have its own drama too, but I promise it'll be one of the last ones to have as much of dramatic spark to it like my last several episodes have been- presuming they dont get dramatic in the cartoon in season 2 (Which i've yet to see XP)._ **

**_Anyway, hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, Fave, Follow, and Review if you enjoyed and hope to see you in our next Chapter, the season finale, titled with the most appropriate title i can think of for a season 1 finale:_ **

**_No Happy Endings.._ **


	49. Season 1 Finale: No Happy Endings Part 1

_**A/N: Dun dun di dun dun duuuuuun! Dun dun di dun dun duuuuuuuuuuuuun! Dun didi Duuun! Dun didi duuuuun! Dun didi dun dun DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!** _

_**We're here folks! We're at our epic finale! I'll be honest, I thought I would've stopped writing this some weeks ago out of a lack of energy and everything, but the constant support and build up to this moment has been keeping me going, and it's all thanks to you guys ^^!** _

_**I don't have much to say, other than I'm hyped to bring this epic finale to it's conclusion!** _

_**With that said, here is part one of our SEASON FINALE!** _

_**ENJOY!** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

* _ **CRASH!**_ *

The ground quaked with a massive tremor as the girl was slammed straight into the ground, the massive tentacle bringing her down with full force. Adora smiled with wicked glee as the dust burst from the hole she had made, returning the long tentacled arm to her side once more as she waited for the dust to settle.

"...Mmh... Ngh..." Catra groaned in tremendous pain as she slowly pulled herself out of the small crater Adora had made with her body. Her entire body was drenched in water from the large stream as she groveled, her muscles weak from exertion as she crawled out. Her body was aching all over, her back was scarred beyond measure. In one small flash of light, Catra's entire person was engulfed in white temporarily until it diminished over the span of a few seconds.

She could see the state she was in from the stream's reflective waters. She had scrapes, cuts, bruises, and she didn't even want to think about what happened to her back. The sight of her injuries were the farthest concerns from her mind at that moment as she stared at her body in general, realizing something that she didn't think was possible.

"It's... It's gone..." She muttered weakly in disbelief. Her She-Ra form, the one she had used to fight off Adora, had disappeared. She was back to being the same plain old Catra once again. The one who always screwed things up, the one who could never see things through to the end, and the one who always needed to be rescued. With her sword tossed to her side, she watched as the glow from the Runestone completely faded, as if its powers were completely used up.

Adora had literally beaten the She-Ra right out of her.

There she stood across the Stream, about forty feet from her, as she cackled with an overwhelming sense of joy and accomplishment. She had defeated She-Ra, the supposed Symbol of Hope for the Rebellion, the one who was always a thorn in the Horde's side. Legend says she was supposed to be all powerful, all knowing, and if that was the case, then there truly wasn't anything special about who she just smacked down.

Everything had gone pretty smoothly since the start of this fight. She would commend Catra on her efforts if she had any sense of care for her anymore, but she should've known she couldn't win. Nobody can compete with the supreme might of the Horde, or its armies, as long as they had Lord Hordak leading them. The Rebellion's defenders were crushed, any resistance they once had lying beneath the ground they collapsed upon. This wasn't just the day Adora would declare victory over the Rebellion itself, this would be the day that she foiled Catra's selfish desires to obtain any kingdom she had imagined.

Ahead of her she watched the kneeled Catra, the magicat who could barely stand on her hands and knees as she panted out of breath. Without her She-Ra form, or what was a part of it, she was experiencing all the pain her body had gone through till now, all the exhaustion and the energy she had spent since her fight began. It was hard enough for her to stay awake at this point she was so exhausted, and nobody was coming to save her anymore.

All around her the allies and friends she came to know and care about were done for. They were exhausted, practically passed out from the amount of effort they took and the injuries they had sustained throughout the fight. The Princess Alliance wasn't going to answer her call, not that it mattered since all of them would've been too far away to save them in the nick of time. For the first time ever, Catra found herself completely alone without anyone to back her up.

Nobody was coming to rescue her.

Nobody was coming to save the Rebellion.

Nobody was going to survive what soon followed.

Everything relied solely on Catra... and she could do nothing about it.

Shakily stretching her arm over, still weak from injury, she dragged the sword in front of her as she sluggishly lifted it till it was standing in front of her, requiring both her arms to keep it lifted as is. "Fo... For the Honor of Grayskull." She panted. Nothing happened, her fears doubling down at the reality. "F-For the... the honor of... Grayskull!" There wasn't any spark emanating from the sword.

Just holding it alone was enough to give Catra shivers. She couldn't feel the same warmth she used to whenever the sword was in her hands. There wasn't any sense of optimism or hope coming from the sword as she stared at it. With the darkened sky and the energy of the sword tapped, she couldn't see any reflection from the sword's blade or its stone. The sword's energy had been used up. There was nothing left to save any of them.

"It's... It's not fair..." Catra teared up as she collapsed from her present state. There was a small splash as a part of her body was sunk into the stream, the right side of her face submerged as she stared at the last hope they had.

Adora could just make out the small wiggle of Catra's tail, confirming to her that she was alive, as she felt the rumble of half a dozen tanks rolling up behind her. The Rebellion was in shambles, their defenses were done for, and the last hope for the Rebellion lied on the ground, beaten and battered. Adora would've gladly let Catra live so she could rot in the prison sector of the Fright Zone for the rest of her life, along with the rest of her stupid friends. She would come by for a visit every couple months with an intention to taunt her, poke fun of her at how she failed, and reminding her that she would never get her kingdom anymore.

But she was passed the point of showing mercy to this girl, the one who used her almost as much as Shadow Weaver did.

Smirking, she raised her hand to the sky, directing the tanks behind her as they aimed the barrels of their cannons to the defenseless magicat. She would stamp out the last threat to the Horde, and the Sword of Protection, all at the same time. And without any hesitation, she threw her hand down, giving the signal. It was time for her to cut all ties to her past and start moving towards the future.

Starting with Catra.

"Fire."

...

...

**_The intro starts with Shadow Weaver in the Black Garnet chamber spying and glaring at a image of Catra. Than the image dives into the water of her scrying spell._ **

**_~ We're on the edge of greatness ~_ **

**_Where we have Catra at Bright Moon looking both determined and forlorn out into the distance._ **

**_~ turning darkness into light ~_ **

**_A scene of kid Catra and kid Adora training together in the fright zone under Shadow Weaver. Before being replaced with a image of Adora glaring at a heart broken looking Catra who's on her knees across a battlefield._ **

**_~ We're right beside you ~_ **

**_But than Glimmer and Bow teleport to Catra side raising her spirit back up, as shown with her surprise blinking when Gimmer offers her a hand, than she smirks accepting the help as she takes the lead ahead of them._ **

**_~ Ready to Fight! ~_ **

**_Catra raises her sword, transforming into She-Ra in a glorious flash of light_ **

**_~ (fight, fight, fight fight) ~_ **

**_Then She-Ra rushes off into battle with Glimmer and Bow following right behind her._ **

**_~ We're gonna win in the end! ~_ **

**_Mermista rises out of a tide, blasting Horde soldiers with water._ **

**_~ We must be strong, And we must be brave ~_ **

**_Perfuma burst from the ground, capturing and tying up Horde soldiers with vines._ **

**_~(we must be brave) ~_ **

**_Frosta rides an entire wave of frozen water, freezing Horde tanks in their tracks._ **

**_~ We're gonna find every bit of strength that we have ~_ **

**_The scene shifts to Hordaks throne room where the evil shadowy figure sits upon his throne, his red glowing eyes being the only noticeable part of him, surrounded by notable members of the Horde, consisting of Adora and Catra's squadron, Shadow Weaver, Adora, Scropia, and even Entrapta._ **

**_~ and never let go ~_ **

**_The scene shifts to an epic clash between Catra and Adora, the She-Ra gritting her teeth as she presses her sword against Adora's electrical baton, as the Force Captain herself grins with chaotic excitement as the red jewel from her headband shines._ **

**_~ (Oh ah Oh) ~_ **

**_Adora and Catra push each other off as they back up into their friends- Entrapta and Scorpia for Adora, and for Catra Bow and Glimmer._ **

**_~ We must be STRONG! ~_ **

**_ The scene ends with a final shot of both sides looking across the field, a transparent image of Catra and Adora's faces filling the sky as the colors are split between them; _ **

**_A majestic darkness shining into light upon Catra's side, and a horrid light seeping into darkness on Adora's half._ **

...

...

* _3 Hours Earlier..._ *

* _CRACKLE_ *

The storm did nothing to scare off Adora as she watched the sky above her.

This day would mark what was, undoubtedly, the best day the Horde would ever see in its lifetime, and it was all thanks to Adora.

After returning from her arduous journey to the mysterious First Ones ruins where she came to a grand realization about how Catra, and others, have been using her all her life to make their own lives easier or as part of some wicked scheme. She was the victim in all of this as she was completely unaware of the feeling until now, passing it off as a simple thing friends and allies did for one another, until the Beacon reminded her of what her past was like, and how she was taken advantage of throughout most of it.

Thus, after removing one obstacle from her life, after returning to the Fright Zone, she went on to remove another. After giving Entrapta the Data Crystal she collected from the ruins, the scientist discovered a massive data bank of information. Loads of schematics and works from the First Ones were within their grasp, sciences and details of their new fortune filling the Princess of Dryl with more excitement than she knew what to do with!

Since coming to the Fright Zone, Entrapta has been nothing but a great help, and a good friend for Adora. She's managed to make an entire lab out of the Interrogation Room and increased the firepower of the robotic droids of the Horde with spare parts she found lying around, using the scrap metal and devices she  _borrowed_  from other people, who didn't seem to mind it too much if only for the reason that they weren't in there to begin with when she did. With her scientific ingenuity, there was no limit to just how much Entrapta could help the Horde.

So, naturally, Lord Hordak was more than willing to give the Princess her go-ahead when she came across the blueprints for a plan that required the Black Garnet, Shadow Weaver's most prized possession. It was also here that Adora finally showed who her true allegiance was to, and who she decided to aid when the possibility of betraying Lord Hordak was given to her by her former mentor.

She picked Lord Hordak.

Shadow Weaver's cruelty for using Adora and her manipulations almost made her worse than Catra, and it would've been if she had ever spent more time with her like she did her previous friend. Shadow Weaver wanted to use her to overthrow Lord Hordak so she could attend to her own devices. From unlocking more secrets of the Runestones to preforming possible experiments on their own soldiers that could have boosted their army's strength twice as much, all of these possibilities came to naught as long as Lord Hordak had the final say.

She wasn't truly looking to replace him as the head, offering the position to Adora for all her dedication and hard work. All she wanted was to be left undisturbed and undeterred in her works. Having someone close to her at the head, specifically the young girl she came to treat as a daughter, listening to all she had to say, she knew that Adora would be the perfect candidate. She molded her to be strong and wise, and showed affection as a means to ensure her continued loyalty. She perfected and planned out every detail since the day she was taken in as an infant, and sculpted her to be the perfect tool. There was just one detail she had never anticipated.

Adora's betrayal.

To Adora, Shadow Weaver was an obstacle to the Horde that needed to be removed. She was selfish, greedy, manipulative, all the things that reminded her of Catra and then some. On top of that, her methods of teaching through fear and cruelty was something she could not tolerate happening to the younger children. Instilling fear into children made them panic and terrified, eventually leading them to become selfish and to look out for themselves. The Horde was about Unity and trust, and if she allowed Shadow Weaver to continue the way she did now, everyone would've ended up like Catra.

Besides, it's not like she didn't have her own reasons for doing so either. Shadow Weaver was a monster when it came down to it. Pretending to show care to Adora throughout all her life, no matter how much or how little she meant it, was a painful thing for the Force Captain to finally realize. To think the person she looked up to the most, the one who she considered a mother, was using her as a means to their own end. It ripped her heart out. It sickened her. It hurt to think all of the emotions she felt, all the attention she was given, was an act.

When the time finally came, she made her choices, engaging Shadow Weaver in a bout of dark magic, eventually overcoming the twisted sorceress as she crushed the gem connected to her mask. Having witnessed this act of defiance against her former master for the sake of the Horde, Lord Hordak acknowledged his pride for the young girl, and her great contribution between this, the princess, and the massive amount of technology she had obtained.

It was then Adora, Entrapta, and Scorpia put that same technology to use as the built a machine around the Black Garnet, capable of siphoning the garnet's power and turning it into a powerful tool that can be used against the princesses. Activating the machine, all four of them watched as the device launched a powerful spiral of power into the atmosphere, shrouding the Fright Zone in a clouded darkness of storm filled with red lightning.

This would mark the true beginning of the war against the Rebellion, and everything it had to stand for. It was why Adora admired the sight of the landscape around her, feeling the wind blowing passed her blonde hair, drowning out the sounds of the thunder that crackled.

She could tell that at the end of all this, the Rebellion would fall beneath her feet.

"Adora, you've gotta see this!" Scorpia called from inside as Adora made her way back.

Within the Black Garnet Chamber, the marvelous technology continued to siphon away at the Runestone's power, a surge of electricity giving off of the stone here and there as the wires and conduits protruded out of the great stone. At its base, Entrapta could be seen typing away at the master computer she had built minutes ago, smiling with renewed excitement as the readings she was getting never ended to surprise her.

Off to the side against one walls, Adora could see Scorpia reading off of one of the monitors, her eyes glued to the sight of the incredible advancement that this machine had to offer.

"Tidal waves, firestorms, earthquakes." She read off as Adora stood at her side in curiosity. "Man, Etheria's really taking this hard." There was no argument from Adora. To prove her point, Adora became rather surprised as the image of a tree began to break off, completely frozen over as it collapsed from the sheer cold. "I mean, yay for us. But also, whoa."

"Etheria will have to endure for a bit longer I'm afraid." Adora said solemnly, crossing her arms. "At least until we finish off the Rebellion, that is."

"Whoohoooooo~!" Behind them, the scientist boasted with laughter as she bounced around the room in her computer chair, twirling her hair around as she spoke into her tape recorder. "The experiment has been more effective than I could have dreamed of! This proves my hypothesis correct! With the Black Garnet at two-hundred percent power, the precarious equilibrium that governs all of Etheria's nature functions has been thrown into complete chaos, no doubt, as a result of the other elemental Runestones- Ah!" She yelped in a startled fright as her chair halted, turning around to see Adora had stopped her wonderful chair of fun. "Hey!"

"In other words...?" Adora hinted, wanting to understand what the perky scientist was getting at.

Rolling her eyes, Entrapta turned herself around as she swiped the tape recorder back. "By making the Black Garnet more powerful," she said as she directed one of her twin tails to the top of the massive sphere, using a small scanner to examine its power, "we've sapped power from the other Princesses Runestones, upsetting the balance and making the weather go screwy. It's all in my notes, if you'd like-"

"Wait a second. What did you just say about the princesses being less powerful than before?" There was no way Adora possibly heard the best news of her life, was there?

"Well, the other Elemental Princesses, that is." She clarified, nodding. "You don't have to worry about me and Scorpia. I don't have a Runestone, and Scorpia doesn't appear to have any connection to the Black Garnet anymore," the two glanced at their hulking friend who was watching the monitors, "if she ever did."

"Huh? Did somebody say my name?"

"So we can take away the princesses powers with this..." Adora had three words to say to herself as she poked at one of the bulbs from the machine. This. Was. Perfect! "And how would we make something like this permanent?" The wheels were spinning around her mind as a grin spread across her face.

"Well, I'd have to run more tests to know for sure, but-"

* _tap-tap_ *

* _crunch_ *

"Oh... that works too, I guess." It was foolish to try and simplistic in nature, but Entrapta couldn't deny the results.

Growing one tiny little claw of shadow over her finger, Adora gave the bright pull a couple of good taps before finally shattering the entire bulb into pieces. The second after was immediately followed by the machine humming with new life as electricity danced across the machine's surface. Each and every light bulb around the machine started to spark as their power was being drained by the largest red light bulb at the very top, just like how the machine was drawing the other Princesses' Runestones powers.

She didn't fully comprehend what she had done, and she didn't care anymore. Entrapta had created a device that could siphon the powers of the Runestones from the other princesses. No Runestones with power meant no magic to bless the princesses with. No magical princesses meant little to no defenses. No defenses meant that anyone left within Castle Bright Moon would be powerless to stop the Horde's armies and their weapons.

And that meant, no more Rebellion.

"Get a strike team together." Adora ordered Scorpia as she went back to the monitor. "We're going to Bright Moon."

"Bright Moon?" Scorpia questioned. "Why?"

"Because we're going to take out Bright Moon's Runestone." The small amount of worry she had over the environment was replaced with utter determination, just thinking about how this day would turn out. "And with the Whispering Woods frozen over, there's nothing stopping us."

The monitors displayed disaster, chaos, and turmoil that was spreading all across Etheria, and for once in her life, Adora didn't care. The opportunity was too good to pass up, a chance that might never come back to them. Without the Whispering Woods, the Rebellion had little means to hide themselves from the Horde Invaders. The woods couldn't protect them with their magic and their changing pathways. The Rebellion was right down the road for a change, and theirs for the taking.

"We're ending this war, today..."

...

...

* **CRACK** *

* _blip_ *

The Queen of Bright Moon, Angella, watched in dismay from atop the Runestone's pillar as the storm circled around them.

What had she been thinking about sending her daughter out earlier? She knew she was capable of a lot of things, but if she had the foresight to know this storm was coming, she would have either kept her from leaving or sent her off with several guards to figure out where Catra was.

All around her she saw the landscape changing drastically. Trees were withering and turning grey. Out in the distance she could see a small line of ice, an impossibility she thought, as the Whispering Woods were turning into a frozen wasteland. The worst of the storm had yet to reach the Castle, thankfully, but it didn't do anything to stop the red bolts of lightning that rained down on them every couple of seconds.

The Runestone's power was changing somehow, almost as if it was weakening in some way. With every bolt that neared the castle, Queen Angella's magic protected it with an invisible barrier, bouncing off the mysterious red lightning with ease. She had never seen a bizarre phenomenon such as this in her lifetime, and for an immortal ruler, that was saying a lot.

It was the fear of this storm that kept the Queen from thinking about the Runestone's current power, the fear she had for her daughter and her friends' safety overpowering it. She hasn't seen any sign of them through the sky, and there was no telling how far out they had to travel to find Catra in the first place. All she knew could tell at that moment was what she could feel, and she felt that her daughter needed help right at this moment.

WIth her mind clear, the Queen flew up to the center of the Runestone as she began to channel her own energies into the stone. Harnessing what she could out of the protective barrier, she gathered as much magic as she could into the Runestone with the intent of saving her daughter's life. In one powerful beam of pink light, radiating with an aura of similar color, the Queen fired a massive beam of energy towards the sky, illuminating the darkness that the clouds had shrouded them with, and signaling where she was and waiting for her daughter's hopeful return.

...

* ** _Crash!_** *

"Ahhh!" The group held onto each other as they hung on to Swift Wind for dear life. This day could not get any worse for Catra if it tried.

Over the course of the last twenty-four hours, Catra had experienced the ultimate down of her life. After escaping the bonds that kept her prisoner within the Beacon by the ferocious mechanical spiders that captured her, the same one who gave her the sword back confusingly enough, she found herself transported to another simulation-like space where she met Light Hope again, the first person she met that started off her adventures.

At first, Catra was relieved and furious at the woman who potentially turned her life upside down and inside out. Just because her old life wasn't perfect didn't mean she had to go around and make it worse for her! At the same time, she was also glad to have found her because if anyone could teach her how to use the sword, it would be her. In the hopes of finding a way to control her powers and to explain to her all the weird stuff she's been thrown into, she almost prayed to her for guidance and understanding.

And did she ever end up regretting that.

As it turned out, Catra was not She-Ra, at least not to the extent she thought she was. All this time, all the days spent and wasted helping the Rebellion, her only task was to find the true owner of She-Ra, Adora in this case, and return it to her so she could fulfill her destiny. All the powers she was given and thought she had since the beginning was all part of a "Finder's Initiative" program, a system in place that tasked the non-chosen founders of the sword with finding the current She-Ra of their timeline. In short, she was nothing more than an errand girl, one who was never wanted for her own assistance.

Maybe she would have taken that better if Light Hope didn't have to stretch out the explanation so long and far fetched if it wasn't for how much of Catra's life she had ruined to begin with. From her standing in the Horde, to the allies she used to have, losing the best friend she could ever hope for, and now being told she was a complete accident?! It would've driven the average person insane to process all that information in the short amount of time she finished explaining it.

What's worse was the information she was given afterwards. Because of all the time she had spent away from the Horde, since she never went back for Adora, she subjected her to vile manipulations and trickery that blackened her heart over the course of time. What was once a sincere friend that Catra knew and grew up with turned into a vile creature of darkness by the time Adora cut ties to their friendship, with her new obsession being to destroy anything and anyone that could make Catra's dream for a kingdom come true, especially the Rebellion.

Catra realized it was all her fault for her past mistakes, from the way she abused their friendship and treated Adora like nothing more than a tool. She had every reason to be angry with her and Catra didn't have the heart to deny it. After everything she screwed up since then, after all that she made worse for the Rebellion and the Princess Alliance, how could she not think of herself a failure? The one responsible for everything that's happened?

And then to hear Light Hope say that because of how Adora turned out they had to initiated a protocol that transferred ownership of the sword to her, as well as removing the inhibitor that was mitigating the sword's powers, even though it was her fault in the first place? How could she respond to that?! It angered her that they had the audacity to offer the sword to her simply because they had to, it saddened her that all she's done with her life is making everyone else's lives even worse! It broke her inside, shattered her.

Refusing to accept her new destiny, whether or not she could, she vacated the simulation, and resigned herself to spending out her remaining years alone within the Crystal Castle instead. She thought it was a good alternative to what she had to do in every way possible. Down here she wouldn't interfere with anyone's lives anymore, and she would still be technically helping them by doing it! Why did it take her this long to realize that she ruined everything she touched? Made everyone else suffer for her mistakes? She was better off away from everyone else, embracing the loneliness she most feared as penance for her actions.

She hated being alone like this. Surrounded by nothingness save for some empty rooms and darkened hallways. It was one of her biggest fears after Shadow Weaver, having experienced this kind of state after the cruel prank she was played on years ago. It also felt just in some way, almost ironic, as she hated making friends yet never wanted to experience true loneliness.

It's probably where she would've been still if her other friends hadn't come to rescue her. She was crushed inside for sure, unable to give them her full attention as the light was drained from her eyes. Her connections with them made things worse for other people, and she hadn't helped any of them since day one. As to why they would risk their lives like this to return for her when she was feeling at her bleakest, she would never know. And they didn't have as much time to socialize as the security bots were already hunting for them.

It was probably the first time she was ever slapped by Glimmer, too, and mean it for a change. The Princess of Bright Moon couldn't stand to hear Catra mope around like this anymore after all she's done for them. She's helped the Rebellion more than she could possibly imagine, she's saved lives where she believes she ruined them. She has been a dear friend who was scarred from an emotional past that was catching up to her, and she didn't deserve any of this!

Above all else, she pointed out that Catra truly was chosen. As the First Ones said, they didn't choose her to be their champion like Catra thought they did. It also didn't mean someone else, or something else in this case, didn't choose her either.

Specifically, the Sword of Protection.

While she still couldn't understand why, Catra understood that she had a point. If she wasn't destined to be some hero then why did the sword allow her to find it to begin with? As a matter of fact, why was the sword allowing her to have some of its limited powers if she wasn't capable harnessing them at all?

As Glimmer went on to point out, they all made mistakes in the past, and Catra had to accept that she would always make mistakes in the future. But a mistake was only a real mistake when the person who caused it did nothing to fix it later on. Her staying here wouldn't have fixed anything, and above all else, she would have proven everyone else right that she couldn't accomplish anything if she spent the rest of her lives here.

Whether through the determination to prove them wrong, or actually being touched a little by Glimmer's motivational speech, Catra realized that she couldn't quit like this, not when there was still things to fix.

With that in mind, having renewed optimism after a long time, the four made their escape from the Beacon as they escaped through the Whispering Woods from the terrible storm, eventually being forced to flee to the skies above. All around them they could see the desecration of the land as the storm continued to pick up. Nobody knew which way was which from up here, save for the ghastly image of the Fright Zone Catra saw behind them, and the increased frequency of the lightning only made things worse.

"The storm's getting worse!" Glimmer shouted as she struggled to hold on at the front.

"Yeah, I noticed!" Catra snapped back, having a harder time maintaining her grip as well as dealing with the increasingly loud thunder that drummed through her ears. "How are we supposed to get back to the castle like this?"

"Ah! Look!" Bow's brightened, cheery, smile was enough to warrant their full attention as they followed to where his finger was pointing. To their relief, probably a good minute away by flight, they saw a shining light resonating through the darkness, stretching passed the sky above them. It brought a great sense of relief to the three friends as they smiled in unison at the sight.

"It's Bright Moon!" Glimmer's cheery demeanor quickly switched to panic as she realized what it truly was. "It's the distress beacon."

"Hang on!" Swift Wind whinnied, charging headfirst into the glowing pillar of light. That was something else Catra had to get used to, still finding it slightly more bizarre than everything that's happened in the last couple hours.

"So would anyone mind telling me why the freaky horse is talking now?"

"LATER!"

...

Her mother never felt as much joy in the last few years as she does now at the sight of Glimmer and her friends returning on flying-horseback.

"Glimmer!" Angella cried out as her daughter dismounted after Swift Wind landed.

"Mom!" The princess ran over to hug her mother tightly, thankful that she was alright. ""What's going on?"

"The elements are out of harmony." Her mother explained as the friends turned towards the calamity that was encircling them. "The moonstone is using all its power to counteract the cloud of darkness." As she said this, Bow and Catra watched as another bolt of lightning headed right for them, only to be pushed back by the mystical barrier protecting the runestone. "It's taking nearly all my strength just to keep my connection with it."

"Its coming from the Fright Zone." Catra informed her, surprising the questionably-young mother as she almost forgot why her friends left at the start of all this..

""Catra..." It was a little painful to remember the harsh way she used to scold Catra for her wrongdoings, remembering the times when she berated her instead of encouraged her through every successful mission. It gave her a sense of guilt after Catra ran away due to her own insecurities. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." She replied, turning her head away. She didn't care much about the scrapes and cuts she obtained during her time in the Beacon. It did nothing compared to the emotional scarring her heart suffered.

"So what's our plan?" Bow asked, growing increasingly concerned over the worsening weather. "We... do have a plan, right?" When one person was silent, it was a sign they didn't know what to say. When two people did it, it meant they were trying to hide something. When three or more people did, it was a dreadful sign of things to come. "Guys?"

Catra walked away to the ledge as she examined the forest itself. All around them, the forest withered away as the freezing glaciers spread across the land, turning the trees to frozen blocks of ice that shattered within seconds under their own weight. The roots to their trees were dull and weakened from the immense cold that stung at the soil.

When Light Hope told Catra that the balances of power must be restored, or Etheria would fall to ruin, she didn't picture anything like this. She thought she meant like war would break out or alliances would continue to be broken. She expected people to be mad at each other, refusing to assist allies when their kingdoms were under attack. That was the kind of "world coming to an end" she was expecting as it sounded the most probable.

This was something else.

"The woods are frozen over." The ground gave a very faint and constant tremor to them as the sky cracked with endless storm, the winds carried a breeze of the icy glare from the forest, nipping at Catra's skin that she could shrug off only for so long. "There's nothing left to shield Bright Moon from the Horde." From across the scenery she swore that the storm was closing in on them, advancing towards them like the army that was undoubtedly approaching while they were vulnerable.

"Then the Horde will be marching on our doorstep within the hour." Angella determined, looking to the Runestone as if it would provide guidance.

"We have to prepare for an attack!" Bow said with authority, earning an agreeable nod from his fellow friends and allies who made their way to the castle.

Save for one lone magicat who's ears drooped with worry. "An attack...?" She looked back to the freezing forest in fear.

If the Horde was going to attack, then that meant they would bring a leader. If they were going to bring a leader it was going to be by someone who either volunteered or had the best experience out of the bunch. With those qualifications in mind, there can be only one person listed for the job, a friend who was all too eager to wipe out the Rebellion once and for all. The person who's hatred for Catra was turning her into the person the First Ones could no longer rely on.

"Adora..."

...

The Meeting Room within Castle Bright Moon was as lively as ever as the group, along with an additional guard captain who stood at Bow's side, developed a plan to defend themselves from the Horde's advances. In the center of the large meeting room, the holographic table was already lit as it projected a map with a general view between the Rebellion's castle, the Whispering Woods, and the Horde.

There was unease going through Catra's mind as she leaned against the wall with her arms crossed, staring down into thought as Glimmer and Angella leaned over the table.

"Our scouts reported sighting the Horde army in the woods," Bow stated, "moving towards us at top speed.

"We must protect Bright Moon at all costs." The Queen was not going to let her beloved castle fall to the likes of the Horde, not when the symbol of hope, She-Ra, remained on their side. "If the Moonstone is destroyed, there will be nothing left to stop the darkness."

"Someone must have seen the beacon. Why isn't anyone coming?"

"Booow..." Glimmer grumbled quietly under her breath, gesturing to Catra over by the wall who still had a bitter look on her face.

Even though she accepted her past mistakes and was determined to fix them, that didn't mean she still didn't feel guilty about them. From her viewpoint, the alliance breaking up was and still is Catra's fault, no matter how much Glimmer and Bow tried to protest against it. They were glad she was willing to come back to help them, and were overjoyed to see her up and about after the painful look in her eyes awhile ago. Now they just wished she would stop feeling like it was all her fault.

"Err, I mean," he tried to come up with any excuses as he smiled nervously, "of course they're not coming, it's not like-"

"It's okay." Catra looked away as she spoke. "It doesn't matter if I'm to blame or not, anyway. With the princesses having their own kingdoms to defend, I wouldn't blame them for not wanting to leave it, given the state things are in now. We've seen the weather here in the last few minutes alone. Who knows what they have to deal with where they are. I just know they're not coming to help us-"

"Someone's come to help us!" A guard announced rushing into the room.

"-someone's... here?"

"Huh! Is it the princesses?" Bow asked, greatly overjoyed at their timely arrival! Oh, just thinking of it now! The Princess Alliance, back together again, working side by side-! Oh."

All that enthusiasm and macho mayhem was dashed away with one simple turn of the guard as she revealed the two princesses who had come to help them. They're the ones Catra hadn't the decency to talk to yet, only meeting them at the weekly Generals Meeting once a week, and back then she wasn't the least bit interested in the two whatsoever.

Come to think of it that hadn't really changed over the weeks she spent in Bright Moon either. They were always so strange to her, which said a lot coming from her, as she never gave a word to the two in any of the meetings they've attended. The most they've had to a  _conversation_  was Catra eavesdropping on their whispering and gossip as they muttered to one another, usually saying something about the state of their current forces or commenting about Catra being She-Ra. Nothing really negative or anything like that, just nothing that sounded interesting to the magicat.

The chitchat and idle comments weren't the parts that weirded her out. The weird part was how they always seemed to be close to one another, in more ways than one. They were always by each other's side, usually walking with the other in their arm, and so on. And while Catra wasn't exactly sure what kind of level their friendship was, much less if that's how friends are supposed to be since she grew up in the Fright Zone, she was pretty sure these two took the friendship thing a bit too far at times.

"Spinnerella, Netossa, heh heh... Thanks for coming, guys." Bow chuckled nervously again.

"You still don't know what we do, do you?" The dark skinned princess huffed a little as her friend casually smiled to her.

"Let me guess," Catra volunteered, "she spins, you nets."

"THANK YOU!" It was only due to Spinnerella's soothing massage to her shoulders that Netossa kept from exploding." Gosh, it's in the name for crying out loud, you'd think it'd be obvious! Nets! Toss! I toss nets, okay?!"

"Yes dear, you toss beautiful nets." Spinnerella cooed, nuding her cheek and earning her a smile.

"At least you have powers, which is more than I've got." Glimmer commented with a frown.

"Hey, don't sell yourself short, Pinky." Catra retorted with a means of encouragement. "I can barely get the sword to work, remember? Besides," she paused shifting her eyes away, "to be honest, I... I might not-"

"Catra's right!" Bow added, cutting off Catra's finishing words. "You don't need magic to fight, Glimmer."

"I know!" It was times like this where Glimmer was proud to have such supportive friends. "I'm ready for them."

"Glimmer," as expected, her enthusiasm was met with uncertainty as her mother touched her shoulder, "not only are you without your powers, but you're still glitching. It's dangerous."

"But mom-"

"Glimmer, your mother's right." It hurt the Guard Captain to agree with her mother for a change, even if it was for the Princess's own good. "Without your powers, you wouldn't be able to teleport out of harm's way."

"So you agree with her too?" They couldn't be serious, could they? The Palace Guards would be swarmed with Horde soldiers from every angle as they defended the sides, leaving them exposed to a frontal assault. There wouldn't be anyone left if anything happened to the present friends and allies within the room, Bright Moon would be the Horde's for the taking! "You guys have to let me help, though! Tell them, Catra!"

"..."

"Catra?"

Why did she have to put her on the spot like this? Glimmer just have her the biggest pep talk of her life nearly twenty minutes ago, and now she was expecting her to repay the favor. It wasn't like before when Catra was feeling down in the dumps because of her history, this was a more serious matter of life or death being on the line.

On top of that, there was one other matter Catra was trying to process. The war that was coming to them was going to affect more than they knew about, especially with Catra. It didn't help that the more she tried to ponder her thoughts that more and more eyes turned directly towards her in greater detail. Everyone was starting to notice the hint of silence coming from the girl mixed with the look of unease coming off of her.

She wasn't contemplating a response about what to do with Glimmer, there was something else on her mind entirely.

"Catra, are you alright?" Angella wondered. "You've been rather quiet regarding the attack since the meeting started." There wasn't any comment about the war that was about to happen, no small quips or jokes she had to make like at the usual meetings. To be honest, she would greatly appreciate to hear one of her, from her personal opinion, bad jokes as long as she knew she was okay.

"I uh..." Catra shook her head as she made her way to the door. "I need a minute here..." Without another word, the others watched as Catra walked passed everyone, keeping her head down in concern as everyone watched her leave.

Catra was never the silent type when it came to knowing her, unless it pertained to her past. Catra as always reckless, always wanted to jump in first, and putting the two together, this would've been like sending a kid to a carnival with the assault they were expecting. She should've been jumping the gun under these circumstances.

Something was terribly wrong with her, and they didn't know how dire the situation truly was...

...

This is what they were fighting for, Catra understood that as she stared into the Runestone from across the bridge. The Rebellion was a part of what the First Ones were hoping for, Catra was the other part in her new official role as She-Ra. She wasn't concerned about fulfilling that role, not entirely. They didn't want her to fulfill the role of She-Ra originally, and as of now, she was fine with that. If they didn't want someone as good as her as the original She-Ra, it was their loss.

And it didn't mean she would have accepted it if she wasn't supposed to be She-Ra anymore. She was tired of everyone putting her down over everything she was about, all that she tried to accomplish. She was sick of everyone saying she would never amount to anything, wouldn't be able to do anything on her own. If this war was really going to happen in the next few hours, then she would've gladly fought in it, under normal circumstances, just to prove them wrong.

The problem was, these were the farthest thing from normal circumstances.

"Catra," She heard Glimmer speaking from behind her as she stared at the Runestone, "are you okay?"

"...Adora's going to be leading the Horde when they attack, I just know it." Catra replied, lowering her head again. "I messed her up, and now she's going to do everything she can to take it out on you guys just to get back at me." The two other friends looked at each other to this, trying to understand what she was getting at.

"Catra, what happened to you at that First Ones temple?"

"I messed up! Like I always have, okay? I tried bringing her over to our side, I thought I could remind her that we were still friends. But all I did was just... remind her of everything else."

"Everything else?" Bow repeated as they drew closer to her.

"Everything. All that's happened since we were kids, all that I've done to her since our childhood. I wasn't anything like a real friend should've been, okay? I took advantage of her since the day I've met her, even if I didn't mean to, and now she sees me like everyone else does at the Fright Zone- A freak."

"...Catra, you're not a freak." Bow assured, patting her back. "The fact you're already aware of all this proves that you're still a good friend."

"But I wasn't even aware of it until I met you guys, and because of that, everything that's about to happen is on me." Grabbing her sword, the stared at dormant blade's runestone etched into the top of the hilt. "If I end up fighting her, I'm going to choke or hold back, I just know it. I don't have any right to fight her, not after everything I've done to her."

"You don't have any right to..." Glimmer prayed that she wasn't getting to what she thought she was. "Catra, what are you trying to say?"

It hurt to admit it. She didn't want to considering how much it hurt her to think about it. But after all that's happened, all the secrets about herself that she's kept up till now, this was the one thing she had to tell them. Otherwise, there was a very good chance she might never be able to again.

"I'm not joining in the fight, you guys. I'm leaving Bright Moon."

_**...** _

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_**...** _

_**A/N: As always, I always do chapter into 5-minute bits of the episode, and this seemed like a good cut off point. Like I said, I dont have much to say, other than I'm looking forward to the action picking up at the end of the next one, cause from there, it's nothing but a beautifully violent-for-ages-7-and-up war ^^ and I'm going to have a heck of a time writing out the fight scenes X)** _

_**Hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review, and hope to see you soon!** _


	50. Season 1 Finale: No Happy Endings Part 2

_**A/N: And we're back folks! With a brand spanking new chapter as we draw closer towards our final confrontation ^^! I gotta say, I'm loving the feedback I got for this one, especially with Ao3! I hit an all new record last night with getting 8 Full Kudos over one chapter, the newest and biggest record I've had over one chapter ^^! Huzzah!** _

_**I gotta say, I'm having a lot of fun with this as we draw closer to our, for lack of a better name, rematch versus "Shadow Adora vs Cat-Ra" ^^!...god that name sucks XP Lol, Anyway, huge thanks to all the fans and public who've supported this till now! Can't wait to see you guys again soon!** _

_**With that all said, enjoy!** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

"Catra, what do you mean you're leaving?" Glimmer couldn't believe what she was hearing, especially under these circumstances. "You're not going to help?"

They had finally reunited after long last! After what felt like weeks apart, even though it was just a few days, they were all finally back together! Glimmer and Bow found Catra, the magicat accepted her destiny as now-current She-Ra, and after a little heart to heart, she finally decided to come back! The worse they were supposed to face was the incredible storm that kept pushing a frozen tundra to their direction, followed by the reality that the Horde would be attacking soon.

Arriving home, they were informed how the Runestone was the only source of magical energy that could protect them from the incoming dark storm that was created by the Black Garnet. It was the results of one of the Horde's new experiments after Adora had returned from the Beacon with a valuable Data Crystal from the First Ones. It housed records of never before seen technology and sciences behind the First Ones original designs, ones nobody within this day and age had ever come across before.

Being all too eager, after betraying Shadow Weaver to Lord Hordak and earning his forgiveness for his past judgement, Adora, Scorpia, and Entrapta, mostly Entrapta, worked tirelessly to see their new plan come to fruition, creating an advanced machine that could siphon the Black Garnet's power and use it as a form of weapon, one which continued to siphon the energies out of the remaining elemental Runestones across Etheria, drawing a little power from the Elemental Princesses with each passing second.

It's polar opposite, the Moonstone of Bright Moon, was the only source magic that could perfectly counter the dark magic, shielding them from the oncoming storm with as much power as it could draw forth, one that was losing its power the quickest compared to the rest of the Runestones. Because of this, Adora found it to be the best opportunity for an attack, and was leading a strike team of the Horde's army to attack Bright Moon at its most vulnerable.

That was supposed to be the worst of it. There was no way in knowing how this war was going to end, seeing how the Princess Alliance had disbanded and there were no signs of the other princesses coming to help, and they were going to be prepared for any occasion. As long as they had each other to support them, there was nothing they couldn't accomplish, no matter how bleak or perilous the journey might seem.

At least, that was the original train of thought before Catra dropped this sudden ball on them.

"I already told you guys, I can't." It hurt Catra the more than anything else she's said in the past before. These two were the last remaining friends she had in the world, and despite everything they've been through and helped her with, she was turning their backs on them.

"What do you mean you can't? Do I have to slap you again?" Glimmer asked raising her hand threateningly. "Because I'll do it no matter how many times I have to knock some sense into you."

"Wait, shouldn't it be my turn?" Bow chuckled a little, trying to break the ice. "You already got to slap her the first time, so shouldn't it be my turn?"

"Hey, there's no line for it, but you don't get to until you have a heart to heart conversation like we did."

"Well let me talk to her now, and then I will."

"Can we stop talking about who gets to slap me here?!" Catra yelled. "I really mean it, you guys. Everything that's happened till now is because of me." Frowning, she walked her way over to the ledge of the bridge, overlooking the freezing forest below. "I never realized how terrible I was to her until I went to the Beacon, all right? She's going to be the head of the charge, and she's not going to care about who she hurts to make me suffer."

"And that's why we need you, Catra." For once, Glimmer wasn't sure how to get through to her this time, not with the short amount of time they had to think about it. "If she's as strong as you said she is, then we need She-Ra, we need you!"

"I don't even know if I can go She-Ra, Glimmer. I barely know how this sword works, and I got more questions as well as answers when I spoke to Light Hope." She still couldn't figure out how she was supposed to process any of what she told her. To go from a soldier of the Horde, to becoming a servant of She-Ra, never realizing she wasn't She-Ra at the time, and then finding out she was made She-Ra simply out of circumstances? There was too much stress to take in, and not enough time right now to get through it all. "Even if I could, it wouldn't matter."

"Why wouldn't it matter, Catra?" Bow asked, walking to her right. "Even if you couldn't turn She-Ra, you're still a strong warrior. I've seen you take on robots and soldiers without She-Ra. I'd say you're more than capable of fighting in our war."

"I didn't say I wasn't capable of it... sort of... But I wouldn't be able to." At that, she had the most painful reminder of Light Hope's declaration as she hugged herself. "Light Hope said that... unless I can let go of the past, I'll never be able to win. How am I supposed to let go of the one person who's been with me all my life? I... I wouldn't be able to."  _Now_  Glimmer and Bow could see what the problem was.

This wasn't a case of her being unwilling to fight Adora or unable to. They knew she considered them friends even if she hasn't verbally acknowledged it yet, and that she wouldn't abandon them if this was a normal fight they were about to prepare for. They were there for each other through thick and thin, and would continue to after all they've experienced together. Catra was a lot of things, some of which she couldn't see herself, and a coward wasn't entirely one of them.

What she couldn't handle is being a problem for the Rebellion when they needed her most. They were about to enter a war with little knowledge of how it would turn out. Throughout their journey, Catra's been requiring their aid to save them in the midst of a grand battle or a harrowing adventure, and despite being the one to usually save the day in the end anyway, that amount of stress and guilt it's put on her has become a burden among all else.

Now, they needed her most. They needed her at the front lines of their defense and they needed her to lead the charge against the Evil Horde army that was about to invade. She would be charging headfirst into the most dangerous part of the battlefield surrounded by soldiers and machines who were bent on her and the Rebellion's destruction, and she would be exposing herself to the most danger.

After all they've been through, she couldn't see it ending in any way positive. To her, the moment she stepped on the front lines, she would either be captured or pinned down, and requiring someone to save her. With everyone else preoccupied, they couldn't afford to reach her in time, not with their own battles to contend with. It would force someone else to slip up, to rush over and save her, and leave themselves or someone else exposed to an attack.

And that didn't even include Adora in all of this.

Her best friend, practically sister, from the Fright Zone. The one who's always been there for her when she needed her most, and almost never the other way around. She wanted Catra for herself in this fight, to cause her as much pain as she caused her, to remind her of all the horrible things she's done and put Adora through during their childhood. She wanted her to feel how much pain she was in when Adora realized she only saw her as a tool, someone who's innocence she could exploit for her own personal gain.

With all that in mind, there was no way Catra could fight back with a clear conscious. If she fought, she would be confirming everything Adora thought about her, proving to her how little their friendship meant to Catra. And if she didn't fight, Adora wouldn't care. She would be relentless on her assault and attack her, forcing the above to kick in and ruin their chances of victory.

There was no simple outcome of this war if Catra participated. She would be inflicted in a world of pain no matter how it ended, and she would suffer the most out of it.

"But, Catra-"

"Glimmer," Bow interrupted, grabbing her shoulder, "I think we should talk." From one pained expression to the next, Glimmer glanced between the two, being met with a distraught Catra who looked away to a worried Bow who didn't look any easier. She felt exactly the same way he did, knew what he wanted to say! But she wasn't brave enough to let this all go without trying some form of communication with her troubled friend, not like the other times.

This was going to be a conversation that would all go one way.

The end of everything.

...

"How can she think of-"

"I know that but-

"-secure out defenses for-"

"-flank our position-"

Catra drowned in and out of the conversation as she sat outside the room, next to the doorway with her knees curled up.

She wouldn't blame them no matter what they thought of her. She was abandoning them when they needed her most, them being upset about it is the least she expected out of this. It wouldn't surprise her if the Queen locked her up for this for the rest of her life, even if they won the battle in the end. What she was doing was considered desertion, almost treasonous by her standards, as she was leaving the Rebellion when war was finally upon them.

Within the room, she heard Glimmer and Bow talking with the Queen, Her Highness caught off guard by the announcement of what Catra was planning on doing, and taking it a lot better than Catra originally anticipated. She thought she would've immediately ordered her beheading or something the very moment she announced she was leaving, nearly baffling her that she was still sitting in the outside hallway for as long as she was now.

Whatever they were talking about, Catra faded in and out from, the guilt and consciousness weighing on her mind heavier than it's ever been before. Her thoughts turned endlessly from the betrayal she felt like she was committing to the realization that the First Ones were right. She wasn't She-Ra material if she fled from the first sign of war and danger. She argued with Light Hope that she was, scorned her for never thinking Catra could do it in the first place.

Now, she realized, she was right. Catra wasn't worthy of being She-Ra. She was selfish, greedy, all the things Adora now loathed her for and more. She wasn't the hero that they needed, she wasn't anything people wanted in an ally. She was just Catra, the worst possible thing a person could be at this point.

* _creeeak_ *

At the sound of the door opening, Catra sprang to her feet. Anxiously, the first set of eyes she met was that of the Queen's, a lump forming in her throat as the Queen just stared at her with the Captain of the guard glaring at her side. With a righteous ruler such as her, there was no telling what she was thinking of at that moment. All she knew was that her thoughts would remain a mystery as she began walking away, not mentioning a word to the ex-Hrode soldier with as much grace and decency as she could.

"That went better than I expected." Glimmer commented as she and Bow walked out of the room.

"So..." Catra awkwardly began. How was she supposed to know what to say with her conscious weighing down her mind. "What happened."

"Ah, you know. Queen's upset, guards are out of order, Netossa and Spinnerella had little to say. The usual." His attempts at humor fell on deaf ears, neither of Glimmer's or Catra's moods brightening so much as a speck. "Heh, eh... sorry."

"I don't blame her." Catra admitted, crossing her arms. "I'm surprised she didn't have the guards execute me at this moment."

"She understands your dilemma, Catra." Looking down the hallway, Glimmer continued to speak as her mother vanished down another corridor. "Actually, she doesn't blame you at all given all you've been through in the last few days."

"Really?"

"Yup. In fact, she spent the better part of it arguing with the guard in defending your actions so you wouldn't be punished." That was... unbelievable. Catra was almost convinced it was a bold-faced lie if the circumstances gave her better time to doubt it. It also went on to add to Catra's guilty conscious as she re-examined all that she was doing.

"Eh... L-Look, maybe I don't exactly have to  _leave_." She offered, trying to provide some source of leniency. "M-Maybe... Maybe I can... I don't know... defend the castle on the inside or somethi-"

"Catra," Glimmer's frown alone was enough to stop her in her place, "you can't stay here. We... We don't know what's going to happen after this is over, and, well..."

"We think it's better if you don't come back." Bow finished for her.

"You... Don't want me to come back?" It did go without saying, to an extent, though she wasn't planning on leaving entirely. She wanted to stick with the Rebellion and help them with their cause, that went without saying. It just wasn't easy knowing that Adora would be at the center of all this, knowing how impractical it would be to fight her. "Guys, I understand if you don't want me in the Castle and all. Heck, I would've kicked myself out too for that matter. It's not like I don't want to help the Rebellion or anythi-"

"That's not it, Catra. We just... We don't know how the rest of the Rebellion would take it if you left us when we needed you most. If we did win, everyone would be angry at you about leaving us. We wouldn't be able to keep the guards or staff from gossiping, and they would inform any allies we tried to make about it."

"The alliance already fell apart after what happened to Entrapta, not that it's your fault." Glimmer wanted to make sure Catra knew whatever happened was never her fault, that she shouldn't be riddled with guilt about it alone. "If we let you leave and come back, it would make the Rebellion look like an army of cowards, and... and everyone would doubt our cause if She-Ra was known as the one who ran away before the fighting began."

This was... understandable... and hurtful to know. The cold reality out of this was that Catra was abandoning them, regardless of her excuse. If anyone ever heard how the Symbol of the Rebellion, the essence of Hope itself, She-Ra, was known for being a coward when their allies needed her most, nobody would ever want to be associated with their cause. For all they knew, having such stories running around the castle could instigate a mutiny or betrayal, and that was the last thing they could afford with the Rebellion being as short as it was.

"So, I'm... supposed to leave and never come back?" Catra assumed, unsurprised by the revelation. "To never be She-Ra again, or anything?"

"I-It's not like that." Glimmer shook her head. "It doesn't mean you don't have to be She-Ra or a hero, Catra. You could go off saving villages and towns, helping kingdoms on your own time. It could actually help in the run long if you acquire enough allies in the process."

"W-Well... Y-You guys know I don't have to go alone, right?" Instantly, they knew where she was headed with this as she looked back and forth between the uneasy friends. "We could all go together, you know? If we all did, I doubt the guards would call it cowardice. They might think the Queen ordered it for our own safety, we could salvage the Rebellion's reputation that way-!"

"Catra, this is our home." Bow boldly retorted. "There's no way we can abandon it after all the time we've spent here."

"Y-Yeah, well..." She hoped they would understand and be more than eager to accept her offer. It did seem like a genuine idea, all things considered, and if they did, the Princess of Bright Moon would still be alive, someone of royalty that held sway within the world of kingdoms. She's already suffered the loss of one dear friend, she didn't need two more to add within a day's count. "We can find a new place to call home. I mean I did, and look... how..."

Catra's heart felt like it was just impaled on a spike as she realized what she said. She abandoned her home in the past, a place she never felt like she belonged, and this is what happened. She was aiding the side she used to consider the enemy, she was about to take part in a war that she wasn't prepared for, and worst of all, she ruined the best friendship she could ever hope to obtain.

And here she was repeating the same process again, the same mistakes. She was leaving her home again when things looked tough, and deserting the two people she considered friends. They needed her now more than ever, and she was going to leave their side to save her own skin.

Despite all the pain she felt with it, she couldn't draw any strength from her heart to turn away from it, feeling like it was her only option. On top of that, she was instigating Bow and Glimmer to do the same as her, to abandon the place they called home for their own benefit.

She was practically asking them to become like her, and even she would never want someone to turn out the way she did.

"Catra?" With a little smile, holding her shoulder, Catra turned to see Glimmer giving her a gentle look. "It's okay. We don't blame you for any of this. We could never force you to fight your friend against your will. If I was in your, heh," the princess paused looking at Catra's feet, "well, boots, I don't think I could do it either."

"But-"

"There's nothing we have to forgive you for, Catra." Bow weighed in, touching her other shoulder. "You've already helped the Rebellion more than anyone ever has before. We've accomplished much more than we thought possible, and it's thanks to you."

"You guys..." Was this how friendship was supposed to be? When someone was abandoning the others, were they supposed to smile and nod as they left them behind? Is this how Adora was before slowly becoming the person she is today? Would they turn into some sort of monster on the inside with a disdain for Catra never coming back for them? A part of her wanted to know, and the other four-fifths of her  **really**  didn't want to know.

"We should get ready, Bow. The Horde's going to be here soon."

"Right."

"Get ready?" Catra wondered, remembering how her mother forbade her earlier. "How?" Whenever the princess smiled to her at a question, it usually meant she had a plan.

A fun one, at that.

"Did you think I wouldn't be prepared for something as simple as an invasion?"

...

...

* _clak_ *

"Welcome to the Bright Moon armory!" Out of all the secrets Catra has seen or exposed of Glimmer's over the months, this was, by far, the coolest thing she's ever done. "Well, not really, but I've been stashing weapons in here for months."

All around her, she bore witness to a small room that was filled to the brim with weaponry and armor. Arrows, swords, bows, shields, grenades of some sort. Everything that an armory could have need for was present within this room, all that was filling it shined with a miraculous glow as it was kept in pristine condition.

 _Exactly how long has she been preparing for this?_  Catra questioned as the three took a step forward. If Catra knew that she had anything this cool, they probably would've become friends a very long time ago! To see any princess deck out one of their rooms with an arsenal of supplies like this, to be ready to declare war on a moment's notice, Catra couldn't be anything short of impressed. This is exactly what an armory would need, and it would be impossible not to find one form of weapon in this room that wasn't listed.

"Huh! DIBS ON ARROWS!" Bow squealed, practically bashing Glimmer out of the way as he ran to the walls, with Catra and Swift Wind examining closer.

"You've been keeping these from me all this time and you never told me?" Catra asked as she examined one of the knives against the walls, touching one of the sacred-looking daggers to see if they were as real as they appeared.

"Well, you've never really wanted to hang out with me, so..." Glimmer reminded, in a slightly joking manner.

"Fair enough..." Catra almost wished she decided to stay after seeing the amount of weapons that filled the room. From chain maces to massive spears, this room was decked with nearly anything one could ask for in a war. "How have you been keeping all this stuff from-

"Huh! Catra"! Swift Wind sputtered, nudging her from behind with his snout. "Catra! Catra! Catra! Catra! Catra!"

"What?!" She growled back, irritated by the constant pushing until she finally gave him her attention. Without saying a word, the horse gestured his eyes towards the other side of the wall. There, she saw one of the largest maces she had ever seen, attached to a chain as it hung on the walls. The horse's mouth was practically drooling at the thought of having such a beautifully crafted weapon, imagining all the monsters and robots he could slay just by carrying it in his mouth! There would be no end to the amount of joy it would bring him! "Keep dreaming."

"Awwww..." The horse moaned as Catra pushed him away. He was well aware of Catra's plan to leave the Horde, and being her noble steed, he wasn't in any position to argue with her. But the least she could do is allow them to have some sort of  _souvenir_  to remember this place by.

As she was examining one of the mighty spears in the room, Glimmer heard the last voice she wanted to at that moment. "Glimmer?" Her mother said from the armory's doorway. All eyes turned to her, some with anxiety, others regret, and one still crying silently at the lack of maces he would be bringing. The Queen's stern expression didn't make their feelings any easier, her presence alone giving them enough chills to last a lifetime of grounding.

"M-Mom!" She stuttered as Bow quickly panicked, trying to hide the incredible golden arrow behind his back as Catra turned away. "How'd you know we'd be in here?"

"Did you really think I wouldn't notice you hoarding weapons?" Her mother replied casually, her years of experience as a Queen proving their worth.

"I'm sorry, mom." There was no point in trying to feign ignorance in her present, not with the situation at hand. "I can't just stand by while my friends and my home are in danger. I have to do this."

"...I know."

"Mom, I... wait, what?" She must've misheard that, because for a second there, it almost sounded like she acknowledged what Glimmer was doing, and accepted it.

"I've been trying all these years to mold you into someone more like me. But you're too stubborn and hotheaded, and brave, like your father." It brought genuine warmth to the Queen's heart as she reminisced. If she didn't know any better, she swore she was still talking to her husband, back when they first met. Drawing magic to her hand, the four watched as the Queen materialized a crescent moon-shaped staff out of the palm of her hand. "This was your father's staff. I think it's time that you had it."

Glimmer didn't know what to say. She was disobedient, hotheaded, all that her mother described her as and then some. She still wanted her daughter to fulfill her own dreams, to choose her own destiny, the way she's been begging her mother to. She wasn't going to put up any resistance, she wasn't going to talk her out of anything, she was just going to let her daughter make her own way for the first time, and she had her blessing.

The moment brought tears to her eyes as Glimmer wiped them away. She flung herself into her mother's open arms as the two embraced, Catra watching as bow wiped a hollow tear from his own eyes, and for the first time, said and thought nothing of it.

At least, until the Queen turned her attention to Catra soon after.

"And Catra..." The Queen said as she walked to her. It was like deja' vu for the young warrior, only this time, she was a little less optimistic about any comfort or warmth as she stood over her. "I guess you haven't changed your mind, have you?"

"Mmh..." How was she supposed to talk to her? "Hey thanks for everything, now I'm going to bail on ya"? "I know you need me right now, but I'm leaving you anyway"? There wasn't a single thought that came to Catra's mind throughout all of this. Her mouth practically moved on its own with the words she was about to speak being automatic. "I-"

* _tug_ *

And just like her Deja Vue moment, she was immediately interrupted as the Queen embraced her in a hug, holding her warmly like any mother should as her head pressed against her stomach. There was a small tickle she felt as the Queen scratched behind her ears playfully, assuring her that she held no ill will.

"I can't thank you enough for all you've done for us, Catra." The Queen's comment added fuel to Catra's fire of guilt that as already flaming. "This Rebellion owes you more than you could possibly know."

"Please don't..." She mumbled quietly.

"To be honest, I can't help but feel responsible for all of this." With a gentle smile, the Queen lowered herself to Catra's level, looking her in the eyes. "I never should have been harsh on you for your past mistakes, Catra. I should have been praising your successes instead of berating your faults. You were just trying to help us, and I was awful about it." The Queen admitted, stroking Catra's cheek.

"It's... It's okay. I'm used to it." Catra looked away from her, unable to meet her gaze.

"That doesn't make it right. If I had been more supportive, you might've had the confidence in yourself to do what needs doing, and I can't make up for the way I saw you before, Catra." With a gentle touch, the Queen directed Catra's chin to her calming grin. "All I can do is wish you luck for your future, tell you to never be afraid of whatever challenges you might come to face. And always remember, as long as She-Ra survives, there's hope for our future."

"...Sure... thanks, I guess..." Catra strode out of the room with an aura of guilt falling off of her, the others watching in dismay as she left with Swift Wind following behind her.

Why the heck were they acting like this? She was leaving them for crying out loud! They should be angry with her, yelling at her because of her weakness! This wasn't any way to treat someone who was deserting your side when you were about to be going to war! Even if they weren't the Horde, this was being way too forthcoming about what she was doing!

Were they trying to use some form of reverse psychology? Because it felt like it was definitely working! She's never felt such an overwhelming sense of guilt before, her mind reeling in from all her past mistakes and the amount of comfort and peace her friends and allies were sending her off with. There should have been more resistance on their end, they should have been forcing her to stay against her will!

Did she want them to do it? Of course not. She couldn't force herself to participate in all of this, she had nothing to convince her to stay through all of this, other than the people she came to know as friends. It didn't mean she wanted to leave anymore than she had to, either. Were they purposely trying to get rid of her? To send her off as soon as possible out of a lack of care for her? She would prefer it that way! At least then, she wouldn't have to deal with the guilt that's been plaguing her.

She had one more stop to make as she had to collect some stuff from her bedroom, and then she'd be out of here... forever.

...

...

* _chug_ *

"That's the last of it." Catra muttered again as she tied on the last of her supplies to the satchel over Swift Wind.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Swift Wind asked, eyeing the large packs strapped to his side.

"Are you kidding me? Of course not." Catra replied, tying the last knot extra tightly. "I don't want to leave them behind like this, Swifty. I'd stay and help in an instant if I knew Adora wasn't coming."

"Why does one person determine if you should go or stay, Catra? Isn't she the same person who betrayed you?"

"She's also the same person I've been using all my life." Catra added. "I wouldn't want me alive either if I was in her shoes. How can I be expected to fight someone who has every reason to be mad at me, when I have nothing to blame them for?" With the silence that followed, Catra turned her attention back to the room that used to be her bedroom.

Her room had been cleared out of most-everything she would possibly need. Some blankets, soaps, a good supply of food, and a few knickknacks she had lying around from all her travels across Etheria. Anything that wasn't nailed down that she didn't bring would've been a waste of space, things she felt were better off here instead of pawning them off later for money.

It almost felt silly to her to think that, at one point in her life, she was ridiculous enough to have a pillow fight with Glimmer and Bow around here. Several, at that. Looking back on it, she wonder at what point in her life she actually did come to consider the two of them friends. Was it after reading Glimmer's diary a short while ago, or did she actually consider them friends before all of that?

It was something she wasn't ever going to find out as of now, and a question she would never get resolved after today. This was her farewell to everyone she's ever met. Goodbye to Bright Moon, goodbye to the Rebellion, and goodbye to-

"Wait!" Catra quickly turned around from Swift Wind as she saw the familiar callers running to her.

The two were now donning their own sets of armor, prepared for the war that was soon to Glimmer, she was wearing a silver breastplate with shoulder-pads, a chitin mail running along the length of her thigh for added protection. She was the spotting image of royalty that was about to prepare for battle, an ally that would defend her people to the end. A friend that would always be at your side... even if you weren't at hers.

As for Bow, for the first time since meeting him, he had the professional look of a real live soldier. Along with his yellow shirt that was still noticeable from the red heart in its center, he was wearing a golden breastplate of armor that covered down to his naval, his left wrist covered in a guard to protect himself from his own arrows and damage as long as he used his bow. An archer wasn't an archer without a functioning pair of arms, and she couldn't think of anyone better at archery than him.

As expected, the two were out of breath, clearly having ran all this way from the armory or wherever they were before.

"Huff... huff... w-wait..." Glimmer panted, trying to catch her breath.

"What are you guys doing here?" A part of Catra was hoping they came here to stop her.

"We... phew... we came to give you something." Glimmer replied, digging through her pockets as Bow dug through his.

"Wha- Ah, noooo." Catra groaned, shaking her hands and head. "No, no no, I'm not doing gifts guys, please."

"Well, don't think of them as gifts, Catra," Bow replied, pulling out his gift, "think of them as your reward."

"Reward?"

"Yeah, you know." Bow smiled to her as he pulled out his gift. "Like a consolation prize. It's not as good as a kingdom, but it's better than nothing, right?" Pulling out Catra's hand himself, he opened her palm enough to place a single arrow in it. "It's one of my explosive arrows. I know you always said you wanted one, and, since you're leaving the castle, we figure it'd be a little safer to leave you with it."

She does recall seeing his arrows in action, looking at the tip curiously. There were a few times in the past she asked him for one of his arrows to try it out for herself, and, while he was interested in the possibility to have a new archery buddy, he was a little less than reluctant to leave one of his trick arrows to a magicat who didn't seem to like them at the time.

Especially after the small hole she created in the outer walls as a result.

"You guys, you..." Her ears lowered in disgust with herself. "You guy's didn't-"

"And here." Glimmer offered her own gift, putting it in Catra's other hand. It was a small pink book, one that Catra recognized all too well.

"A... diary?"

"Your diary, now." Glimmer corrected with a sincere smile. "It used to be mine until recently. For some reason I can't seem to find my key around here?"

"Uhh..." She was thankful the three were too preoccupied with the incoming assault. Otherwise, she would've easily spotted the nervous look on Catra's face. "Y-Yeah, can't imagine where that went. But why are you giving this to me?"

"So you can keep a record for yourself."

"No, I mean... W-Why don't you keep it? You never know when you'll need to update it, right?" She offered it back with a questionable smile.

"Heh, Catra..." The princess turned her eyes away with her own small smile around her face. "You know I won't be needing it after this, right? Even if we did win, there wouldn't be much to write about it without the three of us, right?"

"Mmh..." Oh, great, more things to add on to her guilt! While she was at it, why doesn't she just add to the fact she needed a kidney transplant that Catra happened to be the only available donor for?! "I... I can't take thi-"

* _tug-tug_ *

Catra blinked. They were the most insufferable people she had ever met. There wasn't one day in her life where they didn't do something to annoy her, whether good or bad. It usually ended up being the former, not that it mattered much to the magicat in question. They always had to go on about being nice to her, always trying to encourage her when she was feeling down, reminding her that they would always be by her side.

Hugging her with both their arms around her tightly for a final goodbye. What kind of horrible people were they?! Did they think this was any easier for her on her end? Do they think she needed all this encouragement to get out of this place? Were they trying to do everything in their power to push her away?

What good was she anymore if she was going to leave them? They had no reason to be friends with her, none that Catra could see. And yet... they continued to accept her, no matter how much of it was her fault. They just saw her as a friend, the way Adora used to see her, except when she abandoned them they didn't appear to be turned away or feel like they were abandoned.

They just smiled, and hugged her.

A hug she couldn't return with her arms pinned to her side.

"We're going to miss you, Catra." Glimmer said with a small sniffle. Catra was doing everything she could to maintain her composure, to pull in the tears forming in the corner of her eyes.

"It's gonna be hard to find another friend like you, Catra." Bow added, throwing her a smile as he and Glimmer pulled away. They didn't seem the least bit bothered at her pained expression, or call her out on it.

"...Why..." Catra squeezed her fist, hiding her anger. "Why aren't you guys trying to stop me?" She had a small growl behind her voice, the hairs on the end of her skin sticking up as she shook.

"Trying to stop you?"

"You know, stop me!" Catra yelled back, her sadness hidden behind a wall of anger. "You should be throwing me in chains, dragging me to the battlefield! This isn't even a time to be nice to me about all this! You should be angered with me, disgusted with me! If you guys were abandoning me instead, I'd never forgive you. So why... why can't you do the same?"

"Because it wouldn't be fair to you, Catra." Glimmer replied, her response catching her off guard. "You told us yourself. Since day one, you've been forced to do everything you didn't want to, that you've been tricked into doing someone else's work."

"So we figured, for once in your life, that we'd give you the choice this time around." Bow's addition to the news didn't bring her any more comfort, only pain. "We want you to be able to make a decision for yourself for a change, Catra. Whichever way it goes, we'll support it."

"To decide... for myself?" She... wasn't sure what that meant anymore. All her life, everyone, everything, has told her what to do, now that she thought about it. She was told to serve for the Honor of Grayskull, she was told how to best help the Rebellion during their missions, she was told what to do for training every day of her life, and now... she was given a gift she never realized she was without.

A choice.

"... You guys-"

* **BOOM!** *

The castle shook violently following the sound of an explosion. All heads turned to the ceiling as the castle shook all around them.

"The Horde's here!"

"We need to go." Glimmer directed to Bow, the archer nodding as he sprinted on ahead of the hallway. With a final look to her departing friend, Glimmer gave her a simple smile and a wave, silently wishing her the best of luck as she took off.

Catra didn't even have the time to raise her own hand up in farewell. All she could do was stare silently until Glimmer was out of view, and keep on staring.

So... this was how it was supposed to end, right? She'd get on the horse, she'd fly away, and that'd be the end of it. The Queen said it herself, as long as She-Ra was alive, there was hope. So... she'd be doing them a favor if she left... right? Leaving would've been the best thing she could've done for the group! She-Ra would survive, the world would keep on living, she could come back to fight another day after enough training, and everything would be better for it! It would be the best thing she could do, it was the only thing she could do, it was... it was all that she... she could...

"...Ngh..." Moaning, Catra dropped the diary to the ground as she backed herself up against a wall, slumping against it until she reached the ground. "What am I supposed to do...?"

If she helped the Rebellion, she'd lose any change to make amends with Adora.

If she left, she'd be turning her back on her current friends.

If she foolishly tried to assist Adora thinking that it would make up for everything, knowing that would never work, she'd be betraying the two greatest friends she's ever made since joining the Rebellion, the people who treated her more like family than any of her so-called "friends" ever did in the Horde!

No choice was simple for her. They would all leave to pain. Her choices came down to what is good and bad, what is her interpretation of what made them good and bad, and which ones would leave her with the most and least amount of pain afterwards. And the greater the *good* choice seemed, the more painful she knew it was going to be for her.

* _whomp_ *

She turned her head as she saw Swift Wind sitting to her right, not paying much care over the details of it or his reasoning. "Can I help you?"

"I don't know, but maybe you could help this friend of mine?" He teased. "She's about yay-height, has wonderful friends she can rely on, likes to lick her feet~"

"Heh heh heh, aren't you funny." She laughed in an obvious sarcastic tone, shaking her head to him as she curled up her legs.

"Catra, why is this so hard for you to decide? Just help your friends!" The horse tried to look the magicat in the face, only for her to turn away forcefully. "I know you care about them, don't forget we have a bond here."

"Well if we have such a  _bond_  as you describe, you should know why I can't!" There were too many things plaguing her at once, not enough time to confront them all.

"Actually, no, I can't know. Personally, the situation seems easy to figure out. I don't know why you can't, Catra."

"Because it's my fault this is happening to begin with!" How many times was she going to have to say this before it finally got through to someone?! "All of this is happening because I treated Adora horribly! I never went back for her and that caused her to get corrupted, I try exploring the First Ones ruins by myself and gave Adora access to what started all of this, and now she's going to wage war on our home just to get back at me!"

"I thought you said you accepted all of that though and were willing to continue being She-Ra?"

"I am! But I didn't think it would mean I would have to jump in headfirst and fight Adora within the same day!"

"So you'd prefer letting everyone else take the fall while we just run away?"

"No!... But..." She could feel the corner of her eye starting to tear up a little. "If I help one side, I lose a friend. If I help the other side, I lose a friend. And if I cut down the middle and don't help either of them, I lose everything. I'm... I'm scared, alright? I'm scared because I don't know what will happen after this, and I don't want to find out." It was one of the few times in Catra's life she was honest with her own emotions, and it didn't bring any sense of comfort to her like the previous times.

The world was literally falling apart around her, both, her own, and the actual world itself. Every side seemed to be playing against one another and she was caught in the middle of all of it. She was scared at the reality that she was facing, she was worried about how much pain she was going to be in when all of this was over.

For the first time she didn't know what to expect from the world... and she was frightened about it.

* _Sllllllllurp_ *

Catra twitched an eyebrow in disgust before glaring twitchy at the horse who slobbered all over her, fresh drool dripping from her face. "Dont. EVER. Do that again!"

"Well it was the only way I could try your tears without hitting you with my wings or smacking you with my hooves. Now I need you to answer one of my questions, Catra. Why aren't you helping your friends?"

"I told you, I'm scared, okay? I don't know what to do, all I know is that it's going to hurt no matter what."

"Then why not just stick around so you would at least have somebody to have your back when it's over?"

"Because it makes me weak, all right? I was a weak little girl who always relied on Adora to fix her problems, and then I started taking advantage of all that, and now this is happening. All I'm doing is repeating the same mistakes all over again at this rate."

"So... Why not just accept it, and move on?"

"Are you kidding? Because it'll hurt!"

"And you have a whole bunch of friends that'll have your back this time around." If he wasn't getting through to her, he was definitely getting some sort of reaction out of her as she turned away at this, frowning as she lowered her head to her knees. As gently as he could, he wrapped an unfurled wing around her, pulling her closer as she did her best to ignore him. "Catra, I know it's going to hurt. You might be in more pain than you've ever been in, and it's not going to get any easier for you down the road."

Was this his idea of a pep talk, or was he purposely trying to talk her out of helping them? Telling her that it would get worse if she helped was, by no means, a useful, much less, good idea. If anything, telling someone all of their fears, suspicions, and doubts  **would**  come true was the last thing you should ever do!

"But if you leave now, that pain is just going to grow deeper and deeper." He continued. "You'll always be running from a past until you come across the day you can't run away anymore, and then you'll be forced to confront it." With a solemn look in her eye, she stared into his, the horse surprisingly smiling at this. "If you want to limit the pain now, you're going to have to confront your past head on while you still have people that'll have your back. Otherwise... you might lose everything you didn't even know you had, and there will be no one left to support you."

"..."

Pain.

More Pain.

Even more pain.

There wasn't a solution that came to her that didn't result in pain, only a way to relieve it.

For all that she's done, for all her past mistakes, this was her reality, a road that she created that was coming to a dead end. She was speeding out of control with little to no way out, and it was going to bring her to a grinding halt against her will. Only when she crashed did she have the question she needed to ask most of all.

Who was going to be there to help her out of her wreck?

...

...

From atop the stairs of Bright Moon's entrance, Glimmer and Bow watched. In rows at a time, they watched as dozens of tanks appeared through the trees, making their presence known at the shore. Each one of those tanks alone were enough to destroy the entirety of the castle, not to mention the pillar which housed the powerful Runestone.

This was the last line of defense for the Rebellion. With the guards protecting the castle from the sides, that left the front entrance completely wide open, save for the few members of royalty and soldier, namely Bow, who guarded from the front. If the Runestone fell, then that would be the end of them, even if they pushed the Horde out of their home. They would just come back, more powerful than ever, and there would be no way to defend themselves without the source of their magic.

The sky itself was an ill omen long before this war had began. For the two friends, they knew it was up to them now, as well as Netossa and Spinnerella, to defend the castle from its attackers. Despite how bleak and hopeless everything looked, the two found themselves hoping, that just maybe, this would all work out in the end.

"Well... this is it." Glimmer said, breathing deeply to herself as the two started to walk towards the steps.

"Hey, we'll be alright." Bow tried to encourage, patting her back. "Whatever happens, I promise you we'll make it through this."

"Hmhm, thanks Bow." His optimism was one of his most redeeming traits to Glimmer. No matter how bad something might have seemed or perilous, he was always the one who could smile through it at the worst of times. "I just wish that... you know..."

"Yeah, I know, but we gave her the choice, remember? It wouldn't be right to take that away from her."

"I know, I know. I just... I just wish she would've chose us, you know?" Glimmer remembered all the past times that they helped one another, from saving Catra from drowning, to Catra saving them from Shadow Weaver, and each other from Entrapta's computer virus. There were too many good memories mixed in with the bad, none of which Glimmer ever wanted to forget about. She was prepared to keep all the memories they had of their time together, no matter how saddening some of them were. "Just to... you know... finally hear her call us friends, you know?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I guess, where Catra comes from, you're just unable to, though. I promise you, you did the right thing, Glimmer." If there was anyone she would have at her side in these last possible moments, there was nobody better than Bow... and maybe-

"Glimmer!" Bow quickly interrupted, point out to the distance. Turning back, Glimmer's eyes widened in shock as she saw a familiar figure stepping out from behind the tanks, two as a matter of fact. The two walked into the water of the flat ravine, the tanks staying in their place as the leader of the assault seemed intent on either dealing with the matters herself, or wished to discuss something out in the open before everything blew up in all-out war.

It was the leader of the assault team, Horde Officer Adora, and her friend, Horde Officer Scorpia.

"What is she doing here?!"

"I don't know..." Glimmer replied, noticing how the Force Captain held up a single arm. She couldn't tell what she was doing with it, but based on how the tanks were waiting to attack, she could assume she was giving the order to halt, no doubt wishing to speak about something as she stared back up to them. "But we don't have a choice. We need to buy Catra as much time as she needs to escape from here." It was foolish bout of optimism to think they would be alright to meet her directly, yet it was all they had at this time.

Running across the bridge was the first thing the Queen could see as she walked from her castle. Examining her surroundings, figuring where the two were headed, the Queen bit her bottom lip as she allowed them. She knew her daughter wouldn't listen to anything she had to say if she thought she had to, and that also didn't mean she had to let them go unprotected as long as she stood.

Flapping her wings, the mother flew herself over to the Moonstone of Bright Moon, standing herself under the magnificent stone as she began to focus her energy. There was no telling how much time they would need for, if any, reinforcements to show up, or how long they could hold out on their own. All they knew was that whatever happened between her daughter and the one she went to meet, it would determine how the rest of this war would turn out, and their chances of survival.

With her magic gathered, the Queen of Bright Moon generated a sole barrier over the tower of the runestone, stretching straight to the watery floor below that her daughter and her friend finally reached as the barrier became whole. Reaching the bottom level, the two seeing a small bluish shimmer of the Moon Stone's magic, the two knew to stay perfectly within the confines of the protective magic for as long as this conversation took.

It was there that they were met with the disgusted looking face of a lone blonde girl named Adora, and her protective friend who stood at her side with her arms crossed. With the barrier spread a good twenty feet around them, the four slowly approached one another, Bow drawing his arrows as he and Glimmer remained within the shield as a precaution.

"Princess." Adora scowled, still donning the headband since she began her betrayal to Shadow Weaver.

"Adora." Glimmer retorted, giving her own look of irritation as well.

"..." She paused as she stared back at Bow. "...I'm sorry, who are you?"

"You should at least get to know the people you kidnap, you know!" Bow grumbled, feeling a little ashamed she didn't take the opportunity to know his name.

"Whatever. I'm going to ask you two this once, and then you're going to tell me the truth. Then, I decide if I let you live or not, got it! Tell me where Catra is. Now!"

"Oh, now you care?" Bow spat. "You didn't seem care much about her when you left her in the First Ones ruins."

"I know. I also know she's too stubborn to die off when you expect her to. So I'll ask you one more time. Where. Is. Catra!"

What exactly would happen if she told them the truth? Would she be willing to stall for several minutes thinking Catra could escape in that short amount of time? Would she press on the attack right away? Every second they had provided Catra another second to fly on out of here, assuming she didn't as they were running down the steps of the tower, and they had to take it. "Catra's-"

"Already gone." Bow lied, much to Adora's annoyance. "She left the moment we got to Bright Moon. Something about you tearing her heart apart, unable to cope with her feelings. Ring any bells?"

"Tch, heheheheh, you're seriously aren't you?" A smirk crossed Adora's lips as she let out a mad fit of giggling, not caring as she refused to keep her emotions repressed. "Hah! That's a good one! Catra has feelings?"

"Yeah, she  _ **does**_!" Glimmer snapped back. What did Catra ever see in this girl that was so friendly? "If you were such a great friend to her, like she always said you were, you'd notice!"

The look of amusement turned to a look of disdain as she stared back at the Princess of Bright Moon. Whenever trouble came about, Glimmer was there. Whenever something annoyed her, Glimmer was there. Glimmer was there at the best of times, and the worst of times, and always at the center of EVERY TIME that Catra was involved. Shrugging her emotions off, the two started to watch as Adora pointed back and forth between the two, silently muttering her lips to herself.

"...What are you doing?"

"Deciding which of you I get rid of first." Adora boldly stated. "I never liked you, but I feel like I could make it soooo much more painful for you if I got rid of your archer buddy here." At that, Bow tightened the grip on his arrow, prepared to release a shot at the slightest twitch.

"You can forget about getting either of us. You're not getting passed this barrier." Glimmer retorted, earning a mere grin from the Force Captain.

"Oh, that's adorable."

"What?"

"Heh heh... you think I'm on the outside of it." With a flash of her headband, raising her hand forward, Glimmer had a full second to understand what she was referring to as she gazed at her own feet. From the shallow water, never realizing it as a majority of the land was now covered in darkness, Glimmer realized there was one slightly darker line that connected from where Adora was standing, all the way over to where Glimmer was standing.

She had made her shadows directly under the barrier before it had formed.

* _twang_ *

* _splash!_ *

"Ahhhh!" Glimmer cried out in fear as she was suddenly pulled by her feet, knocking her off of them as she was reeled in hastily towards Adora herself. Bow was caught off guard at the realization as he heard Glimmer scream in terror, lowering his arrows as he watched Glimmer break through the barrier as she crossed it.

"Glimmer!" With a cry, Bow quickly returned his arrow to his bowstring, too little, too late.

"Gotcha!"

* _splash!_ *

"Ugh!" Bow was helpless as he found herself tackled to the ground, the water reaching up to his ears, as Scorpia pinned him to the ground by his with her claws, raising her stinger above the two of them threateningly. Grinning, the scorpion princess thrust her stinger straight towards his head, planning to keep him nice and quiet for the remainder of the war as a nice cell was waiting for him to come back to the Fright Zone. All Bow could do was struggle as he grabbed around the tip of her stinger with his hands, attempting to push her off in vain as Glimmer remained in peril.

The same girl's heart was trembling as she was dragged through the barrier, one that was ripped apart long enough for Scorpia to pass through it after Glimmer's forceful dragging. Pulling the princess in front of her, Adora gave a wicked smile as she watched the princess being dragged in front of her, lifting her into the air when she finally reached her. It was a small effort as Adora continued to torment her, using her magic to flip the girl right side up again, this time wrapping a strong shadow over Glimmer's throat, listening to the princess struggle for breath as she pulled at the shadows for dear life.

It was time to get some much needed payback.

"I'll ask you for the last time, and I mean," Adora repeated, this time growing a large blade-like shadow in her right arm for emphasis, "the  ** _last_**  time. Tell me where Catra is while I'm still in a good mood, and I might let the both of you rot in a cell for the rest of your life."

"Nghhhh!" Glimmer grumbled, trying to breathe. "Y-You know, back in the ru-ruins... for a s-sure friend who hates b-being abandoned... you sure don't s-seem... seem to mind doing i-it... to Catra!"

There was no amusement on Adora's face at this. No anger, no jealousy, no confusion, no care, no nothing. She just gave the most bored expression she has ever given in her entire life.

"...You know... I reeeeeally wish I did this when we first met." With a sinister smirk, the ends of Adora's skin twitching with goosebumps of excitement, Adora pulled back her blade as the princess closed her eyes fearfully, preparing to relieve all her troubles, and this princess from her head, all at the same time-!

" _ **ADORRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**_!" A single voice echoed throughout the valley as all eyes and ears lifted from whence they were. Dropping the princess to the ground instantly, Glimmer rubbing her sore throat as she panted heavily for breath, all heads slowly turned to back to the top of the archway across the bridge, the very spot they could see the one person each of them called out to.

" **Catra!** "

Catra stared at her sword as she brought it to her head. This was it. All that she's done, all that she's been fighting for, has lead to this moment. She didn't want to fight her friend with every fiber of her being. If surrendering to her would instantly make Adora forgive all her past transgressions, she would do it in a heartbeat. But the Adora standing before her wasn't showing any mercy to her allies, nor the people she came to consider friends.

She was going to hurt them unless she did something, here and now.

With a sigh, Catra followed her sword as she raised it to the heavens, prepared to recite the ancient incantation that have her her powers.

"For the Honor of-!"

* _ **BOOOOOM!**_ *

"Noooo!" Glimmer cried out in tears, unable to believe what she had witnessed.

It couldn't have happened. Someone had to tell her what she saw truly didn't happen. Before Catra could finish her verse, from what they could hear anyway, one of the many tanks saw this as an opportunity that was too good to pass up, one that couldn't be let to waste. Against any orders that may have come previously, one of the surrounding tanks fired heavily on the girl, landing a direct blast on where Catra stood.

"W-What happened?" Bow asked, unable to see from where he lied as he continued to push the tail away from his face.

"Catra..." Glimmer's eyes watered heavily as she saw the smoke slowly dissipate from the stairs. All that remained of the once obnoxious friend to the friend who was wrought with turmoil, nothing was left that remained of her. No sword, no hair, not even a simple tiara like she used to wear. All about Catra was gone.

Everything about her was gone.

"Catra..." It lasted for only an instant. For an instant, a small twinge entered Adora's heart, one that was unfamiliar in the large scope of things, and one that disappeared as she shook her head from the sight of the destroyed archway, grinning back to the princess who continued to cry over spilled milk. "Ah, well, that was faster than I expected." She ignored the tears that drained from the princess's eyes, and one of her own, as she created another large blade-like arm on her opposing side. "You shouldn't cry too much,  _princess_ , because pretty soon, you're going to meet her a-"

-aaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

* ** _CLANG!_** *

With a thunderous howl, having a sheer moment to block herself with both her arms, the shocked Adora stared up into the eyes of her former friend's enraged gaze, seeing the fire burning in her eyes as she held the sword in one hand.

She resembled nothing like the Catra she once new. Her tiara had more of a golden color to it and was slightly slanted upwards, her previously red outfit was replaced with something much whiter, and her wrist were covered in golden bracelets that protected her, all culminating to the form that she had donned.

For Catra, it was the same appearance she was used to. There wasn't anything special about it, and there wasn't anything new to it compared to her original She-Ra transformation. If anything, she might have felt a little bit stronger, though it was barely negligible compared to how strong she usually felt when she transformed into this 1/4th She-Ra form.

This was still a new form that Adora had yet to witness before, the infamous hero of the Rebellion that was known as She-Ra.

* **WHAM!** *

"Agh-!" Adora cried out as she was slammed away.

With her momentum caught off guard, dropping to the floor in front of her as she continued to stare at Catra in a state of confusion, the magicat took advantage of the opportunity as she continued her attack. With one fell swoop to the ground, Catra ducked under her as she flipped the sword in her hands over to its flat side, slamming against Adora's torso like a baseball against a bat as she bashed her a good thirty feet away through the air, the Force Captain growling as she failed to return to her footing as she kept rolling until she came to an end, a few bangs of her hair dangling in front of her growling eyes.

"What the-?"

* _BASH!_ *

"Oof-!" Scorpia let out a sudden crying yelp as she was tackled out of the way sooner after, too distracted by her friend's sudden attack to notice the charging alicorn that crashed into her. In one solid strike, the horse let out a whinnying cry of honor as he slammed against the scorpion princess, knocking her far off Bow, flaring his nostrils angrily as he stood over his fallen comrade protectively.

The two Force Captains were now outnumbered up close, with the horse helping Bow off the ground with his wings, and Glimmer staring in awe at the holy figure that had just saved her. Her tears drying up, Glimmer had never been so happy before to see her friend safe and sound in front of her very eyes, especially after what she heard her say next.

"Stay away from my friends, Adora."

The Battle for Bright Moon had officially begun...

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**A/N: Yeah, I know, so the battle "officially" starts next chapter, but I'm all the more for it in my case ^^ I got loads of actions for you guys coming up as we near the LAST 2-3 chapters of season 1 :D! I only hope I can keep it as epic as you guys know and love it as we get our rematch and our grand finale! What will happen? NOBODY KNOWS! (except me XP lol)** _

_**Anyway, shoutout to everyone who's loved and supported this series and made it the highest reviewed She-Ra fic on this site ^^ You guys all do me the honors! With that said, hope you all enjoyed!  
** _

_**Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed, and hope to see you soon!** _


	51. Season 1 Finale: No Happy Endings Part 3

_**A/N: Hooftah! What is going on peeps! Hope you guys had a nice weekend and a Cinco de mayo for those celebrating it! Had a few snags to deal with this weekend and an issue or two here and there, but overall I think this came out rather well all things considered ^^** _

 

_**This also might be one of my more quirky/silly opening lines to an episode's chapter, which I hope you guys enjoy because it'll be the last warmy feeling we get through the rest of the season....** _

 

_**Anyway, enjoy!** _

_**...** _

 

_**...** _

 

_**...** _

 

None of those present here could believe their eyes, half of them still recovering from the tackles and slams they had personally experienced from their enemies as they got back to their feet.

All of this had began with one, single, girl, known as Catra. When she touched the Sword of Protection, it had changed everything. It began an epic tale of adventure that brought her across the world of Etheria, in a way that she had always dreamed of, yet not in a way that she had always hoped.

She got to experience the many wonders of the world she was always secluded from, unaware of as she was raised within the confines of the Horde. From the harrowing and deadly seas as she traveled across Salineas, to the magical realms of Mystacor, the magic capitol of the world that housed a variety of sorcerers and sorceresses from all around the world. This was a freedom she had never gotten to experience in all her life, and she had the chance to see the world and all it had to offer her!

The only setback that kept it from being the way she hoped for- it wasn't with the friend she thought she'd be sharing the experience with.

That girl's name was Adora. Friend, ally, Force Captain of the Horde. The very person who's live she ruined and took advantage of throughout most of their childhood, one of the best friendships anyone could ask for. She was always by her side, protecting her and helping her through most of her problems, and never returning that assistance unless it helped Catra out in any way.

This wasn't the way they were supposed to meet each other here. They were supposed to be on the same side, as they always were! They were best friends who had each others' backs! Before Catra found the sword, she was supposed to either be a simple soldier following orders, or finding some way raise through the ranks so she could be a fellow Horde Force Captain, fighting alongside Adora with the Rebellion.

All the same, she was also supposed to be fighting with Adora  _for_  the Rebellion. After everything she found out from Light Hope, she was supposed to be giving Adora the sword in her stead. She was the She-Ra they were looking for, not Catra. When she gave her the sword, Adora was supposed to be aware of her destiny, and, presumably, turn over to their side and fight against the Horde with Catra. Personally, given her experiences with Glimmer and Bow, she would gladly fight alongside her against the Horde, especially against everyone who tormented her throughout the years.

Now that same friend was glaring her down across from the ravine of Bright Moon, with an army of Horde tanks at her back. Adora's eyes were burning with anger, one Catra could feel blazing across her skin as she glared at her.

Catra never wanted this, honestly. A part of her wanted to do this against her own will, almost wishing the Rebellion was forcing her to do this. Adora was her friend, someone better than Glimmer and Bow had a personal experience with. The monster she became was a result of Catra's own doing, and nothing she could say would change their opinion of her, she knew.

She still wished the options she had were easier to contend with. Originally wanting to run away from all of this, she came to the conclusion that there was only one feasible path, one way to take after another necessary pep talk with Swift Wind, a  **horse** , of all people. He made her realize that the pain she was feeling would always continue to rise the longer she ran away from her past and didn't confront it, and it was only a matter of time before she reached a point where she couldn't escape from it.

She didn't want to confront her past anymore, and she didn't want to lose any friends no matter how this day played out. But after all she's done, everything she's experienced, she's had to come to a grand realization:

Unless she confronted her past now, there would be no one there to comfort her in the end when her past finally confronted her.

Maybe that's why her current She-Ra form was still the same as always. While she might have felt a little stronger, whether or not that was due to her less selfish actions or the fact the inhibitor was officially removed, it still wasn't enough apparently to convince the sword that she was worthy of the  _true_  form of She-Ra. It's not exactly that surprising when it came down to it.

On a whole, she was doing it for her own benefit, to an extent. She was doing this to lessen the pain that she would feel later on in her life, and to prevent herself from suffering an entirely new level of pain. And even though she was going to be rescuing the people she did admittedly care about, it was still with that selfish mindset that kept the sword from granting her its full power.

Nevertheless, she didn't care about it. This was her last chance to save her friends, something she failed to do in the past, and she wasn't going to abandon them again.

"C-Catra..." Glimmer's never been so happy to see her appear, possibly more overjoyed by what she actually called her compared to the last minute rescue she finally preformed. "Y-You... called us friends..."

The small blush on Catra's face as she turned her face with a small curve in her smile all but confirmed it. "Heh... yeah... I guess I did."

"...You pick now of all times to say it?!" Her once cheerful demeanor was soon replaced with utter disbelief and annoyance as she dropped her arms.

"What? I thought you'd be happy!" Cut her some slack at least! She's spent all this time without actually calling the two friends, and after everything they've done for her she thought it was the least she could do! "Better late than never, right?"

"We're in the middle of a war!"

"Well excuse me for thinking it would cheer you up for a change!"

"Well it would have if you did it-!"

"Um... guys?"

"What?!" Bow would have fainted at the sight of the two terrifying girls that glared fiery anger at the young boy.

"Maybe we should have this conversation  ** _after_**  we survive?" He suggested, pointing back to the army of Horde that was still at their doorstep.

"...Fine." They agreed in unison, turning their attention back to the source of the Horde army.

Adora was chuckling on the inside as Scorpia made her way to her side again, grinning that Catra was still alive enough for her to deal with her personally. She was also rather surprised by her change of outfit. Not once did she ever see Catra change her outfit, not even when she was pulling one of her hair-brained schemes. The golden tiara, the bracelets, the white clothes-

She stopped as she stared curiously at Catra's legs, growing a small blush on her face as she removed her headband. "...Catra, where are your pants?"

"I know, right?" Finally, someone who got her! Shaking her head from the small bout of confusion, she drew her sword in Adora's direction, threateningly. "Adora, I'm giving you a chance here. Turn back... please..." Glimmer and Bow were all too aware of the pain in her voice as she said this. From up close, there was a small twitch they could see in her grip of the sword, Catra's stance being unusually off balance compared to normal.

"Turn back?" Adora scowled at the request. "Did you think I would turn away with the entire army just because you said to "turn back"? First you mess up my life, abandon me, and now you're telling me to leave you alone? Tch, you know for the so-called  _friend_  who said they cared about me, you're terrible at showing it."

"I do care about you, Adora." How many times was Catra going to have to argue that? "Do you think I want to be out here right now? Do you think this is any easier on my end? I want to go back to the way things were, Adora, not how they are now."

"...I used to want the same thing, you know?" Lowering the anger in her brow, she turned to the headband grasped firmly in her hand.

"Why did she take off her headband?" Bow whispered over to the magicat, drawing his bow and arrow at the ready.

"I kept thinking everything that was happening since you left was a bad dream, and you were going to be there the very next day." She shared in the guilt of Catra's departure, how unaware she was that it would lead to her defection. Until recently, she wished she could go back to that day every second of her life, and either go with Catra like she should have, or stopped her from leaving in the first place. Maybe she would've joined her side and seen what the big deal was about this Rebellion, or manage to convince her to come back to the Horde like she should have.

With renewed vigor and a sense of anger spreading across her, she squeezed the headband in her hands. "But I'm tired of looking into the past, Catra. I'm sick of being the only one who wants to go back to those days, the only one who's tried to fix things. I'm tired of you, Catra."

"So now, I'm moving towards the future." With a stern look in her eyes, the captain grabbed both ends of the headband firmly. "One where the Horde rules all, and the world is united."

"The Horde doesn't want to unite the world, Adora! It just wants t-"

...

_"Are you okay?!" Glimmer kneeled to her side quickly as she helped pat her back._

_"Ack-! Ough...I'm...ough... I'm fine..." Catra rasped, her voice a little sore from the salt water she forcefully inhaled. Looking around her various things began to dawn on her._

_First off, these visions were a world renowned pain at this point. After her experience a minute ago, she could officially state that when and if these visions appeared were unpredictable. During the few times she's had said visions within the last week before this mission, she had the fortune of them not popping up unexpectedly or inconvenient times. At most, she probably found herself having a vision once or twice in the hallways for several seconds._

_Now she was realizing that it didn't matter what she was doing or where she was when these visions occurred, and that could prove very problematic in the future._

_Secondly, her She-Ra form went off way too early compared to last time. There officially had to be some bug with this stupid sword at this point because the second time she went She-Ra, she found herself in her state for nearly a full day, twenty-four hours to be exact. Here, she lasted maybe several minutes before it wore off, and that's not including whenever it passed off while she was having a vision._

_Lastly she realized..._

_"Y-You guys... saved me?" For whatever reason to her, this apparently warranted the two to smile back to her._

_"Of course we saved you," Glimmer said brightly, "we're a team!"_

_"Yeah! The Best Friend Squad sticks together!" Bow declared._

 

...

 

"Agh!" Catra let out a groan as she clutched her head, wobbling a step forward as the migraine passed as quickly as it came.

"Catra?" Glimmer ran over to her side with Bow, worry in both their eyes. "What's wrong?"

"I..." Her feet were the only things wet at this point, compared to the vision she just had. "I... I just had another vision..."

This was far beyond any sort of vision she's had up to this point. Most of her visions came from the far pasts of her childhood, the memories surfacing within weeks to months of each other, and always taking place in the Fright Zone. According to Light Hope, these were supposed to fill her with a sense of peace of some sort, to help her calm her heart in order to better use the sword, and strengthen her connection to it.

The recent vision she just had was the farthest thing from what she was used to. It wasn't anything too horrendous, save for what happened right before it, and it didn't really give her any sense of peace. As far as she remembers, she nearly drowned to death on that day, and Glimmer and Bow saved her. It was kind of hard to forget since it lead to Catra fulfilling her promise to Glimmer after she, presumably, helped her transform into She-Ra, followed by the immediate week she went without talking to her out of anger.

What was the point of this sudden vision, though? Thinking about it, her visions happened whenever the sword was around her, so it was easy to assume that the sword was the one who gave her the recent vision, as Light Hope stated. But what was the purpose of it just now? Why show her a random vision out of nowhere in the middle of all this? Even the one that almost made her drown had more sense to pop up than this one did! Least that one was after she killed the giant sea serpent.

If her past visions were trying to tell her how to find a sense of peace, what was this one trying to tell her?

"You had one now?"

"Catra, are you sure you're able to fight?" There was no way he or Glimmer could save Catra in the middle of this war. If Catra ever was in peril in the midst of all this, nobody would be able to save her, and Bow couldn't risk that.

"Y-Yeah, I'll be fine." Catra shook the fuzziness out of her head before returning her attention to a threatening Adora. "Adora, it's like I was trying to say. The Horde doesn't want unite Etheria. All it's going to do is cover the world in darkness!"

"Darkness, huh? And what's wrong with that?" It was just like Catra, to always judge people or things because of their differences. Despite how people always treated her the same way, she never let it deter her from how she treated others. "A cloud here, a shadow there. You are one of the last people who should be complaining about the dark side to everything,  **Catra**."

"Adora, that's not what I meant!"

"And I don't care what you meant, Catra! Besides," smirking the Force Captain looked down to the headband clenched tightly in her hands, "I happen to enjoy a little darkness, Catra. I haven't collected any shadows since the Fright Zone, and now..."

Catra silently gasped as it suddenly struck her. Looking to the ground, the mountains, the trees, everywhere, she saw it. The reason Adora was brave enough to come out in the middle of this battlefield with one ally as backup, the reason she took off the headband, the way she seemed intent on spreading the darkness. All around Catra, around Bright Moon, was the very source of Adora's headband's power: Darkness.

And now, the entirety of Bright Moon was covered in a layer, however thin, of it.

"No..." She steadied the grip on her sword, uneased by the tension filling the air and the battle she knew was about to unfold. "She's going to draw the shadows from this place!"

"No she won't!" Tightening his own grip on his weapon, Bow steadied the arrow in full, taking aim directly at the headband itself in an attempt to pry the band straight out of Adora's hands in a clean shot. Slowing his breath, in one quick motion, Bow fired the arrow directly between Adora's raising hands and the open air behind her, firing it as swiftly as the wind as it was launched directly towards the Force Captain.

Only for Scorpia to grab it a few feet away from Adora with one claw.

"No you don't." She sneered, clipping the arrow in half with her strong claws. By the time she pulled her claws back, the rest were met with the sight of a mischievous grin plastered on Adora's face as the headband was lifted to her forehead, tied tightly around her head with the assurance that it wouldn't come off without consent.

And her transformation had begun.

All around them, from the waters to the forest, everything began to shake violently as a strong gust blew through the valley. Looking around them, Catra could see the trees as the leaves were pulled off by the wind itself, the branches cracking under the force of the massive draw. From every crevice and every source of darkness, from the smallest hint of shades to the biggest source of shadows, Adora drew in every source of shading she could, squeezing her head a bit as she pushed passed the pain that followed.

This was unlike any source of shadows Adora had gathered previously in the past. Before, all she gathered the first time was during a setting sun over the Kingdom of Salineas, the kingdom flourishing with pure shadows from all around the buildings that the sun had provided, followed by the darkness that could be pulled from the ocean's murky depths. It didn't matter if they couldn't tell just how deep or how far the range of her shadows could pull from, it provided more than a match than Catra was capable of fighting against.

The other times she had done it was during her own personal training. With the Fright Zone being the epitome of cruelty behind it's lies and manipulations, shadows ran amok across the land, the skies being filled with clouds of darkness and the corridors bright enough just for day to day labors. She drew in the average amount of shadows that she could from the zone, harnessing them and modifying her own shadows in a variety of different forms and uses.

The one common string they all had along with them was that they were limited by the amount of shadows they could produce. With an average quantity to pull from, Adora managed to pull them into all sorts of things between gargantuan clawed arms to blades capable of stretching up to twenty feet away.

Now, she was at the epicenter of an entire land filled with shade and darkness, one that was rushing into her like a whirlpool.

From every angle and every side, they watched as the shadows beneath their feet and from environment pulled towards Adora endlessly, moving like a wave across the solid ground, as it coalesced into a singular point. Under Adora, the blonde Force Captain watched as the shadows pooled around her, growing a deepening darkness that slowly began to spread around her in size and mass.

It was no surprise to her as the shadows began to grow around her body itself, the blackness churning with power as they rose across Adora's body. She closed her eyes in anticipation and calmness, the once unbearable pain of this rush of power feeling like nothing more than a warm breeze blowing across her person. She was used to this power, she was prepared to embrace everything it had to offer if it meant winning this war, and the results continued to satisfy her as her power continued to mount.

Reaching the top of her head, covering her in pure shadow, the power still didn't appear to be slowing down as it drew over the girl. The power continued to amount without pause as it began to spread across her surroundings a good seven feet in radius. In a circle, the others could only watch on in terror and wonder as the shadows rose out of the ground as it spiraled all around Adora, spinning like a twister as it began to levitate the girl off the ground a few feet, continuing to fill it's master with it's dark power.

Catra was trembling a little bit as she watched this, her animal instincts telling her to be afraid like Swift Wind appeared to be as he lowered his ears. This was unlike anything she, or the rest of them at that, have ever witnessed before. They weren't just witnessing someone harnessing the powers of their surroundings for their own benefit, they weren't using it to attack anyone that neared them to keep themselves out of harms way.

This was the power of a Princess, one who now appeared to have mastery over the darkness as it began to float the girl back to the ground where her feet were firmly planted, her top half slouching over as her arms dropped ahead of her. The darkness began to dim around her, revealing the form of Adora once more. They didn't hear a plea or cry of pain, they didn't hear any bouts of laughter at the overwhelming power, and they didn't hear anything other than the wind that continued to push passed everyone's head.

Until it happened.

* _Crack_ *

All at one, Adora's right shoulder twitched violently. It was only for a second, long enough for everyone to see her throw her arm back and forth. A crackling that almost sounded like bone being misplaced, Adora's fingers started twitching back and forth as her right shoulder spasmed out of control. The Force Captain kept her head lowered as the ponytail of her hair practically broke itself free out of her hairband, the hair willing its freedom from the bounding leather as the ends of her hair started to flow around her.

Instinctively, the rest took a single step backward, feeling something big was coming towards them from the stationary captain. Adora had never felt such a rush of power before in all her life. Instantly, her emotions were swarmed with an everlasting sense of calmness and peace, feeling like nothing could possibly harm her in any such way. She barely felt anything as something suddenly sprouted from her back along her right shoulder blade, grinning as she felt her hair wave around with the power that filled her entire body.

It's no wonder Shadow Weaver was always so obsessed with power if this was the peacefulness she always felt!

While she didn't turn around herself, she could see perfectly clear in the water what had popped out of her back, and she didn't care. She didn't care as four massive shadowy thick tentacles sprouted on each side of her back, from both her shoulder blades and both sides of her abdomen, stretching out nearly a foot thick to the tip, and as long as her body in length. All four of them gave off their own sinister aura of darkness, small spores of shadows emanating off of them as they wiggled around her back. And the transformation didn't stop there.

In the water, she saw it. Like a majestic wave washing over her hair, one strand after the other, she watched in glee as the left half of her hair, from the front all the way to the back, right down the middle, started to darken until it was completely black, clashing perfectly with the right half of her hair that maintained its constant blonde glow, and the red that became her irises as they changed color.

There was little care she had for the small shadowy claws that manifested at the tip of her fingers, feeling her shadows were ready to spring into action instantly whenever she needed to form something.

With this, the transformation was complete. There was no pain as the tentacles burst from her back, since they didn't actually come out of Adora herself. All the shadows that were too much for her body to personally maintain sprouted from these places of origin, allowing Adora to expel the excess magic without injuring or harming her own body. And with a wicked smile, she slowly leaned her head up, looking directly at Catra.

The traitor.

The ex-best friend.

The enemy.

And now she had an entire assortment of powers to play with.

"Guys," Catra spoke at long last, keeping her attention on her abominable friend, "run."

"What?" Glimmer must've misheard her, right? There's no way Catra was suggesting she was going to take on Adora by herself, right?

"I said run-!"

* _crackckckck_ -!*

Before Catra could sputter her warning again, she was dragged forcefully against the ground by a massive tentacle wrapping around her right leg, through the ground, as she was pulled by Adora's massive upper-right appendage. Catra felt the harsh scrape of the dirt as she was pulled over within seconds, and was tossed hazardously into the woods nearly a hundred feet behind them, passed the mechanical tanks.

It took little to no effort on Adora's part, the half-blonde sneering at how simple the dragging was. All it took for her was mere thought to drag the magicat away from her friends in a mere second, not even feeling it as she normally did with her shadows. This new boost of power kept her from feeling the strange shadows she attacked with, her sense of pain or touch numbed by the raw power that now infested her body.

"I'll take care of kitty, you focus on the Moonstone." Adora didn't give Scorpia the chance to question it, not that she would, as Adora dug the tentacles several yards ahead into the ground. With one solid pull, like a slingshot, she threw herself into the air, the others watching as she leaped into the sky until she landed within the forest, her body hidden by the foliage and trees that encompassed it.

That left the other Force Captain to grin back at her enemies, gesturing with her hands for the tanks to press on the attack. Glimmer and Bow tensed a bit as they prepared for the army of tanks that were approaching them, half of them already charging their cannons as they took aim at the duo and the Moonstone's pillar. They would need to fend off the attacking tanks and mechanical machines with their own two hands as long as Catra was preoccupied with the newly empowered Adora.

Fortunately, they wouldn't have to do it alone.

Sensing her daughter's distress, observing the tanks that were steadily charging towards them, the Queen gathered all the magic she required into the runestone as she began to channel her power. In one large blast across the ravine and its coast, the Queen unleashed a powerful wave of blue magic, blasting all of the tanks away a couple feet, and Scorpia a good distance over the tanks from the blastwave, temporarily immobilizing them as they found themselves either backed up to one another, or the few that were toppled entirely by the Queen's blast.

The Queen would have to be careful not to use too much excess energy as she required it to keep the dome-like barrier around the Moonstone's chamber. It would only take a couple hits from the oncoming tanks to completely destroy the last line of defense Bright Moon had to offer to the Rebellion. It forced Glimmer and Bow to contend with the tanks as she went back to focusing her magic to protect it.

It was all up to them now as they prepared their weapons for an all-out assault from the tanks, ready to defend Bright Moon with their lives. They just hoped that Catra would be all right on her own as she continued to deal with her former best friend...

...

* _shkkkkkkkk_ *

"Gah!" Catra cried out as she crashed against the rough ground on her back, the pain, while mitigated vastly by the new She-Ra form, was intense.

It was also thanks to her She-Ra state that she managed to recover almost immediately from the landing as she jumped back to her feet, the sword still clenched tightly in her hands throughout the landing. That saving grace of recovery was the deciding factor if Catra was prepared for what came next, because no sooner had she gotten back to her feet did she jump away from her landing zone in order to dodge the massive shadowy fist Adora slammed into the ground, digging her fist a good foot into it.

Catra still couldn't believe what she was witnessing. Her friend had gone from the everyday average human into a horrifyingly twisted abomination that was pulling her hand casually out of the ground. "Now why'd you have to move?" Adora asked playfully as the two circled around each other, Catra keeping a good ten-foot distance between them. "It just makes it a lot harder for me to HIT YOU-!

* _ **craskkk!**_ *

She didn't know if her enhanced state also enhanced her reflexes, and she didn't care at this time. In a little under two seconds, the Force Captain charged literally headfirst towards her friend with a powerful headbutt, Catra barely an inch away as she ducked to her right out of the way in time. That didn't stop Adora's charge, however, as she slammed her head against the mighty oak, one of the few hundred trees that had yet to be frozen over, and leaving a perfectly round-shaped dent in the tree's bark.

Catra stared at her at this, unable to believe Adora managed to pull off such a feat of raw power, but was nowhere near as surprised by what followed. Standing place for a good moment, the Force Captain grinned as she turned her head around in Catra's direction, ignoring the small crackling sound the two heard as she did. From the point of impact where her head smacked, a small thin line began to grow around it, spreading across in both directions within seconds until it reached the back of the tree where the two lines connected.

Nothing could surprise Catra more than the sight as the tree slowly started to creak, her ears twitching at the sound of splitting wood, as the tree started to lean towards the opposite direction of Adora. Her eyes were glued to the wayward sight as the tree started to tumble further and further, eventually collapsing over completely onto the ground with a thunderous crash.

Adora barely batted an eyelash at this as she rubbed the right side of her neck, cracking the bones a little as she tilted her head from side to side. For anyone to be able to pull off a show of strength like that, to pound one's head against a solid tree and splitting it in half in the process, wouldn't take anything remotely close to a human's strength to pull off.

It would take a monster.

"How the heck are you still standing after that?" Catra asked in her bewilderment, distancing herself again as she prepared her sword.

"It's a nice little trick I came up with." She replied. Dissipating the shadows around her hands, holding her left arm against her chest, Adora pinched her fingers against the exposed skin from her sleeves. Instead of pulling at the skin itself, Catra blinked as she saw Adora pulling up an entire layer shadow that seemed to be invisible to the naked eye as it touched her skin directly. "I call it "Shadow Armor". Not the most original name, but it has its uses. It's basically like an entirely new layer of skin over my current one, stronger than steel and keeping me from being injured or hurt as a result."

"So you can't feel any pain?" Catra gave a small cheeky grin as she steadied her sword. "Good, then I don't have to feel too bad about hitting you as hard as I can!"

* _clang_ *

The bout of certainty did little to quell Catra's nerves as she blocked the swinging blades from Adora's arms, their heads inches away from each other as Catra struggled to stand her ground as Adora pushed her back. "Ugh, you're always so violent, Catra." Adora teased a she pushed down on the cat.

"Say's the one who brought an entire army with her!" Catra hissed as she pushed back, earning a casual shrug from the abomination.

"Eh, fair point, don't care."

Without so much as a blink, Catra watched as she saw two of the massive tentacle-like appendages from her back solidate at the tip into two powerful, and most of all lethal, spears. The magicat jumped away from the impact site as Adora impaled the two mighty shadows where Catra was standing a mere second ago, barely missing her as one of the shadows nicked the left side of her right foot. It was interesting to see how much distance she could put between the two of them in her She-Ra state, her form enhancing her already superior agility.

Catra knew that if she was going to have any hope in surviving this fight, her speed and agility were the only two advantages she had over Adora.

"How do you expect me to hit you if you keep moving?" Without any care or effort, Adora watched as the tendrils on her back attempted to strike at Catra as she approached her, watching the magicat struggling to keep up the pace as she dodged and deflected one tendril after the other. "It's almost like you  _ **want**  _to live~"

* _clang_ *

"Shuddup!" Catra gritted her teeth as she held all four of the tendrils back at once as they struck the side of her blade simultaneously. Her reflexes and agility were proving very little in comparison to Adora's newfound strength, focusing on keeping the tendrils striking her as her feet were pushed back by the sheer force of Adora's strength.

"Seriously, I would find this extremely sad if I didn't find it so hilarious." Her taunts did nothing to trick Catra into letting her guard down, even though the irritation was building up in the back of her mind. "The big mean kitty cat pretending to play hero, just so she can get some stupid piece of dirt that nobody cared for."

"I thought you cared about it, Adora, okay?"As she said this, she felt her back pushing up against the wall, forcing herself to push the palms of her hands against both ends of the blade in order to keep the tendrils from pushing any closer. "We always talked about being in charge of everything, having everything for ourselves, you know?"

"I was talking about being one of the leaders of the Horde, idiot." Instantly, the playful, quirky, expression that was on Adora's face converted into one of contempt and pure rage as she scoffed, Catra noticing the intensity of the force being pushed against the blade as it neared her head slowly. "I wanted us to stand alongside our friends and family as one of the heads of the Horde, to be grand general or commander that others could look up to, Unlike you, I never once thought of betraying everyone!"

At the sound of her last word, Catra reacted as she felt the intensity of the force lighten, just a little bit, but more than enough for her to counter to this. With one solid push, she shoved the tendrils back a good foot before ducking out of the way, letting the tendrils drill passed her as they broke through the tree they were pinning her to, snapping it in half.

Not wasting a moment to herself, Catra growled as she charged directly for the Force Captain, Adora growing rather surprised by turnabout as she morphed both her arms into the dreaded shadow blades they once were, blocking her incoming strike at the last second and being pushed back in turn like she did with Catra.

Unlike Catra, the She-Ra only managed to push a good two feet until the shadows behind Adora quickly dissipated. Assuming, at first, that something messed with her powers and shadows, Catra soon came to watch as two of the lower tendrils resurfaced again, pushing against the ground behind Adora as they pinned her in place. Meanwhile, the Force Captain grinned as the two higher tendrils formed into a pair of deadly scythes,

"Another interesting detail I learned," Adora began as she reformed her arms back to normal, "is that my own shadows can't hurt me." Catra didn't even need an explanation of what she meant as she felt Adora grabbing both her wrists tightly with a force strong enough to crush a bar of metal in half, her She-Ra form being the only defenses she had against this powerful grip.

Unfortunately for her, crushing her wrists wasn't anywhere near Adora's train of thought. Looking back up, her pupils shranks as she realized Adora had trapped her in her vice grip as she rested the pair of scythes directly above her, intending to swing them downwards in an arc from behind her. Based on what Adora said, she knew her friend wouldn't be affected by the potential guillotine the scythes combined into, but it went without saying that Catra's chances would prove fruitless.

At the sight of the blade beginning it's downward swing, Catra reacted with haste as she grabbed Adora's own arms as it swung. Confusing her momentarily as a result, she became aware of Catra's plan as she suddenly swung herself between Adora's legs right as the guillotine had swung down, imapling Adora as the blade pierced her chest, yet leaving no noticeable injury as a result, like the Force Captain had explained.

That didn't leave her from being attacked in other ways, however, like the way Catra continued pulling her after she zipped between Adora's legs, pulling the blonde off her feet as she spun forward, landing on her back and giving her a small daze as the shadows in her back dissipated.

And still in Catra's own grip as she pried hers from Adora.

From here, assuming Adora was telling the truth about her self-proclaimed "Shadow Armor", the warrior shouted in rage as she lifted Adora off her feet, slamming her in the nearest tree next to her as Adora's body flopped into it like a ragdoll, grunting audibly as she felt her entire back round across the tree. This was followed by another angry roar as Catra did the same with the other tree, this time slamming her stomach into it, and finally throwing her a dozen yard ahead of her as she collided headfirst into the tree directly across from Catra.

It didn't matter if Adora couldn't feel the pain, she knew that taking any blows like that would disorient the girl long enough for her to escape from the fight and return to defending the Moonstone from the invading Horde army. As long as Adora was either unconscious or disabled in some way, she could focus on defending the castle and hopefully save her friends.

She was so wrong about that.

"...Is that it?" Adora mumbled loudly as she casually rose off the ground. Catra didn't know if she should be amazed or terrified as she brushed the dirt off her body as if nothing had happened, smirking back to Catra in amusement over her dumbfounded face. "Really? And here I thought I was going to have a fun time around here."

"Tch, fine by me." Catra tried to maintain her composure while trying to think of a plan. "If you really didn't feel any of that, then I really can hit you as hard as I want to!"

"Hit this, hit that, that's the one thing you were good at in the Horde, you know?" Adora commented as she cracked her knuckles. "You always knew how to give a beating with those mangy claws of yours, and how to scare people who didn't agree with you. Looking back on it, your betrayal shouldn't have surprised me, Catra." The captain's conviction intensified as she drew a single blade over her right arm, the shadows radiating off of it signifying its immense power.

"You really never were one of us. You never listened to other people, you always did whatever you wanted. It's like you really were planning on this from the very beginning, never caring about who you in the process! It was always "attack first, ask questions later", with you. You never tried to understand anything around her." Fed up with her annoying rant about who betrayed whom, Catra lunged straight at the girl as she ran with all her speed, keeping her sword at the ready as she prepared for any sort of counter. "Maybe that's why you were always so easy to-... to..."

"Ngh..." Catra came to a stop ten feet away from her as she noticed Adora's vacant-growing expression, the girl staring off into space as she stared ahead. "Nggghhhh!" Groaning, Adora threw her arms to her head as she squeezed against it, all the shadows and all the darkness around her disappearing as she dropped to her knees. "Agghhhhhhhh!"

"A-Adora?" What was happening to her? Why did the shadows decide to disappear like this? She had never seen her friend like this, never in so much pain, at least with her head. She watched the girl squeeze her head as she groveled in pain, her body shaking incredibly as she panted out of breath, awaiting any sort of reply that sounded threatening or looked like an attack.

"C... Catra?" Adora opened her eyes again, showing a sense of confusion and sorrow in her eyes as she stared at her. "W-Where... Where am I?"

"Ad... Adora?" She couldn't believe it. Right here, from the sweet and sincere way she spoke and the look of innocence in her eyes, she was looking at her best friend once again. The girl didn't appear to have any idea of where she was or why she was here, just that she was scared and confused.

"How... How did I get here?" Catra lowered her ears as Adora hugged herself. "Are we in the woods? Where's the Fright Zone?"

"Adora, is... is that yo-"

...

_"Tch... I... I can't..." Shaking, she hugged herself as her eyes wavered, the fear evident in her eyes and her trembling._

_"What do you mean you can't-"_

_"I mean I can't!" She shouted, refusing to take her eyes off the crystal where she saw the vacant expression in her own eyes. "I... I can't beat her... I can never beat her..."_

_"Why can't you beat her?" It was so bizarre to see her acting like this. She wasn't hallucinating anymore and she wasn't being affected by the paranoia in her mind, Glimmer filling him in after the two woke up from the vibrations of the pillars crashing._

_"Because, I... I can't..." She slowly raised her hands to her head head as her tail dropped lifelessly. "I'm too afraid..."_

_"...Afraid? That's your only excuse? That's the dumbest thing I ever heard!"_

_The sound in his voice was somewhere between surprise and annoyance, never seeming like the person to get irritated so easily since she met her. Raising her head slowly she saw a determined look in his eyes as he smiled to her. "Huh?"_

_"Catra, do you think I'm not afraid right now? Do you think Glimmer's not afraid? I mean look at her!"_

_Turning their heads to the side, they were met with the sight of Glimmer continuing her battle against Shadow Weaver, the princess giving it everything she had. Using her own magic, she fired several shots at the approaching tendrils, dispelling each and every one of them as they neared her, until she found enough time to use her teleporting again. When she reappeared, she was above a surprised Shadow Weaver, the shadowy figure caught off guard as she fired a massive blast at the figure, disintegrating the shadows from where they once came._

_It still proved useless in the run as the shadows gathered near seconds after as they attempted to swarm Glimmer in all directions, Shadow Weaver appearing behind her as she directed the shadows with her hands. Having the advantage of mobility, however, Glimmer teleported again before the shadows touched her, reappearing on top of another crystal at least forty feet above Shadow Weaver, the witch anticipating this as she slid against the walls in her shadows, approaching the girl who continued to fire back._

_"You don't think she's terrified of what she's doing right now? She's risking her life because she's afraid what'll happen to her if she loses, Catra. She's fearing what will happen if she can't save us and Mystacor, and yet she's not letting it consume her or making hasty decisions because of it. She's channeling her fear into hope that she can save everyone no matter how risky things become."_

_"B... But..." It's not like she didn't understand what he was saying, she just couldn't see how it helped her! This was Shadow Weaver they were talking about, the person who made it their life's goal to torment the young girl from an early age! Of course they weren't frightened of her, they have no idea what levels of cruelty existed within her mind._

_"And let me tell you a little something, Catra. I'm always scared." He enjoyed the sight of her eyes refusing to tremble at the statement, seeing her shaking subside into a calmness. "I don't have any fancy powers like you have when the sword works or Glimmer has with her magic. We live in a world where war is tearing the planet apart, a war we have to fight in. Every day I'm terrified something's going to happen to one of us and I'm not going to have the power needed to save us when the situation calls for it. And I still don't let it get to me to the point where I can't do anything."_

...

"Geh..." The vision came back to her again, the same as last time as it didn't display any memories of the far past or a piece of her childhood, but of her pep talk with Bow about Catra's intense fear over her greatest tormentor, Shadow Weaver. That was another thing she noticed with these visions. Aside from how they were nowhere near the time of her previous visions, these ones always left a strange pang in her head and her heart. Assuming that the sword was the cause of this again like before, it left her thinking.

Why? What was it trying to do here? There wasn't any peace she felt at the end of these visions, at least none that she could see, and doing them right in the middle of a war like this? No matter how bad her previous one was, she could not afford to have them randomly appear in front of her during her fight with Adora, knowing one slip up could easily result in her back having a giant shadowy spike sticking out of it!

Luckily, her friend didn't seem to change so much as she hugged herself, looking up to Catra scared and confused as she hugged herself.

"Ca-Catra?" She whimpered, sniffling. "Why am I out here?"

"A-Adora, it's okay!" She couldn't afford to have this stupid sword mess her up now of all times, deciding to plant it firmly in the ground as she made her way over, giving a comforting smile as she kneeled in front of her, placing her hands soothingly over her shoulders. "You don't have to worry, it's going to be alright!"

"What... What are you wearing?" Adora wondered, raising a brow as she checked her up and down. Her attention turned upwards as she shifted her eyes towards her forehead, noticing the red cloth around it and the messy two-colored hair that dangled around it. "What am I wearing? And what happened to my hair?!"

"You don't have to worry about it," Catra replied, brushing a few stands from her eyes, "everything's going to be all right now." She didn't resist as Adora threw her arms over her best friend, being embraced in her lost and confused state, as the She-Ra did as well, closing her eyes and almost getting teary eyed out of pure happiness.

She didn't know how it happened, she couldn't tell why Adora was back to normal, and she didn't care. Adora was back to normal, back to the way she remembered her.

"Catra... I-I'm scared..." Adora trembled. "I don't know what's going on. How did I get here? The last thing I remember was being on the way to Salineas and then nothing. We... We were fighting about something, and then I wore the headband, and I... I... I don't know what's going on!"

"Like I said, you don't have to worry anymore, Adora. I promise you, everything is going to be okay." This was beyond the realms of perfection. It was like a miracle in and of itself.

If Adora had no recollection of what happened, then she couldn't be entirely held responsible for whatever she's done! The Queen would have to take mercy on her for that if she agreed to help them! She would be fighting for the Rebellion and they would finally be on the same side! They wouldn't have to fight each other anymore, they would always be there for each other like they promised, and Catra promised that she would never take advantage of her again like she did.

She finally had a way to atone for everything that resulted in everybody she cared about winning.

"... Fool."

"Gck-! Ack!" Catra coughed hoarshly as she felt nearly a dozen different tendrils wrap around her throat and her chest, pinning one of her arms completely to the side and giving her other one just enough elbow space to reach her arm to her neck, not that it did any good with the intensely wrapped tendrils choking her to death.

From the ground Adora rose, smirking up to her as she got to her feet. From behind Catra could see the numerous shadows protruding from her back that were currently keeping her bound, regardless of whether to suffocate her to the point of passing out or otherwise. Her legs were in no better position as she felt her right one wrapped in two of the large tendrils over and under her knee, with the other one completely wrapped around the knee itself.

Adora had completely tricked her into letting her guard down, to approach her carelessly, and there was no way she could pry herself free from her suffocating fate.

"I really can't believe you actually fell for that." She chuckled, finding the greatest joy in the situation Catra was currently placed in.

"Ak...or...ehhhh..." Catra choked out, the grip on her throat becoming tighter by the second as they wrapped tighter around her neck.

"Oh, Catra, please save me, I have no idea where I am! Boo hoo hoo!" She bellowed with laughter as she held her sides together, almost doubling over from the bubbling chuckles emanating from her stomach. "I can't believe you actually fell for that! Gosh, you're so stupid! In case you haven't noticed, my eyes are still the same color, genius. Do you really think they wouldn't have changed back if I returned to that helpless little girl you took advantage of?"

"Keeh..eck..." The lights in the corners of Catra's mind were starting to dim, the lack of oxygen bringing a numbness to her body as she tried to think of a way out of this mess.

"Seeing the way you tried to comfort me, showing you cared for me, I have to admit, it was a little touching for a few seconds." She muttered, turning her head away in sorrow. "It actually looked like you cared for a moment... like you really did change..." The sadness that filled her eyes were replaced with one of the utmost resentment that a person could display. "But that's the way I used to be, the side you always took advantage of, Catra. I will never let you turn me into the sniveling girl you can manipulate and use. I won't let  _ **anyone**  _treat me like that again!"

"Ghhhhh!" Gurgling in her breath, uncaring as she saw Catra do this, the magicat let out one final hiss as she slammed her fist on Adora's back, the captain staring at her as she felt a small push on the back of her right shoulder, if nothing else, and sneering.

"That was your big plan? A pat on the back?" She taunted, pushing Catra out of arm's reach, taking an extra precaution as another tendril grabbed onto her wrist directly, completely immobilizing her. "Really, Catra, I expected a little more resistance out of you than this. You're almost making me wonder if I should think about regretting what I'm doing. And then, I realized, why should I feel so bad about crushing an ant under my boot? The world's filled with them anyway?"

"-ck... o..." Her senses were starting to grind ever so slowly to ta halt, the lights dimming around her vision as everything started to turn a dark grey.

"Hmm?" Hearing the strange sound coming from her, Adora decided to let up, just this once. Playfully putting a hand to her ear, she blinked curiously as she neared Catra's head, turning her ear in her direction as she loosened one of the suffocating tendrils on her neck. "Say that again, kitty? I couldn't quite catch that."

With the easing force around her throat, she felt a small flow of oxygen entering her lungs again, giving small pants of breath as the lights returned to her. She had no other means to defend herself with aside from this. She was played like a fool by her dear friend, she let her guard down and stupidly lowered the sword, thinking her friend had returned to normal, and left herself up completely open to any form of attack as she embraced her friend in a hug.

Adora couldn't feel pain, and by the looks of it, it was going to take a great amount of force to injure her in any sort of way. There was no telling how much energy she was blessed with after all the shadows came rushing towards her, transforming her entire body into a living weapon, and she didn't care.

If Adora wanted to fight dirty, then fine. Catra knew how to fight dirty too.

"I... said... boom."

"Boom?" Why boom? What the heck did she mean boom for? Did she grow lightheaded much faster than Adora thought she could? Was she spouting whatever nonsense first came to her mind in order to try and confuse Adora? There wasn't even much effort put into her attack. All she did was slap a hand against her back and-!

Adora's eyes quickly widened as she turned her head around. With her new state of power, she couldn't feel any pain. With the Shadow Armor over her acting as a new form of skin, her entire body was well protected as it shielded her from any sort of injury and kept anything from stabbing into her personally. So when Catra slapped a hand over her back, she never felt the small thing being stuck into her back in the process.

Like a single arrow that was currently blinking with a red light around the shaft.

* ** _BOOM!_** *

An intense explosion engulfed Adora as it destroyed whatever tendrils she had lapping around Catra's neck, throwing the She-Ra-in-training a good distance away from her as the fire and smoke exploded in a glorious fashion. The feline was thrown a good distance back as a result of the incredible force of power, up to the very spot she planted the sword as she skidded across the ground. Brushing up to it, she let out a few large coughs as she gathered her breath, rubbing her neck from the soreness Adora instilled with her tendrils.

She was actually quite surprised how big the explosion was as she saw the smoke and ash that was covering everywhere around Adora stood, the cloud of smoke being at least three feet in a radius around her. Her ears were still ringing as she grumbled, rubbing her hand against both ears as she sluggishly got back to her feet.

Having friends was a thing that many people should often strive to acquire because they come with many useful benefits. For one thing, they would always have your back when you need them, even if they weren't there in person. They could be with you in spirit or in your mind, cheering you on from a distance as someone felt the energy their thoughts gave them through their encouragement. With someone at their back, the friend could easily accomplish whatever task lied before them, and face it head on.

In Catra's case, she was grateful for the friends she had that, both, encouraged her, and bestowed upon her their precious gifts, like a certain explosive arrow specially made by a grand archer, one she knew she had to thank by the time this entire fight was over. It proved quite useful as she watched the dust dissipate further, seeing how it spaced her a good distance away from Adora and freed her of her suffocating bounds as well.

It was such a shame, though, that it didn't appear to do much more than that. Finally diminishing completely, Catra steadied her sword as she saw her friend staring back at her, hunched over as a noticeable trail of soot rose from her back. If anyone else had taken a hit like that directly, they would've lost a limb without a second thought, or worse. Despite the Shadow Armor that protected her, Adora would be lying if she denied feeling anything that explosion did to her, feeling a small burning sensation across her right shoulder as a result.

The pain was still manageable, though the feeling was not. No matter how much stronger she was in her current state, she couldn't say that Catra's explosive idea didn't hurt a little.

"Ghhhhhh..." The fire burning in Aoora's eyes were hotter than the explosion that enveloped her a few seconds ago. Catra wanted to play dirty like this? To go all out on her no matter what? Fine. She could be that way. It just meant Adora didn't have to be so merciful in how she ended her, too. "You're gonna pay for that, freak!"

Catra still couldn't believe she allowed herself to be fooled like that by her best friend, to her her guard down so carelessly. To think that someone like Adora, a friend she cared more about than anyone else in the world, would resort to using a manipulative means of trickery like that, was baffling. It only made matters worse when she finally realized why she was having these new visions of hers in the first place.

They weren't telling Catra to feeling a sense of peace or to draw strength from those memories, they were to warn her. They were reminding her that she still has friends that needed her and supported her, not in the ways Adora currently did anymore. If Catra was going to have any chance of beating Adora, then she had to do the one thing she would never be able to do, no matter how painful it was going to be.

She was going to have to let go of Adora.

...

 

...

 

...

 

_**A/N: We're drawing down to the LAST 2 chapters (after this one), AND THEN WE'LL BE AT SEASON 2 PEOPLE :D!!!........after I take a short break from all this work XP Lol...** _

 

_**Here's to hoping you guys have a blast with these last two episodes. Next ones should come out one day at a time, if not two. I plan on having this season FINALLY completed by the end of this week, so even if I'm a day late, expect to see the end of our long and arduous journey verily soon!** _

 

_**Really hope you guys enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!** _


	52. Season 1 Finale: No Happy Endings Part 4

_**A/N: Hooftah! Barely passed the halfway point people and we're still going! What can I say, people? It's the finale of season 1, so of course I got to make it longer/epic for the masses ^^ Since I plan on having a humongous post for the last chapter of season one, we'll either get 3 more chapters after this one or possibly 2 depending, making this a severe and long 6-7 part finale :o!** _

_**After all, how else would I be able to end such a beloved first season other than having an epic climax/fight at the end ^^ One of the fun things about making a war scene in a fanfic out of a single episode- you can make it as epic and long as you want because, heck, its a freaking war XP Especially since its the season finale episode, so i HAVE to make it nice and long.** _

_**With that said, hope you enjoy!** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

* _ **Boom!**_ *

"Haaaaaaah!" Glimmer roared with a battle cry as she jumped to the nearest skiff that was riding straight towards her. The princess showed no signs of fear as she charged the two soldiers head on, headbutting the first one over the helmet, sweeping the second one off his feet with her staff and bashing him away off the skiff with it.

In this small space of opening, the first soldier attempted to get the upper hand over her as he jumped her from behind, pulling the magical staff against her neck in an attempt to restrain her. The princess grumbled angrily as she elbowed the soldier right in the gut, grabbing onto his head and throwing him over her shoulder and off the skiff itself, clearing the skiff of any of the remaining soldiers who retreated in wait for reinforcements.

With the skiff clear, the princess directed the skiff into another of the automated Horde tanks, piloting it at full speed into the monstrous machine and jumping off as soon as the two were intercepting each other's path. With her feet splashing into the water, she turned back in time to see smile victoriously at the sight of the two crashing into each other, exploding in a blaze of glory.

That was another tank down, who knew how many more to go.

* _pew_ *

* _bzzzzt!_ *

"Ahhhhh!" Glimmer cried out in pain as she collapsed to her side. Her entire body was filled with an electrical current, paralyzing her senses temporarily until she collapsed to the ground. Twitching a little in pain, she looked back to see the attacking Horde Soldier who disabled her, the soldier's glee coming off of the soldier as he aimed his stun baton at the girl again, charging it at full blast as he prepared to take the princess out cold.

* _ **WHAM!**_ *

"Ah!" The soldier cried out as he was bashed away by the full force of an enraged alicon, the horse flaring its nostrils angrily as he shoved he soldier a good distance through the air and slamming him against the tree, knocking him out himself.

Flaring his nostrils, the horse checked his surroundings for a moment before turning his attention towards the princess, helping hre up with his wings as she grabbed onto him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, thanks Swifty." Glimmer replied, looking around the surrounding valley.

This, was the Battle of Bright Moon, the last hope for Etheria and the final line of defense between the Horde and annihilation. Glimmer always wanted to place herself on the front lines of a dreadful war, always picturing the way she would heroically charge in with an army of soldiers at her beck and call as she destroyed the robots and machinations created by the dreadful Evil Horde. Now that she was actually in it, it was nowhere near what she expected.

The fact they were in this war at all was nothing short of surprising. Up to this point it had been one large problem after the other ever since the Princess Prom. She's been kidnapped, along with Bow, by Adora and her friend, Scorpia, tortured by the person Catra considered a dear friend, lost her powers after escaping from Shadow Weaver's magical imprisonment, escaped and lost Entrapta's life as a result, spent an entire day trying to hide her bizarre glitching thing the magical bonds left her with, spent another day trying to find Catra, and were now defending her home with their lives as they attempted to combat the evil storm that threatened Etheria.

And that didn't even include what they went through today!

She thought the worst of the problems were behind her now after they returned with Catra. At first, the magicat didn't seem too interested or inclined to help the Rebellion defend their home. Not out of lack of interest or care, far from it. She didn't want to face her friend who she pushed over to the Horde, not after all the guilt and regret she experienced during her time in the Beacon which drove Adora further into darkness. On top of that, she couldn't stomach the idea of trying to help out in their fight and risk exposing herself to danger, which, in turn, would've forced someone to rescue her again and leave them vulnerable to attack.

There were too many dire situations that could've accumulated from it, from one friend getting severely injured, one of their few remaining allies getting captured, or possibly far worse. With all the stress and drama the girl had been facing till now, it was a miracle she wasn't shaking her head while huddling in a corner somewhere, not that Glimmer would blame her after all she's been through.

Thankfully, her hope in her friend bore fruit as she came to their rescue. Catra decided, after long last, and after an intense heart to heart with Swift Wind about her fear of the pain this would bring her, to join them in on their war, literally jumping in at the last second and saving Glimmer and Bow's lives before Adora or Scorpia could do either of them any harm. It was the most noble rescue Glimmer had ever seen, and hopefully one she would never have to hope for again as last second rescues were a lot scarier in person.

Since then, wherever she was now, she was contending with a newly empowered Adora, one who used the vast amount of shadows and shade to her advantage as it empowered her greatly beyond anything she's ever experienced in the past. The power the girl felt was overwhelming, actually forcing her to protrude four tentacle-like tendrils out of her back to keep the excess magic from destroying her body. There was no way in knowing how well she was doing against her newly empowered friend, even with her present She-Ra form. All she could do was hope for the best as she continued her own assault.

As she contended with the Horde Force Captain, the others continued defending the Moonstone with their lives, doing what they could to destroy the tanks and robots that were attacking the Runestone directly. For every tank Glimmer seemed to destroy, a handful of soldiers appeared from the forest. Whenever they fought off a group of soldiers, two more tanks seemed to appear out of nowhere. There was never any end to the onslaught of the Horde army, all it came down to was whether or not they could hold out long enough for Catra to push back the Force Captain and assist with defending the Runestone right after.

"What about you?" Glimmer asked back. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's Catra I'm worried about." He replied, turning in the direction that he could sense her from.

"Catra? What's wrong? Did she get hurt?"

"Not right now, but it's after this fight that has me worried!"

"What do you mea-"

* **Boom!** *

At the sound of another explosion, the two turned back in the opposite explosion as another fight was escalating at the shoreline of the ravine. There, the two could see Bow fighting alongside Spinnerella and Netossa, maintaining an even footing as they ran across the shoreline and destroying any Horde vehicles and tanks they could come strengths worked in perfect tandem with one another as they fought back to back.

With Bow's expertise with archery, he managed to keep the distance between them and any droids with blasters or soldiers with their stun batons, the annoying ones that could be used at a range. His variety of arrows kept the enemy on their toes at all times, disabling some of them with his trick arrows that stuck them with an adhesive sap by their feet, destroying other droids with the many explosive and incredibly durable arrows that he got from Glimmer's armory. With his range he managed to provide ranged support for the two princesses who charged in directly.

When it came to the other two princesses, they could always been seen side by side with each other. within arms reach to ensure the other remained safe. Netossa's enchanted powers allowed her to conjure up several kinds of different nets, ones that managed to disable an entire group of enemies or a whole tank with one cast, leaving them open and exposed for Bow to deal with them when he had the opportunity.

As for Spinnerella, she was the powerhouse of the trio as she charged in to the oncoming troops. With her powers, the enemies found themselves constantly blown back by the ferocious winds she summoned around her, keeping the enemy fire off of them through the sheer force of her magic.

There was no way she would allow anyone to hurt anyone as precious to her as Netossa. Add that to the fact they were invading their Rebellion HQ, and she wasn't going to show any of these Evil Hordelings any mercy! Even as another skiff came charging right at her, she refused to back down as she charged her winds directly, blasting the skiff out of the air and watching with pride as the soldiers came tumbling out of it.

Yet, just like with Glimmer's own experience, the trio found themselves constantly at odds with the invading armies. The difficulty on their end came from the distance they had to close between themselves and any of the tanks that charged directly toward the Moonstone that lied defenselessly, save for the barrier Queen Angella was continuing to maintain. If they didn't come up with a plan to stop them sooner, she would be overrun and defenseless from her attackers.

What's worse is when a handful of droids started to make their way out of the frozen woods, continuing their march towards the Moonstone or its remaining defenders without fear. The blasters these powerful bots were equipped with were on par with that of a tank, possibly even stronger to Glimmer's surprise.

"Are you sure she's the one who's in trouble right now?" Glimmer repeated as she observed the invaders that never seemed to quit.

"Glimmer, I'm telling you, she's going to be a wreck after this." Swift Wind fretted, bashing away a soldier that tried to sneak up behind him with his two back hooves.

"Yeah, you said that before. What do you mean by a  _total wreck_?"

"I mean personally!" With their area cleared temporarily, he looked on in the direction of the conflict in question. "Do you know how hard it was to convince her to come out here in the first place? She couldn't bring herself to leave after you guys left her, and now she's forcing herself to fight because she feels like she has to, not because she wants to."

"B-But we didn't force her to join us, Swift Wind! We gave her a choice, remember?"

"I'm not saying she didn't want to fight with you guys, I'm saying she decided to help you guys and is struggling with her choice. Glimmer, don't you understand what's at stake here for her? If we manage to defeat the invasion, Catra would be cutting all personal ties with her past! That mean would mean she would have to cut her ties with-"

"Adora..." Glimmer could tell immediately what the problem was getting at here.

Adora, Force Captain, ally, and the one person Catra always considered a friend. From what little they managed to gather out of Catra's personal life and history, Adora was the one friend she always had on her side, the one she would always talk about as if they were sisters. She was the one Catra always felt safe and comfortable with, never hiding her comments about the girl or ever thinking about betraying her unless she had absolutely no choice.

Even after rescuing Glimmer from the Horde, the way she had to use Adora's own feelings for their friendship in order to reclaim the sword disgusted her. She was filled with regret, despair, anything negative she could describe herself as in relation to someone who just backstabbed their friend. It was the one instance in Catra's life that she betrayed Adora on a whole nother scale, and she's never forgiven herself with it since.

Based on what Swift Wind was telling her now, she was fighting a physical and emotional battle with Adora as the two continued to clash their powers against one another. With every strike Catra attempted to swing with her sword, another part of her was being cracked as the reality of the situation worsened. For every hit she took from Adora, she felt another piece of their possible friendship beginning to shatter.

Adora was the only thing Catra cared about next to a kingdom, and if she lost that, there was no telling what she would do or how she would be.

"...It's fine." The calming reply from the princess surprised Swift Wind a little, blinking as he stared back at her. She appeared to have a look of determination on her own face as she squeezed her fist, looking prepared for any eventuality that was to come. "If Catra breaks from this, Bow and I will be right by her side like we always are." She said with a small, warm, smile. "I'm not going to force Catra to choose between her friends if she can't, but we'll be ready in case she has no other choice. And we'll bring her back up again no matter how painful it is for her, like we always do."

Swift Wind was amazed by the resolution of her response. To speak with such certainty in her tone, with a calmness covering her face and a strict determination in her eyes. She had all the makings of someone who would grow up to be a powerful leader one day, a Queen at that. While it didn't make the situation any less worrying or easy, it did sound like she had a set goal in mind as Swift Wind nodded back to her, with a relaxing sigh through his nostrils as he did.

"I hope you're right about this." He commented, raising his head towards the others as he saw them approaching.

 _So do I..._  It would be a lie to say she was one-hundred percent convinced that she could pull something like easing Catra's pain when this was over. Whenever her past was brought up in some way, it was always followed by a pound of pain and inner turmoil, the scars on her past continuing to haunt her in the present. There was no way to tell what would happen to her or how she would be. She just knew that they would be right by her side to help her up again like they always were.

And she prayed that would be enough.

"Glimmer!" Bow panted as he and the princesses arrived, holding his knees as he regained his breath. "There's no end to them, they just keep coming!"

"We're not accomplishing anything by meeting them at the shore like this." Netossa added, glancing over at the sound of tanks roaming through the woods. "We need to take them out faster."

"I know. We need to cover more ground than we are now." Glimmer stated, watching as another skiff flew passed them a hundred feet away. "We need to cut them off at the coast and at the ravine."

"We should split up, then." Bow informed, his years of fighting and experience making his mark. "Glimmer and I will hold off what we can at the ravine itself. Netossa, see if you can keep them slowed down while we fight them off. And Spinnerella, we need you on defense protecting the pathways to the Moonstone directly. You're the second fastest between us for now, so you can close the distance along the different pathways." The aforementioned princess gave a nod in agreement and understanding.

"What about me?" There was no way Swift WInd wanted to find himself left out of the fun and the Horde bashing.

"Do you think you can run support between the four of us?" Bow suggested. "You can cover the most ground out of all of us, and you're the only one who can reach anyone if we need help."

"As long as I get get to break a Horde machine with each trip, I'm ready."

The group nodded to one another in unison before racing to their assigned destinations. Splitting up might have been one of the more reckless ideas in terms of safety, but they had little choice in the matter anymore. The Horde continued to flood Bright Moon along with the terrible storm that was risen over them, with neither of the two seeming ready to back down or turn away.

There was no way to tell how this day would path out by the time it was over. The Rebellion would be victorious and push back the mighty Horde army, or they would be burned down along with the rest of the remaining castle that continued to be under siege. There wouldn't be any hope remaining if the Runestone fell on this day, and that meant there wouldn't be any chance for the rest of Etheria as well.

One problem did cross Glimmer's mind as she charged another group of soldiers with Bow's support. Watching the others as they ran to their assigned positions, with Swift Wind being the active supporter he was as he flew Spinnerella over to the pathways, she had to wonder.

If they were all having this much trouble with the Horde army themselves, how much trouble was Catra having with the leader of all this madness?

...

...

* _ssssskkkkkk_ *

Hnnnnnnnngh!" Catra growled as she skidded across the dirt on her own two feet, slowing down her momentum as she dug her claws into the ground.

The battle had been intense between the two friends since Adora re-donned the headband at the beginning of all this. Being in the center of an entire valley that was filled with shade, the Force Captain was filled with a never ending supply of energy as shadows and darkness filled her entire being, empowering her to a state beyond comprehension and imagination. She never thought her friend would become the supposed monster of an invading army, and she still felt responsible that it happened at all to begin with.

When the shadows consumed Adora, being drawn in by the power of the mystical headband, they transformed her into a force beyond reckoning, her powers surpassed any state she's felt previously. The shadows amplified her magic tenfold in this state, with the excess magic being forced out of her back in the form of tentacles just to compensate. She could draw in the shadows into any shape or form in the blink of her eye, actually shrouding her skin in an invisible layer of armor around herself that kept her from feeling most to any injury Catra could throw at her, and the pain that went with it.

That didn't even include her enhanced physical state. Adora was stronger than she ever had been before, knocking over an entire tree with a single headbutt when she tried to attack Catra earlier. The girl could also jump a good distance thanks to the assisting tendrils that grew off of her back, allowing the girl to reach at a far distance and pull herself around the trees to close the gap on Catra. Catra's speed was the only defining feature that kept her alive for the time being, a detail that was becoming less useful as Adora found new and creative ways to get closer to her.

There were no tricks that Adora didn't hesitate to use. When she had the opportunity, she grabbed at Catra with her own hands while morphing the shadows back into whatever deadly combination they could be used for. If she found Catra getting a bit too far, she played at her emotions, pretending to be the same helpless girl that Catra wanted to take advantage of again for the sake of being another tool among her assets.

Adora showed little care for Catra anymore, save for the occasional pang in her heart. Despite everything she's done, she couldn't deny that she didn't want to do this. With every swing she took at the girl, she released another steam of anger she had for her, lamenting the times they used to be friends and all the ways they used to play together as kids. Even now, a part of her wished Catra never found the sword, that things could go back to the way they were supposed to be.

But at the same time, she wanted nothing more than to rip Catra to pieces. For every time she used Adora's name to get what she wanted from people, all the falls she made Adora take for her so she could get away scot free, and the numerous occasions where it always came down to Adora helping Catra, never the other way around unless it was to benefit Catra in some way in the end.

To her, Catra was the very essence of greed, and someone as corrupt as her shouldn't exist in this world, especially one intending to rule a kingdom.

As for Catra, she was struggling with her own dilemma, one that did and didn't involve the fight between them. She wanted to reach through to her in some way, to show that their friendship still meant something to her. She got a glimpse of how wretched she could be in the Beacon, and it sickened her to think she was like that to her friend. These new found feelings of guilt may have been a result of spending too much time with Glimmer and Bow, and she didn't care. She just wanted things to work out between the two of them again.

That brought her to the bigger dilemma that kept rearing its ugly head in front of her half the time. As Adora attempted to impale her with another lunging attack with her spear-formed right arm, Catra dodged out of the way, keeping her footing on the ground as Adora left herself open. Even with the so-called "Shadow Armor", she was sure she could do some damage by attacking the shadows directly on the back.

And that would mean she would have to hurt Adora as a result, and the thought of that gave her enough hesitation to trigger another-

_..._

_"Catra!" Barely paying a wink to the downed witch, Glimmer quickly ran towards her distressed friend, the one who seemed to be out cold as well. She wasted no time removing the restraints from her one after the other, fretting endlessly at the possibility she was too late. It was with the small tremble quiver in Catra's eyes that she realized she was awake, watching worriedly as she opened her blue and yellow eyes weakly. "Are you okay? Do you know who I am?"_

_"...Who... Who are you...?" Catra muttered in confusion, feebly pointing at her._

_"No..." Glimmer's eyes started to water as she covered her mouth. She was too late... she failed... Catra needed her most in this one moment of distress, and even after all the positive thoughts, all the hope that she could muster in this bleak situation, she couldn't save her friend completely from Shadow Weaver's magic! Catra was... was gone... "C-Catra..." Glimmer whimpered, It would be the first of many tears she would shed for the rest of her life, living with the knowing-regret that she failed to save her-_

_"Pffft! Tch ahahaha!" Catra bellowed out with laughter. "Oh man, you should've seen your face, Pinky! You were like "oh no, I'm too late," hahahaha-!"_

_"Oh thank gosh!" Glimmer instantly cried, hugging herself into Catra's stomach as she cried heavily. Catra let out a small cry as Glimmer threw her arms around her torso as she sobbed into her chest._

_"Ack-!" She yelped. "Hey, easy, easy! I'm pretty sore you know!" She grumbled a little, giving an irritated look at the girl. "...Pinky?" Catra questioned again, noticing as she continued to cry loudly. For one of the few times of Catra's life, she felt an actual sense of guilt for what was, in fairness, a pretty cruel prank. Her ears drooped around her as she scratched the back of her head, feeling awkward for one of the few times in her life. "H-Hey, Pin... Glimmer, hey, come on, it was... it was just a joke..."_

_It did nothing to soothe the tears draining from Glimmer's eyes. Even as she looked up towards her good friend with tears in her eyes, she couldn't get a single word out as she continued to sniffle, feeling overjoyed for the first time to be at the butt of one of Catra's jokes, and drowning with the continued sadness that she almost lost her dear friend._

_Seeing how the princess was truly remorseful, the very person she never wanted anything to do with since first meeting her, she did the one thing she had never done before._

_She threw an arm around her warmly in a small hug, trying to give her a soft smile as Glimmer tried to dry off the tears. "H-Hey, I'm... I'm sorry, okay? Now come on, you're embarrassing me." She chuckled a little. "I'm the one who's supposed to be saving you, remember?"_

_"Hmph..." Glimmer smiled in reply, wiping her own tears a little as she helped Catra from the metallic slab. "Y-Yeah... heh... sorry for ruining your moment." She lightly joked. Turning to the door, she gave an knowing nod to her certified friend, holding her own side with one arm as she walked to the door. "Now come on... we need to get out of her asap..."_

_..._

-that.

* _Wham!_ *

"Agh!" Catra cried out. Upon returning from her vision, she found half her body slammed away by a gargantuan fist, knocking her through one of the surrounding trees and toppling it over. Those accursed visions were back again, and they had a worse time of popping up than ever.

Unlike the previous times, these ones were incredibly different. First off, they were far or spaced between one another. These visions came from her most recent past, ranging from the last few weeks to months that she's been in the Rebellion. They would always flash a memory in front of her very eyes like the others, reminding her of the possible good times she's had with Glimmer and Bow and the adventures they shared together.

Secondly, was just that. They weren't of Adora or any of her time in the Fright Zone. These were the memories she's grown over the course of her journey, ever since she thought she became She-Ra. From the mighty cliffs they walked upon in the Kingdom of Dryl, to the enchanted floating landscape of Mystacor, the adventures they've had together were far, few, and many in-between. They ranged from a whole assortment of things Catra's always wished she could do, albeit with a different friend in mind.

Third, these were a lot more frequently than her other visions in the past. Usually, her visions were anywhere between one to a few days between visions, and almost never popping up at the worst timing, save for one unfortunate near-drowning incident she had. Here, they wouldn't stop plaguing her! They happened every several minutes here and there, messing up her concentration or thoughts whenever she was thinking about Adora.

Lastly, she knew the exact reasoning behind this too. These weren't meant to bring her any semblance of peace or calm her state of mind. This was something she managed to pick up on her own after all that's happened. These visions were telling her to let go of her past, and in turn, Adora. They wanted her to let Adora go from her memories, from her heart, in order to combat the evil darkness within her friend and the darkness that threatened to consume the entire world.

And she couldn't do that!

Where did this stupid sword get off by telling her how to run her life?! She doesn't know what she's been through despite seeing her memories, it didn't know what her life was like! Adora was the only person in her life that brought her comfort, that made her feel like she belonged among an entire group of people that considered her the freak of the Horde. She was always there for her when she needed Adora most, and, especially after realizing how horrible she had been in turn, there was no way she could turn her back on her again, acting as if everything Adora said about her was true and then some.

She would find her own way to make this work, she was positive. She had her sword, she had her agility, and she had her friends protecting the Moonstone during her current skirmish. Surely she could think of something to say to get through to Adora in the short amount of time they had... right?

It was this optimism that kept getting Catra back to her feet as she jumped from the ground again, planting her feet firmly as she focused on her surroundings.

"Heheheh..." She could hear Adora's voice echo from all around her, any sight of her being obscured by the trees that filled he woods. "Catraaaaa~" She sang.

"What are you hiding for, Adora?" Catra grumbled back. "I thought Force Captains were supposed to be braver than this?" She needed her slip up in some way. With the ground the two covered, she couldn't pick up any scent from her to pinpoint her location. All she could do was listen closely at the next distortion.

"One of the many basics of Horde Training, something you would know well about if you didn't make  _ **me**  _do all the work!" The voice yelled, filling the air with an eerie echo. "First you need to know to how to undermine your enemies..."

* _whap!_ *

"Ah!" Catra yelped, covering her face as it took a split-second whip to the face by one of the shadowy tendrils. Just as quickly did it hit her was it out of sight by the time she managed to open her eye, wincing from pain.

"How to confuse and use their own environment against them..."

* ** _Whap!_** *

"Geh!" She couldn't get a read on her! Every time she thought she knew the location, she was met with another whip of the tendrils, this time stroking across her back. The lack of scarring they managed to leave didn't alleviate the pain that it brought, each whipping being followed by a burning sting to it.

"And how to catch them by SURPRISE!"

* _crash!_ *

There wasn't any warning this time around as Catra focused more on her injuries than the environment around her. Instead of getting struck with another nefarious whip of darkness, she found her face getting pounded directly by one of Adora's gargantuan shadow fists, her entire face taking the brunt of the attack as it tossed Catra through the air, throwing her back against one of the toppled trees where she slammed into.

She spat what little irritation she could out of her mouth as she panted, her arms slung over the fallen tree as Adora revealed herself, approaching from behind as she cracked her knuckles. There wasn't any way Catra could continue fighting her like this, not out in the forest where she could remain hidden from Catra's senses. She needed to direct the fighting somewhere else, where Adora would be exposed at all times.

The Ravine? No. There were too many tanks and soldiers around the ravine. She had a hard enough time dealing with Adora, the last thing she wanted was to deal with them at the same time. Especially with her friends already battling the Horde army, there was no she could afford to distract them with her own battle, or worse, sick Adora on them directly in the process, the Force Captain already having a notable grudge against several of her friends.

The Whispering Woods themselves were also out of the question. While the frozen landscape would make it easier to see Adora, with the ice reflecting her appearance and giving Catra the advantage with her sight, it would only last for as long as Adora doesn't destroy the obstacles blocking her way. On top of that, it was a direct path on the march of the Horde soldiers, throwing reinforcements at her at the same time she was dealing with Adora.

At this rate, there was only one location she could think of as her claws dug into the bark of the broken log that Adora cut in half.

"You know, I thought you were going to entertain me for a moment, but I guess I was wrong." She shrugged playfully, forming blades in both her arms. "I guess I'll have to see if any of your  _friends_  can entertain me after I'm done with you. Who knows, maybe that princess girl will make an entertaining punching bag for the young recruits."

"...eav... 'em... on..." Catra huffed, panting between breaths as she sunk her other claw into the hunk of wood.

"Come again? I can't here you when you're not giving me the proper attention." Her look of amusement was dropped to one of bewilderment as she saw the deathly glare that Catra shot back to her.

"I said, leave... them... ALONE!"

* ** _WHAM!_** *

If Adora expected a punch, she would have easily blocked it with her own two hands or one of her shadowy appendages. If she expected Catra to smack her with the sword, she would've created a blade within seconds, blocking it easily and countering it with another one of her blades, or impaling her with one of the many tendrils sprouting from her back. And there would be no way she would be stupid enough to lunge at her directly.

What she didn't expect was getting slammed by something the size of a tree, specifically half the size of some overgrown bush that she sliced in half personally. In a furious, roaring, cry, with her own two clawed hands dug into the husk of the mighty oak, Catra slammed the tree a full one-eighty behind her like a bat, knocking Adora off her feet and out of the playing field. The Force Captain barely had time to see the attack before she register the intense slam that covered half her body, shooting her through the air and over to the rocky cliffs.

* _ **CRASH!**_ *

She was actually amazed that Catra would pull off such a feat, much less could, as her body soared through the air like a ball, hurdling her through the sky until she came upon the harsh landing of a rocky cliffside. Her body was dug in a good foot into the solid mass of rock after she landed, her mind disoriented from the impact of the attack and the landing that followed. Whatever this new state Catra was currently in, it wasn't just some fancy fashionwear she was currently going through. Like her, it appeared to give her some enhanced characteristics like the headband did with Adora.

If she ever needed more proof of her theory, it came at her in full force. Without missing a beat, the next thing she saw was Catra herself, holding up the massive log as she jumped through the air. Adora barely had any time to cover herself as the magicat gave off another seething hiss, slamming the butt of the freshly cut-in-half log straight on top of Adora, and plunging her deeper into the cliffside by another several feet into the semi-crater that the two found themselves in.

Catra really hoped this enhanced persona of hers really couldn't feel any pain like she let on, because she was pretty sure if it didn't, then she just killed her friend. The other part of her was hoping she didn't overdo it just now either. The log really did feel like she was carrying a simple baseball bat at the touch, a good chunk of its weight mitigated by its halved size, and with her already athletic agility being supercharged in this state, it was easy for her to leap a near fifty feet in the air, carrying the sword on her back and the log in her hands.

Too bad for her, it didn't seem like Adora was rather keen on being pelted by a giant log or crushed by one in the short span of a few seconds. Still being suspended above the ground, huffing to herself in an exhausted state as she held onto the other end of the log, Catra nearly jumped as she saw a strange yet horrific spiral of darkness bursting through the other end.

On the Force Captain's side of things, Adora grinned as she used her shadowy abilities to make possibly the most useful tool in this scenario- a drill. The massive three-foot-wide drill skewered straight into the end of the log she was planted on as she thrust it forward, stretching it further and further towards the magicat as it ripped the long to tiny little wooden chips that shot in every direction in the process. Catra had no choice but to from the useful hunk of wood, standing her ground with sword firmly in hand again as she watched the rest of the tree being scattered into thousands of smaller chips.

At the end, all that was left was an entire cliffside with a small bit of dust looming in the air, Catra watching as the Force Captain pulled herself out with her gargantuan shadowy hands. She couldn't tell if she had herself to thank for it or if it was just the layer of transparent shadow over Adora's skin, but she was positive she saw a few scrapes and scratches from her recent counterattack lining Adora's clothing and right cheek.

For the first time through the fight, Catra was confident that she finally did some damage. Too bad there weren't anymore trees left lying around her.

"There's no way you didn't feel any of that, Adora." Catra commented, side stepping slowly as she prepared for Adora's next attack.

Adora grinned as she stretched her arms from side to side, getting the few cricks she could out of her shoulders. "Okay, you win. That one I actually felt. I mean, it did tickle a little, but it's the best you've done all day." To be fair, Adora had to admit that was a bit more severe than she let on. It felt like a good solid punch to her, which was saying a lot for someone who got slammed then crushed under a giant log. "If you keep playing like that, I might actually have to start trying."

"We shouldn't have to fight, Adora!" Catra's argument intrigued Adora by just a little. "Adora, we shouldn't have to be fighting on different sides like this, we shouldn't be fighting each other at all! We should be fighting on the same side like we used to in the past, not trying to kill each other like we're sworn enemies."

Was she being serious right now? Every time Adora brought up the two of them fighting, Catra always had to make a rebuttal or an argument about why they shouldn't be fighting in the first place. Out of all the times Adora's ever known Catra to get into a small brawl, not once has she ever chosen to find another way to do things peacefully, even if it was to catch the enemy off guard. She considered it a sign of weakness whenever someone tried taking the easier path out of things, something she never wanted to be in front of her peers.

"...Do you think I want to?" Adora questioned, looking at the tips of her claw-like gargantuan hands. "I always wish that day never happened, Catra. The day you fell out of the skiff and all of this had to happen. I don't care who's on the right or wrong side anymore, I almost wish we weren't on opposite ends."

"We don't have to be!" At this, the feline lowered her sword a little, trying to maintain a passive composure. "We can go back to the way things were, and start fighting for the Rebellion! You can't honestly think everything the Horde does is right, can you?"

"Would it matter if it was?" Adora shifted her eyes towards the girl as she continued to face her hand. "What makes your side any better than my side to begin with? What makes you guys attacking the Horde "heroic", and what makes us attacking the Rebellion "evil"? Who do you think you are, getting to decide if we're the guys or the bad guys, Catra?" Disdain started to spread across the girl's face as she squeezed her fist. "I told you a thousand times, Catra. I'm done talking, and I'm done living in the past."

"Adora..." Catra turned her head in thought, tightening the grip on her sword again. How was she supposed to get through to her? She refuses to try and go back to the way things were, she's shown little interest in reminiscing about anything in the past, and she won't listen to reason.

"Besides," she continued, looking off to the distance, "why would I want to switch sides when we're the ones winning so far?"

"Huh?" She let her guard down. She couldn't help looking in the same direction towards Bright Moon Castle as she watched the battle unfold.

...

All around the ravine, she saw her friends and her allies battling it out with the Horde, seeing the explosions and magics being unleashed as the battle progressed. It didn't matter if they looked like half the size of her pinkie from where she stood, she could make most of them out clearly and tell who was where.

As she watched, she saw the Queen unleash another powerful shockwave across the valley, pushing back another handful of tanks and droids that made their way towards the castle. Sadly, her efforts began to show little reward as the last blast was nothing more than a simple shove at best. The tanks and droids that were pushed this time around were barely moved a few inches, half of them not moving at all from the recent attack.

What's worse, was the size and scale of the force that continued to swarm them. The troops and soldiers that descended upon the valley were now outnumbered three to one by the amount of robotic droids that started to flood the valley. From the waters, she could see Glimmer fighting off one skiff filled with soldiers after the other, doing what she could to send them crashing into the tanks and droids soon after in an effort to combat the invading army.

Her efforts were matched with Bow's own efforts as he managed to fire several arrows into two of the approaching droids, shooting them right at their core with the powerful arrows he obtained from the armory, ones that shot through the droid's thick armor like paper. His efforts would only last as long as the number of arrows he had remaining, and he already felt himself down by over half.

Assisting them, she could see Netossa work tirelessly as she threw one enchanted ball of nets after the other, creating barriers through the ravine that the others could hide against while using others that pulled the droids, tanks, and skiffs together, sometimes resulting in them crashing into one another, and providing a means for Bow to make use of his explosive arrows as he took out the machines all at once, greatly lowering the amount of fighting that took place.

Swing Wind seemed to almost be enjoying himself as topped one of the approaching droids from the air, planting his hooves firmly into their metallic armor and stomping repeatedly until they were steaming husks in the ground. The horse's weight mixed with his durable hooves proved quite effective in taking out the droids, using the air to his advantage as he strayed out of the droids line of sight where they couldn't fire.

That left Spinnerella, the pinkish princess maintaining the defenses as she protected the cliff's pathway towards the Queen. The soldiers that met with her were no match against her magical winds, pushing them off with ease as she used her magic. It didn't matter how much practice one had in the training rooms of the Fright Zone. There was nothing remotely similar between fighting holographic images presented by droids of the princesses, and fighting an actual princess in person.

There didn't seem to be any sway in this line of defense, no matter how hard the Horde try to advance. The heroes were tired, exhausted, and never wanted to be over with a fight as much as they were now, and still they continued. They were Etheria's last hope of defeating the Horde, this conviction inspiring them to push passed their exhausted state as they fought back against the Horde army. They wouldn't let a single one of them near the Runestone as long as they stood their ground, giving it everything they had to keep the Moonestone and Queen Angella safe.

Until it happened.

From the cliffside, Spinnerella saw as a dozen different small hooks suddenly sprang over the side, up to the ground level where she stood. Looking over the side, she nearly gasped as she saw four of the three-legged droids attempting to climb the cliff itself directly, using their small anchors to latch onto the rocky cliffs as they propelled themselves up slowly, using their hold as they ascended the rocky walls with their legs.

Refusing to let a single one of the Horde invaders pass her, Spinnerella channeled her powers into concussive bursts of magic, firing at the droids and unleashing an erupting torrent at air towards the mechanical beasts as they tried to make their way up the mountain. The droids proved themselves durable against the princess's magic, shrugging off the blasts as they made their ascent to the cliff she was up on.

Seeing how smaller direct blasts weren't going to cut it, the princess resorted to her last chance. Crossing her arms against her chests with her clenched fists, she grumbled audibly as the massive bulk of magic started to gather and swirl around her. The others turned to the pink princess as they felt the disturbance and shift in the wind, finally noticing the droids that were attempting to climb their way to the mountain to confront her. Netossa panicked over the sight of her beloved friend like this as she knew the girl was pushing herself, realizing she didn't have a choice in the matter.

With as much magic as she could possibly gather, Spinnerella was ready. In one spectacular burst of energy, they watched as a gigantic sphere of magic blew across the cliffside, effectively blasting away the droids whose ropes and cables were snapped by the force, and plummeting them towards the ground after managing to reach a good halfway up the mountain. The resulting fall was enough to destroy the droids one by one as they crashed to the surface, almost piling on top of one another in a fiery explosion, and eliminating the threat of the robots for good.

Suffice to say, Spinnerella was exhausted, panting out of breath as her arms dropped in front of her. If the soldiers she wasn't fighting off till now were enough to wear her down, the recent energy she had to expunge to destroy the robots were, the annoying droids proving quite resilient to her magical capabilities. None of the others had expected the droids to come up with such a clever tactic, or to provide such a meaningful distraction for another Force Captain to make her appearance.

"Remember me?" Those were the last two words Spinnerella heard before she found a pincered arm wrapped around her neck, pulling on it to try and break free from her overpowering grip.

* _ting_ *

"Ngh-! Uggghhhh..." The flash of pain Spinnerella felt against her back was shortly replaced with a lack consciousness as the princess moaned. All her energy had been drained from her body as she felt herself passing out, her arms dropping to her side as the princess closed her eyes, dropping to the ground itself as Scorpia smirked, flexing her recently-used stinger with glee. By the time the princess woke up again, it would most likely be in a cage in the Fright Zone.

"Spinnerella!" Netossa cried out, tearing at the corners of her eyes. Catra didn't need to see from up close to understand what just happened. She could see the familiar tail-like appendage coming from one of the small figures across the valley, and another figure she could hear Netossa screaming her name out for.

The first princess of the defenders had fallen.

The Horde army was still advancing.

And the Rebellion was losing...

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

**_A/N: For those of you who want to argue Catra couldn't lift a tree nearly fifty feet through the air, I'd like to remind you that 1: Adora managed to pry a massive boulder out of the episode and threw it squarely at the one Catra was on in the episode, and 2: As i've used for the basis of this episode, which I'm pretty sure is the case, the sword/she-ra does enhance her physical characteristics too, so I wouldn't put it passed her (especially if He-Man is practically strong enough to push a freaking moon through space!)._ **

**_Hope you all enjoyed and continue to enjoy as we reach are !GRAND FINALE! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!_ **


	53. Season 1 Finale: No Happy Endings Part 5

_**A/N: And with that another gloriously long chapter has been posted! What is up mi amigos! Muchachos! Some other way of saying guys...** _

 

_**Lol, anyway, we're nearly there people! We are almost at the FINAL chapter of season 1! I can hardly wait! In fact, I don't have much else to say, so.... enjoy!** _

 

_**...** _

 

_**...** _

 

_**...** _

 

"Spinnerella!" Netossa cried out, tearing at the corners of her eyes. The others could see the fire burning in her eyes, filled with fear, sadness, and rage, no matter how far away they were standing. If that wasn't enough to convince them of her emotional state, the sight of her squeezing her fists angrily were more than enough to get a grasp on how Netossa was feeling right now.

Till recently, the war against the Horde had gone... somewhat smoothly. Without end, the Rebellion found the Horde constantly charging them with their troops, droids, and tanks which flooded the valley as they waged their war on Bright Moon. Thanks to the effects of the new device Entrapta had created within the confines of the Horde, the Runestone of Bright Moon had started to weaken, and the Whispering Woods, which confused and kept the Horde at bay, were frozen over. They now had a clear path straight to the Rebellion, and they intended to make use of it while they could.

Lead by Force Captain Adora, Catra's best of friends, the Horde army had pressed on through the frozen wasteland as they began their siege on the castle, chipping away at the magnificent structure that was a symbol of the Rebellion and everything wrong in the world. They finally had a chance to take down the headquarters of the Rebellion, the Rebellion, and the Moonstone, all in one shot. They would be fools not to use this opportunity presented to them!

And it's a good thing they came prepared as they did. With half their forces diverted to the outer walls of the valley, with the palace guards defending from the ocean and the mountainside over the castles, the last line of defense between the Horde and the Moonstone were the few allies and princesses that had remained. Bow, the archer, Glimmer the Princess of the Rebellion, the Immortal Queen Angella, Catra's steadfast horse-turned-alicorn Swift Wind, and the last two remaining allies of the Rebellion, Netossa, and Spinnerella.

These remaining defenders of Bright Moon were proving more than a match for the might of the Horde. Despite the lack of numbers, they managed to keep the Horde out of their home for much longer than Adora initially expected. The princesses proved their worth as warriors with their magical capabilities, and Bow's trick arrows were keeping the droids and tanks at bay as he managed to disable the oncoming machines before they could even reach the waters.

Truly, they were proving to her the potential might of the Rebellion, and why it continued to stand against the Horde with each passing day. But like many empires, they, too, were eventually doomed to fall. No amount of power would surpass the numbers of the invading Horde, nobody could topple the unity that Adora knew the Horde brought. They worked together far better than any force in Etheria, they stood united against any threat that would oppose them. And she would see it through to the end until the Rebellion was squashed.

Starting with the first princess to fall, Spinnerella.

She proved just as valiant as the rest of them did in her efforts to combat the Horde. Taking position along the cliffside leading up to the castle, Spinnerella fought her hardest against the invading forces. The troops that were brave enough to scale the pathway of the cliffs found themselves blown off by the festering winds of Spinnerella's magic, half of them being forced to drag their allies back into the woods for safety.

Her downfall eventually came, though, after the attack beset on her cliffs by the droids that had intercepted passed the frontal heroes as they began to scale the cliffs from the walls directly. With her feeble blasts doing nothing to wear down the hefty droids, Spinerella was forced to use a vast amount of her magic all at once to push back the ascending droids, blasting them off the ropes they used to climb with and hurdling them down to the base of the large wall, crashing and exploding upon impact.

Suffice to say, the princess was exhausted briefly from this expenditure of magic. Mixed in with the amount of magic she used to fight off the advancing troops, the magic-user had more than spent her reserves in destroying the droids before they got any closer. She was completely unprepared and unguarded as she found was captured by an eager Scorpia, and on the receiving end of her paralytic stinger which knocked her out cold.

Now the defenders were down to four, and would find their numbers continuing to dwindle as time progressed.

As expected, the most troubled by their recent loss was Netossa, the one who was always closest to the fallen Princess. Panic took over her mind and fear rang through her heart at the sight of her beloved friend. As if noticing the distressed state from where she stood, Scorpia took the opportunity to goad the other allies as she lifted her from the collar of her dress, dangling her lifelessly in her hands.

"Nooo!" Netossa screamed as she ran through the waters.

"Netossa, stop!" Bow pleaded, blocking her way as he tried to calm her down. "It's a trap! She's just trying to draw you in!"

"We can't separate like this!" Glimmer added, running to their side. "We need to stay together!"

How could they expect her to understand in a time like this? In a time of war for that matter?! Spinnerella was one of her most cherished companions, she meant everything to her! She was up there all by herself and now she was completely defenseless! Worse, she was in the clutches of one of the dreadful Horde Captains, one who sneered back to her from up above as she showed off her pincers menacingly, wagging her tail around like she was ready to use it in an instant.

She didn't care if it broke formation, not if it meant losing someone close to her like this. With a heavy heart, she hastily pushed passed the two, ignoring their cries to come back and pleas as she ran to save the one who meant most to her, and to get back at the one who dared to attack her dearest friend in the first place.

Gathering all the magic she could into a small sphere in her hands, Netossa tossed the magical conjuration a good ten yards ahead of her. From the magic, Netossa jumped atop the magical sphere as it enlarged into a giant mystical barrier of nets, one that could prove itself as a useful forcefield, or, in her case, become a suitable pathway that grew under her feet, springing her up in the air and throwing her high enough to reach the cliff Scorpia and Spinnerella were on.

Netossa wasted no time unleashing her fury upon the scorpion girl as she gathered another sphere of her energy in the palm of her hands, tossing it directly between Scorpia's feet where it burst into a miniaturized version of her previous barrier, pushing Scorpia back a good distance down the pathway, and more importantly, away from Spinnerella.

With the two distanced from one another, Netossa carefully took her into her, checking over her worriedly as she brushed the hair out of her face. The one spark of solace she had out of all of this was the fact she was still breathing just fine, unaware previously of the effects of Scorpia's stinger. More good fortune came to her in the form of Swift Wind, the gallant alicorn flying his way over to the side as he heard Netossa's screams of fear and her cries of worry as she ran towards the cliffs.

The girl had never been so happy to see the horse appear before her as she lifted her dear friend in her arms.

"Is she alright?" Swift Wind asked, folding his wings enough for Netossa to rest the princess on his back.

"She's fine, just unconscious." Netossa replied, ensuring Spinnerella was placed carefully on the horse before setting them off. Take her back somewhere into the castle, somewhere she'll be safe for now." She ordered, glaring back as Scorpia climbed her way over barrier, sinking her claws into the barrier with each step.

"Are you sure you'll be okay by yourself?" He wondered, knowing their chances of victory diminished even further as they were down a princess.

"I'm fine," she grunted, turning her attention back to the smirking Scorpia as she stood atop the descending barrier, "I can handle her myself."

There was nothing he could say that could get through to her, he knew that within an instant. With their lines cut off from the coast, the Horde would now rush the ravine much faster than they originally were, becoming problematic for Glimmer and Bow with each passing minute that he wasted time out here trying to talk any sort of sense into her. The only chance they had in maintaining their position was with him flying through the air as they speak, soaring straight towards the interior of the castle so he could set the sleeping beauty somewhere safer and return to the front lines to assist the others.

With the safety of her friend ensured, Netossa turned her attention back to the oncoming Captain as she lunged for her, wanting to take advantage of her distracted state as her back was turned. Netossa could commend her quick wits, if nothing else, but was prepared for the young Captain as she grabbed her oncoming pincers, rolling onto her back as she kicked her away a few feet behind her.

Both girls were already on their feet by the time Scorpia landed again, the two circling each other in a defensive stance as they kept their guard up.

"You're going to pay for what you did to her!" Netossa growled, maintaining her position as she came to the ledge of the cliff.

"Oh don't worry, you'll be joining her soon in dreamland." Scorpia smirked. Without any hesitation the scorpion girl lunged at her again, this time thrusting her stinger directly at her left side, leaving no space to for her to dodge unless she jumped from the cliff itself.

However, much to her surprise, she hadn't anticipated the girl's cunning as she leaned herself over the cliffside just as Scorpia's stinger passed her. Before she could reel it back in, the girl wrapped her arms tightly around Scorpia's tail in a hold strong enough to crush her bones, planting her feet firmly to the ground as she held onto it for balance.

Grinning, Netossa pulled with all the might she could as she lifted Scorpia off her own two feet, actually lifting her a couple feet off the ground. Using her own momentum to pull herself back towards the ledge, the girl swung Scorpia over the cliff itself, forcing the captain to clamp her pincers against the rocky walls from the thirty foot drop that awaited her below. It didn't matter if she could survive the fall, any drop from somewhere this high up was surely to leave her out of commission for the rest of the battle.

Perhaps it was this same line of reasoning that she saw Netossa standing over her now, with an angry yet satisfied grin on her face as she gathered another handful of energy again, raising it over her head as she prepared one of her durable net-based traps. She was going to capture this captain, and then she was going to make her pay when this massive battle was over.

"You shouldn't have hurt my friend!" She hissed, feeling the sphere in her hand ready to explode at a moment's notice. Despite the situation she knew Scorpia to be in, the Force Captain just grinned, even as she was hanging from the edge of a cliff.

"And you should've brought yours like I did."

* _Bzzzzzt!_ *

"Ahhhhhhhhh!" Netossa let out a terrible scream of agony as she felt several thousand volts course through her body. From behind the spellcaster, at least three soldiers were pinning their stun batons into her back, sending an endless stream of pain and numbness throughout her entire body as the sparks jumped off her.

Even with this, the vengeful friend wasn't about to back down, not when these goons were responsible for hurting someone so close to her. Gritting her teeth to shrug off the pain, the girl stared back in anger, grabbing two of the cadets by the throats and sending the same thousands of volts that were electrocuting her moments ago through their own systems.

The cadets were in for the shock of their life as they felt the same electricity being returned to them with three times the strength of a single baton being shot through them as well. Netossa did what she could to shrug off the pain, clenching her eyes tightly as she waited for the soldiers to loosen the grip on their batons. No amount of training had ever prepared them to fight through the intensity of three stun batons at once. It was a miracle the woman here wasn't collapsing from the combined might of the three batons!

Finally, after what felt like hours of torture in a reality where just a few seconds had passed, the two guards had relented in their attack as they dropped the batons at long last, collapsing to the ground in a heap on both sides of the only soldier still standing between them. The panicking soldier glanced back and forth at the two fallen comrades in worry. By the time he so much as thought of looking back at the grand spellcaster, he found his face being smacked by Netossa's enraged fists, knocking him back against the walls of cliff's pathway, knocking him out colder than the previous two found themselves to be.

The princess was in a similar exhausted state as Spinnerella found herself to be in, right before Scorpia got the jump on her and knocked her out cold. Remembering the scene vividly in the corner of her mind, she spun around in a haste in an attempt to find Scorpia behind her, only to be met with an empty cliffside and no Scorpia hanging around.

* _swiff_ *

And dodging expertly to her right as the anticipated stinger sprung out behind her. The Force Captain was caught by surprise at the sudden dodging, especially coming from someone who just took three stun batons to the back directly, as Netossa quickly grabbed onto the tail like before, this time tossing her against the wall, further away from the cliff so she could keep her attention on her and the incoming guards that continued to charge the steps after her.

"You really don't know when to quit, do you?" Scorpia commented, watching as another cadet tried to charge the enemy. Even though she managed to shrug off the majority of the batons she took earlier, her strong bravado did nothing to quell the partial paralyzing effect they had through her system.

"The Rebellion will never give up!" She yelled, grabbing the cadet's arm before he could swing at her and tossing him over the cliff into the waters below, the armor only keeping him from taking the brunt of the fall, yet could do nothing against the loss of consciousness from the impact.

* _bzzzt!_ *

"Nghhhh!" She grumbled as she felt another cadet's baton press against her back. The continuing build up of the shock through her nervous system was weakening her muscles, Netossa struggling just trying to stay conscious through the ordeal. With another grunt, she grabbed the same guard by the wrist before puling him over and harshly headbutting him against the helmet, knocking him off his feet. The lessening consciousness were dulling her senses by this point, otherwise she might've seen the other two guards approaching her from behind.

* _bzzzt!_ *

* _bzzzt!_ *

"Ghhhhhhh!" She was running out of time and energy, her fading consciousness preventing her from gathering any of the energy she could to conjure up another magical net to ensnare her enemies or shield herself. With what little she had to go by, she swept one of the batons next to her feet in the air, using the cadet's own weapon against him as she batted the right guard against his chest with the stunner, using it shortly after to block off the left cadet's baton as he swung it over her head.

If Scorpia could compliment anything else about this girl, it was how much she managed to endure up to this point after taking a handful of batons directly and still remained on her feet. If it wasn't for the fact the same girl was now pressed against one knee to the ground from her waning strength, after being forced to grab another baton as another soldier attempted to attack her, she might have considered her a good fight.

But compliments and details were above her when it came to the enemy. The only thing they deserved were the Horde's respect when they put up a good resistance, not praise.

Netossa was too exhausted at this point to counter anything else that was thrown at her. If she wasn't, she would've been more than capable of reacting in some way to stop Scorpia's back attack that was thrown at her. With both her tired arms barely maintaining the hold on her batons as she was pressed towards the ground, she could do nothing as she felt the tip of a third and final baton pressed against the back of her neck, letting out a scream of agony as Scorpia watched with satisfaction.

There was nothing left she could do as the energy finally drained from her at long last. With her eyelids drooping, her arms dropping to her side, she was defenseless as Scorpia kicked the girl off the cliffside, hurdling her into the calm waters below of the ravine. It was thanks to all her training and years of fighting that she managed to survive the fall into the shallow waters with ease, though it mattered little in comparison as her consciousness finally faded.

Hearing the sound of another object falling into the waters along the cliff, taking a moment to himself after he dealt with the recent droid, Bow let out a small gasp as he saw the state of his second fallen comrade, alerting Glimmer as she batted away at the third guard since Netossa's rush. "Netossa!" He barely had a few seconds to himself to call out to her before another handful of soldiers approached them.

That was another ally down, another defender lost to the Rebellion. Swift Wind withholding as he took care of Spinnerella, wherever he was, that left Glimmer with the cold reality that she and Bow were the last defenders of Bright Moon, and more importantly her mother, as the Horde's numbers never ceased to increase. If anything, their numbers were almost doubling during the ensuing fighting that had been taking place as the robotic droids started to fill the hills and the cliffs of the valley, with many of them starting to take formation as they focused on their target: The Moonstone.

_Catra, where are you?!_

...

...

"Nooo!" Catra cried out as she saw one of the defenders fall atop the pathway over the valley. While she couldn't get a good view of the princess herself, she could assume it was Spinnerella as she saw the mighty gust of wind she flourished before Scorpia snuck up on her, collapsing thereafter.

They were starting to lose the war. Anyone with eyes could see that by now. No matter how much the Rebellion tried to push back, or the number of soldiers they managed to fight off, they just kept coming nonstop. They showed no signs of wavering as each of the cadets and soldiers that ran into the battlefield were filled with vigor and fresh energy, while those defending Bright Moon were few and scarce in-between, given no time to catch their breath or to relax themselves.

To think that this is something Catra wanted once in her life. To go out into the battlefield to fight a grueling battle with no end and no chance of victory. Personally, she **still**  wanted to be a part of such a battle, and would gladly jump into one at any time if she wasn't on the side that didn't have the endless supply of soldiers on hand! There was no merit out of this situation, nothing to be gained from the Rebellion as they tried to defend their homeland. It was just a needless source of destruction like everything else the Horde touched, lead by her best friend, Adora, of all people!

It as a battle that grew more hectic as time went on. Here Catra was, defending the Rebellion, and fighting off the Horde, and fighting off Adora directly in order to do it, and trying to finish this fight fast enough so she could join them at the ravine to hopefully turn this fight around, **_AND_**  while trying to convince Adora to come back to their side at the same time! There was never a break for this girl, and there would be no one to help her the moment she slipped up either!

This was exactly what Catra feared would happen if she tried to join the Rebellion in the battle for Bright Moon, right down to the last detail. She knew if she fought Adora, she could choke up. She would mess up, she would falter, she would burden the others in trying to rescue her if she couldn't willingly fight against the Horde, and she still chose to throw herself at their side in order to protect them.

What kind of hero was she?

...

_That was when she noticed there was a lack of a friendship meter at the end of it. Did she not have enough space to write it in? Reexamining the page, she noticed how it didn't seem to have much of an ending either compared to the other entries. Deciding to give it a check, she found the following page continued the diary entry._

_But that's what I thought only at first. She still doesn't seem to know whether she wants to be a hero herself or not, but after the day's experience, I can say she has the qualities of one._

_Is this the same person writing this all of a sudden?_

_Looking back on the days events now, she did a lot more than I originally thought. She saved us from a giant monster, she stuck by our side until I woke up. She got a Force Captain to call off a Horde invasion in the middle of Thaymor, and a few hours ago, I learned she actually saved a little girl named Kim from a collapsing building! She risked her life, the one she seemed more interested in, to save a child!_

_I felt stupid thinking she wasn't hero material anymore since then. Even if I still don't know what kind of person she wants to be, I think I know now what kind of person she is._

_Anything. She is any kind of person she wants to be. She can be a glorious fighter, she could be the hero we need, she could very well be the person to save our entire Rebellion, she could be anyone she wants to be. She taught me a hero can come from anywhere, regardless of where they're born._

_Throughout the entire day, I think what I learned the most is how dependable she can be. She might always be the one to charge in head first, she might be reckless, and she might even mess up a few times along the way. But deep down, I'm pretty sure, she can be the one thing this Rebellion needs most of all._

_Someone who can be there for you when you need her the most._

_..._

Apparently the kind that was given visions of the past by a stupid sword that never left her alone. She didn't care if the sword was trying to get her to let go of her attachments to Adora in order to help her friends. After everything this sword put her through since she came across it, she was unwilling to get rid of either!

Self-doubt and questioning would have to be put on hold as she shook her head. Knowing her allies and friends needed her at this very moment, she ignored all that surrounded her a she began to sprint towards the ledge, intending to race through the woods in order to save them. The brief lapse of judgement and worry that filled her were enough to distract her from Adora's next attack as she threw the shadowy tentacle from her left arm around Catra's chest, pulling the girl away from the edge of the cliff they were on.

"Where do you think you're going?" The malicious Adora grinned, asking.

With a slight toss off the ground, Catra found her entire chest punched directly by Adora's massive shadowy fists, throwing the girl along the walls of the crater-like cliffside they were on, and crashing her through the rocky terrain at full force. She felt the rough edge of the stones as she scraped by them, a small puff of dust jumping into the air around her as her body was shoved into outer edge of the crater.

What little optimism she had that she had experienced the worst of Adora's newest attack were quickly dashed away. The very moment she opened her eyes again, she felt the tentacle around her chest tighten as it reeled it in back towards Adora. Here, the Force Captain greeted her with another devious smile as she smacked her against her mighty fist again, slamming her back into the rocks, and repeated this seeming game of "paddle-ball" with Catra's body without end.

Strike after strike, barely given a second to register the first three strikes that came with the pain she experienced, Catra was forced to endure as Adora continued her relentless result as she kept pulling Catra back to her just to slam her away again after every consecutive blow. There was no pause or hesitation in her attacks, no time for Catra to come up with a counterattack as Adora kept pulling her in faster than Catra could process. All that was filling her mind right now was the intense pain she was given as Adora continued to attack her with an overwhelming sense of joy.

Every hit she struck with her, another part of her attachment to Catra began to edge away. Adora didn't want these feelings of guilt riddling her anymore, she didn't want to put up with Catra's potential, future, betrayal like she always had. The moment she struck Catra down with her own two hands, she knew she would be free of the pain and guilt she's felt over Catra after all these years, the misery Catra put her through without a care in the world.

After at least a full minute of this nonstop barrage of being Adora's punching bag, the girl finally showed some decency as she stopped in her continuous brawl. By now, Catra's entire body was covered in scrapes and bruises, accumulated from the recent attack and the constant fighting she's had with Adora since this battle had started.

She saw Catra wince a little in pain at this, letting out a cough as a small bit of dust entered the magicat's lungs. The last time she was in this state, Adora held back. She felt sick just by seeing the state she put her friend through in Salineas, the way her entire body seemed to be wracked with pain. Even now, a small part of her was guilty over the pain she put Catra through, that small ounce that determined whether Adora still held any attachment or not to the former friend.

That was the part Adora hated the most, the one she wanted to be rid of as soon as possible.

"You know you would make it a lot easier for yourself if you just surrendered, Catra." Adora reminded, cracking the knuckles in her shadowy hand as she squeezed her fist. "You really are just hurting yourself here."

"...Huff... Huff..." Catra panted deeply as she regained her breath while she could. There was no telling how much longer she could hold out for, no indication if she was ever going to get through to Adora. All she knew for the time being was that she needed some way to get out of Adora's grip like this.

"Maybe if you spent a lot less time living in the past, you wouldn't be in the sorry state that you're in."

"Say's the one who won't forgive me, Adora!" Catra retorted angrily.

"That's because you haven't changed how you treated me since then, _**Catra**_!" She yelled back. "You're still manipulating everyone for your own gain, you care only about yourself, and everything is just a means to an end with you! You treated me that way the entire time since we met, and you're still doing it even today! Who lied to me about coming back to get the sword? Who tried to convince me that the princesses weren't a threat just to get me to come over to your side? The same ones who nearly destroyed you at the Princess Prom?!"

Anguish and pain crossed Adora's expression as she lowered her head, a small tear forming in the corner of her right eye. "All you've done... all you've ever done... is lie." That was the reality of the matter to her, the realization Adora had to learn the hard way. Catra couldn't be trusted, no matter how sincere she seemed to be or about what. With this assertion in her mind, she squeezed her shadowy fist as she glared back to the girl. "And I'm sick of all the lying, Catra!"

"..."

"...Catra?" Adora blinked as she stared at the girl.

Catra just... stood there. Her mouth was partially gaped open, her arms were at her side, and she was staring into space. She was alive for sure, she knew that much. Her tail still gave a small wag and there was a twitch in her ears, but aside from that, nothing. It's like she was there and wasn't there at the same time. She was practically looking passed Adora than to Adora herself, the Force Captain tilting her head at her strange behavior until a thought occurred to her.

She's seen this several times throughout their brawl, an occurrence that made Adora grin the more she thought about it. This must have been one of those bizarre moments she's had where she seems to fade from reality for a few seconds, the kind she appears to have with everyone as she's running another vision through her mind.

This was all too priceless, honestly. The _Hero_  of the people, the Symbol of Hope for the Rebellion, the defector that didn't even compare to past defectors. Here stood the _**almighty**_  Catra in all her glory, staring off into space again for who knew how long, all while she was having an intense conversation with Adora as they spoke.

She couldn't let this opportunity pass up, no matter how dishonorable it might've been or cheap. Catra liked playing dirty with her opponents half the time, so why couldn't she? With a grin, Adora pulled the girl over to her with her tentacle as she pulled back her right arm, intending to land the finishing blow that would knock Catra out of consciousness till the next year-!

"Psyche!" That was the only word she heard during the brief second she saw Catra's grin.

Right when she pulled her close enough, as she was about to deliver the finishing blow, the magicat surprised her. With a single kick off the ground, holding onto the tentacle to help her, Adora flinched as she jumped from the ground and landed behind her, the Force Captain being in too much of a state of surprise and confusion as Catra pulled her extendable tentacle back.

Planting her feet as firmly as she could into the ground, with a mighty roar, Catra turned the tables on Adora as she pulled the tentacle upwards, lifting Adora off her own feet in the process. There was too much force from the She-Ra as Catra began to spin her around, preventing Adora from pulling away the tentacle or diminishing it as her body was flailing too fast in a circle around her, her mind unable to process where her shadow was precisely as she was spun in all directions, feeling herself stretching farther and farther with every full-body swing.

Stretching the girl out as far as she could, tightening the grip on the tentacle as she did, Catra screamed. With one, thunderous roar, Catra decided to give Adora a taste of her own medicine, or the stony crater to be more specific, as she slammed Adora against the edge of the crater, dragging her entire body all along the wall of it as she spun her around. No amount of durability could prevent the injury that ensued as Adora felt her body scraping over the harsh ground, gritting her teeth and squeezing her eyes to ensure the pain as her shadows tried to keep up to protect her. It was like they were being peeled off as she was pushed against the ground.

Catra needed an opportunity to get close to Adora and in a way she would least expect it. So what better chance did she have by taking her own weakness as her weapon? Pretending to be in her zoned-out state, the one most of her friends were used to, and lowering Adora's guard enough to get the drop behind her! It didn't matter to her how reckless her recent plan was if it bore fruit. Here, she was finally getting some actual damage done as she spun Adora twice in a circle against the crater before slamming her directly into the ground with a tremendous rumble.

Here, the magicat sighed in relief as she panted, seeing the girl's tentacle recede from her body. She was sure that wasn't enough to kill Adora, hopefully, as long as she put her out of commission. The sooner she got back to the others the better, and the faster she did it, the faster she could save-!

* _Krush!_ *

"Ahh!" Catra yelped a little as she shielded her eyes with her arms. What little chance of victory she had obtained banished before her eyes. Right as she was prepared to run from the scene towards her friends, without wasting a chance, Adora gathered an entire chunk of crumbled rocks and dirt as she slung it at the warrior princess directly, giving a few small scrapes and cuts along her arms and legs as she was forced to shield her eyes directly from the hazardous material.

In those short few seconds until she finally opened her eyes, with the buildup of dust that had sprouted from her surroundings eluding her sense of smell, she saw that Adora was gone. Vanished. There wasn't a trace of her anywhere within her field of vision, save for the small personal crater she created as she threw Adora to the ground. There wasn't anything resembling her anywhere around her, save for the one giveaway that told her where she was.

The small chill of death that was creeping from behind her as she felt a large, darkened, claw pressing against her left shoulder.

"Miss me?"

*Squeeeeeeeeeeeeesh!*

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Pain. Unbearable, dreadful, pain. She thought what Shadow Weaver did to her was bad, and it still was given how long she did it for, but this was a close second. Given no time to react or to recuperate from her own exhausted strength, she was powerless to defend against Adora's next attack as the girl struck from behind her.

In one sweeping motion, from the corner of her left shoulder, all the way down across the back to her right thigh, Catra felt the most painful scratching sensation in her life as Adora shredded her entire back with one of her gargantuan hands. These weren't simple scratches like she had inflicted others with, or herself on a few occasions by accident when she had an inch. She could feel them even after Adora pulled her hand away from Catra's back, watching as the girl collapsed to her hands and knees in agony.

Upon her, Adora watched with pride, as she observed the four two-inch **thick**  scratch marks she spread across Catra's back. Maybe it was the resilience of her quarter She-Ra state, maybe she just didn't dig deep enough, it didn't matter. The scratches, while being crimson in red, weren't bleeding profusely, if at all. Not that they did anything to numb the sense of unbearable pain Catra now felt on her back, of course.

On her back now were four painful, scarring, reminders of a fraction of the pain Catra put Adora through all her life, and no amount of powers were going to let Catra forget this experience of pain she was inflicted with.

"How's that for a backstabbing, traitor?" She teased, returning the shadows to her side as she watched Catra tremble with pain. It took all of Catra's strength to keep from tearing up at the intense pain as she squeezed her eyes shut, biting against her own teeth to prevent any satisfying screaming for Adora to listen to.

Unfortunately, it did nothing to compare to the pain she felt immediately after Adora slammed her back against her foot, pushing her to the ground with ease. "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!" She cried out, squeezing her claws against the dirt as she struggled to tolerate any of the pain. If this was what she felt in her She-Ra state, she'd had to see how it felt if it wore off any time soon.

"Oh pipe down, you big baby." She taunted, lowering her head towards Catra's ears as she smirked. "Why don't you just lie back and enjoy the show? It's about to get a lot more interesting." At the comment, Catra briefly ignored her pain as she looked out to the distance with worry, seeing how Adora pinned her here intentionally in order to watch what came next.

...

The army was amassing in numbers as the droids and tanks lined up side by side as they gathered. There wasn't any break in their formation as they all locked on on the same target, gathering all the energy each of them could muster as they unleashed a horrendous wave of energy upon Moonstone.

Nothing but energy and blasters filled the sky as a torrential rain of destruction spread across the land. Trees were effortlessly blown away, the castle took a waterfall of damage as large chunks of the entire castle were blown away and crumbled entirely on the western side. The worse of these attacks were directed at the barrier protecting the Moonstone, the transparent bubble shielding the pillar beginning to break away and crumble within a matter of seconds. There was nothing Queen Angella could do as the barrier finally collapsed over the entire chamber, most of her strength passed out from trying to push back the Horde time and again.

With the last ounce of strength she had left, she formed a personal barrier over the Moonstone directly and her entire body, refusing to give up even as the strength of the Rebellion continued to falter.

Below her, the battle continued to worsen as Bow was knocked back a dozen feet, grunting in a small bout of pain as he struggled to get back on top of his own legs.

"Bow!" Glimmer cried out, rushing to his sides as she gazed at their surroundings. Horde, Horde, and more Horde. There was only Horde and broken trees as far as the eye could see. There strength was fading progressively as the battle continued, the small injuries they've suffered being nothing in comparison to the state they found themselves in.

It was at that time their attention turned to the skies above them as they saw the rain of fire that was blasted at the barrier, gasping in horror as she saw the barrier finally shatter after long last. Nothing about this day is what Glimmer ever thought she would see in her life, much less this soon in her own life. Chaos, destruction, mayhem. They were just a few of the words she could describe this day if she ever looked back on it, if she managed to survive after today.

"Mother!" Glimmer cried out, knowing the vulnerable state she would be in if barrier was ever shattered.

"Ngh... Go!" Bow struggled to order, pulling out one of his few remaining arrows as he shot at another droid. Glimmer glanced back to him, an obvious state of fear filling her eyes with worry about him.

"But Bow-"

"I said go!" He tearfully interrupted. There was no way they would survive this war if the Moonstone was destroyed. She also knew there was no way Bow would manage to survive on his own for too long if he tried to fend for himself and the pillar. But what other choice did she have? There was no way she would get through to him, and with the short amount of time they had remaining, there was little to argue about.

With a heavy heart, and a teary eye, Glimmer wiped her eyes away as she ran for the pathway along the cliffs, seeing how a portion of the pillar's stairway was broken in the amassing fire of energy the Horde unleashed. She didn't look back as she heard Bow continuing to give his all, the sounds of explosions filling the surrounding air as he fought against a couple of droids that approached him with the last few arrows he had on hand.

She had to push passed her doubt, her fears, her worries, as she made her way up the stairs. There was no turning back with the destruction that continued to spread, no time to second-guess her options as she made her way towards the Moonstone, the one that was barely lit with energy as the barrier around it and her mother continued to die out. And there was nothing but panic filling Glimmer's mind as she saw a tail spring out from behind the upcoming pathway, taking a stand with her staff in hand as she saw Scorpia appear before her.

Excited, and angry.

"You and your friends have a lot of nerve, you know that?" She shouted. The pitiful display of defense Glimmer held up as she blocked her overhead swing was met with pain as Scorpia easily jabbed her in the stomach with her other pincer, causing the girl to out a cough as she was shoved back. "Do you know how much pain your stupid friend put Adora through? How much she's cried over here?!"

* _clack_ *

Glimmer pushed back with all the might she could as her feet skid across the ground, feeling the force of Scorpia's strength as she pushed her back an inch every second. "Yeah, because she really seems like the sensitive type to me! I can really picture the person LEADING AN INVADING ARMY as a decent person!" Glimmer shouted back swiping at her head with the staff which Scorpia dodged under as she backed up.

"She was before your friend messed her up!" With a furious shout, Glimmer was forced to back away as well as Scorpia crashed both her pincers to the ground, nearly pounding the girl as the earth beneath them crumbled. "She used to be happy, cheerful, always thinking about others first and herself second! Every day she kept talking about Catra and how she was worried over her. How to protect her, how to save her from you guys. You couldn't ask for a better friend!"

She couldn't tell if Scorpia was being serious about this or trying to mess with her head. She wanted Glimmer to believe that Adora, the girl who tortured her, to manipulated Catra at the ball, who nearly ended her life in Salineas, and was now probably doing the same somewhere else at this very moment, was actually a considerate and caring person? She wouldn't even consider believing her if it wasn't for the fire she saw in Scorpia's eyes.

That kind of fire is one you'd get when you met somebody who truly cared for another. Someone who was willing to fight for them because of how much they meant to her. She had no idea what kind of person Scorpia was, yet she was going out of her way with her own personal grudge against her because of what happened to Adora and how she is now.

Was she telling the truth?

"And ever since she came back from the ruins, she hasn't spoken a single word about what happened! All she does now is frown and look angrily at everything except for weapons to destroy you guys with. I can't even give her a daily hug without her backing away from me! And it's your fault!"

At this, the Princess of Bright Moon grumbled as she was pushed against the wall of the cliff, the Force Captain refusing to give the girl the same paralyzing agent she gave Spinnerella as she wanted her to watch. "So you mess up someone I care about," she grinned," and I mess up someone you care about!" She didn't need any hints to what she was getting at as she turned her head towards the Moonstone chamber, fretting at the sight she was beholding.

Within the chamber, the Queen continued to use every ounce of strength she had in reserves, barely maintaining the grip on the Moonstone's barrier as she heard the mechanical whirring of gears approaching with increased volume after each step. Shifting her eyes to the side, her brow lowered with renewed worry as she saw one of the deadly droids approaching her, intending to destroy the Queen and the Moonstone on its own.

Gathering a small fragment of energy she could at the tips of her finger, the Queen drew a small decimal of the Runestone's remaining magic as she blasted at the oncoming droid, pushing it away with as much power as she could. It proved to be in vain as the droid was scraped against the ground, pushing it back only for a few seconds before it regained its footing again, the round carapace of its shell opening up as it began to charge its lasers.

There was nothing more the Queen could do as it charged. In a futile attempt at a last stand, the Queen projected one last barrier over herself as she prepared to take the full force of the attack with everything it had to offer. Sadly, her attempts to shrug off the blast were met with naught as she took the empowered force of the enhanced droid's attack, blasting her away to the broken walls of the room where she collapsed, weakened.

With the Queen out of commission, there was nothing left to protect the barrier from the dark energies that filled the sky. With the last of the magical resistance fading, there was nothing to keep the dark energies from being drawn towards the Runestone, the darkened clouds swirling around with the Moonstone at its center, as it began to darken the magical jewel and blacken the sky with its everlasting darkness.

The last line of defense for Bright Moon against the Horde had finally fallen, and the thoughts of everything that would come after terrified Glimmer to no end.

"MOTHER!" She screamed tearfully.

* _rrrrrrrttttttttt_ *

"Gaaaaaaaaaahhhh!" Of all the lousy time for her glitching powers to pop up, it **had** to be now! She was already in enough pain at the fear of what happened to her mother just now, wasn't that enough for her to endure?! Couldn't this glitching cut her a break for a change and let her fight through the rest of this madness before rearing its ugly head?

That was when she noticed the staff's tip starting to glow, the energy rushing through her body transferring a little to the tip of the staff as it filled with a renewed source of energy. In addition, she noticed Scorpia's grip against her starting to weaken as the Force Captain stared at her strange state in confusion, inadvertently loosening her grip in the process. It was the one push Glimmer needed to turn this entire situation into her favor.

With all the strength she had, she pushed off Scorpia's grip, swinging the staff with all her might as she directed the energy at the Force Captain personally, blasting her off her feet and knocking her over the ledge, just like she did with Netossa a short while ago. Of all the times for her glitching to spike up, now proved to be the most useful as it faded away soon after. She didn't care how the staff managed to draw in the glitch's energy, all she cared about right now was the safety of her mother as she ran up the steps of the pathway, hoping to save her mother from an untimely fate.

...

"No matter how much you push back, we'll keep throwing everything we have at you, Catra." Adora stated as she continued pressing her foot painfully on Catra's back.

Catra was at a loss for words as she watched the darkness gather around the Runestone. If the Runestone was starting to fall, there was no telling what sort of state the Queen was in, causing her to fear the worse. If the Queen was in as bad of a state as Catra presumed, there was no telling what sort if dilemma Bow, Glimmer, or the others found themselves in at the same time. For all she knew, they could've been captured by now, at best, as she tried in vain to fight against Adora.

**_Let Go_ **

For less than a second, barely a flash in her mind, she saw Light Hope. The one who started all of this upon touching the sword, the one who told her of her role in all of this and hew new destiny, and the one who kept telling her to let go of her past, now more directly than ever before.

She still hated that woman, A.I., whatever she wanted to call it, for messing up her life to begin with. None of this should've been happening. Not to her, not to Adora, not to anyone she came to care about or consider close to friends. She was the one who told Catra she had to do this, practically forced her to do this, from her point of view, and now she had the gull to continue ranting to her about letting go of her past, and everything she held dear.

If she wasn't a transparent A.I. Catra couldn't touch, she would've gladly scratched her life out by now.

Out of all the things her and this sword were nagging her for, there was one thing she agreed with. She could no longer afford to waste anymore of her time fighting Adora, not here when the majority of the fighting was happening down in the ravine. Even if it meant she followed her all the way through, she needed to get closer to where all the other action was, where her friends and allies needed her to be. She needed to get there swiftly, and safely.

And that gave her an idea as she pressed her finger and thumb into her mouth.

* _Tweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!_ *

"Hey!" Adora grumbled as she slammed Catra's head to the ground, earning a grunt of pain. "Did I say you could interrupt the show here? What are you whistling about anyway?"

"Mhmhmhm..." She heard Catra mumble, rolling her eyes as she pulled Catra's head back by her hair, ignoring the few pebbles that fell from her exhausted face.

"Say that again?"

Catra spit a little as she cleared the small ounce of dirt out of her mouth, growing angrier as she turned her eyes towards her. "Calling a friend."

"A friend?" It was as if she had never heard the word before, not from Catra's lips anyway.

* _neeeeeeeeigh!_ *

* ** _WHAM!_** *

"Agh!" Adora yelped as she was tackled out of the way by three-hundred pounds of literal horsepower, crashing against the crater again.

"Catra!" Swift Wind called out worriedly, seeing the beaten and battered state of his master and friend. "Are you okay? You look hurt-!"

"I'm fine, let's just go back to the Moonstone, quickly." Catra interrupted, weakly throwing herself over the horse with her sword still in hand.

"But Catra, your back-"

"I said go!" She repeated, kicking at his sides a little.

Swift Wind had to force out a sigh at the pent up dread he was feeling as he flapped his feathery wings and took off. He knew Catra to be stubborn, heck everybody knew that, but he at least wished she would take better care of herself and possibly request they'd go somewhere she could recover for a minute or two. Time was of the essence and she was in a better state to defend them if she spent a minute just to catch her breath for a change.

Unwilling to argue, the alicorn soared through the air, taking off for Castle Bright Moon again as Adora clawed her way out of the ground she was planted in. She didn't know whether to be enraged by the constant interruptions or overjoyed at the fact they were headed back towards the castle.

One way or another, she was ending this battle once and for all by the time this day was over.

...

* _clak_ *

* _clak_ *

* _Clak_ *

The mechanical footsteps drove on as the droid within the chamber approached the Queen. With its primary directive being to destroy the Runestone and the hostile takeover of Castle Bright Moon, it couldn't allow any survivors or possible resistance to escape from this place alive. It didn't matter if the Queen was truly immortal or not, it would ensure it blasted at her enough until nothing remained, save for a smoldering pile of ash.

It was this reality that was met as Glimmer ran halfway across the bridge, panting heavily in exhaustion at the dire path she ran all the way through. Despite slowing down, she refused to give up as she ran with all the energy and conviction she had left, the urge to save her mother overpowering the draining energy she felt in her legs. She was the only one who could reach her in time at this rate, and the last chance she had to save her mother and possibly the Runestone, all at once.

Or so she thought.

* _neeeeigh!_ *

With the shouting neigh that filled the air, the droid turned its focus from the collapsed Queen to the direction of the angry war cry that approached it, detecting the flying horse that was charging in its direction with a warrior on its back. Neither of the two seemed to show any hesitation as the robot started to charge its lasers, preparing to open fire upon the two as soon as they were within range.

"Are you ready?" Catra said as she squatted onto her feet on the back of the horse, ready to lunge at the robot and cleave it in one strike with her sword.

"Ready when you are, She-Ra!" Swift Wind replied proudly, ready to dodge at a moment's notice as soon as the robot appeared ready to fire.

"One..."

"Two..."

"Thr-!"

* **BOOM!** *

"Ahhhhhhh!" The two screamed as Swift Wind cried out in pain, throwing Catra off his back as he began to fall out of the sky.

With the two so focused on the robot they were about to charge, they didn't anticipate or prepare for the endless barrage of lasers that charged at them, seeing at least six different blasts shoot off passed them until one of them struck Swift Wind's side, exploding upon impact with his armor, the force knocking the energy and consciousness out of him as he fell directly into the chamber a short ways away, the droid within it watching as it powered down its shot, knowing the combatant was unable to battle any longer.

The same _soft_  landing he experienced from being so high in the sky wasn't replicated on Catra's end, sadly enough, as the girl dropped straight out of the sky with her arms and legs flailing to grab on to anything out of the thin air, dropping the sword out of her hands as she fell. There was nothing to catch her save for the harsh shallow waters below that barely mitigated the impact with her She-Ra form, the near-hundred foot drop being enough to kill the average person. Her entire body was met with pain as she survived this, feeling her bones nearly at the breaking point from then on.

Back at the top of the Moonstone Chamber, the droid diverted its attention back to the fallen Queen, knowing its primary priorities came first, specifically the one dealing with the Queen. As before, the droid began to charge its lasers as it focused its sights directly at the Queen's head, her weakened and unconscious body unable to put up any sort of resistance as she laid there, ready to be shot at.

"Hey! Bucket head!" It heard Glimmer shouting, turning away from the Queen right as it was about to fire to see the incoming princess charging right at it. With its charge still ready, the robot fired straightaway at the shouting Princess, Glimmer dodging gracefully out of the way as she jumped to the air, standing on top of the robot where its sensors and sights couldn't reach her.

* _rrrrrrrtttttttt_ *

"Nngggggghhhhhhaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!" The pain that surrounded her was nothing like she felt previously, feeling like her entire body was ready to burst at the rate these buildups were going. Seeing the staff draining away at the energy again, remembering how she dealt with Scorpia a minute ago, she powered through the pain as best she could, grumbling as she impaled the tip of the staff directly through the robots metallic head.

Both, she, and the robot, were overcome with thousands of volts of its own electricity combined with the unbearable pain of the glitching as the two struggled to maintain their footing, Glimmer refusing to let go knowing what it would mean for her mother if she couldn't stop the robot here and now. It was a painful process, and not one she ever wanted to repeat in the future unless it was absolutely necessary, but after an eternity's span of time within ten seconds, Glimmer finally released the staff from the robot's skull as it exploded, blasting the girl off of her and against the wall.

That was everything she had left in energy. She was tired, she was exhausted, and she could barely feel any muscle as her body felt like a wad of gelatin. The last thing she saw was the sight of her mother's unconscious body as she slowly succumbed to the same fate, leaving the chamber filled with three unconscious beings, none of whom could protect the Moonstone any longer.

...

Catra would've wished she was in the same state of unconsciousness if she had any idea of how peaceful they were in, yet knew it wasn't an option. She had no idea how Swift Wind was other than alive, or the state of Glimmer for the few seconds she saw her. All she knew was that whatever state she was in, it wasn't awake, or she'd be yelling Catra's name in worry or fright like the last person she heard.

"Catra!" Bow picked up the pace as Catra rolled over onto her stomach, wincing at the pain it brought as she feebly got back to her knees and hands. "Are you alright?"

"Tch, I..." The cat kept her head down as she stared into the murky waters her hands were submerged in. "I can't beat her." It was just like her first confrontation with Shadow Weaver after she joined the Rebellion, only this time it wasn't out of fear.

"Catra?" He soothed her back as he rubbed it, trying to ease any pain she was in over her shoulders, nearly making a face as he saw the scars on her back.

"I can't beat Adora!" She specified, lowering her ears. "She's too strong... too fast... I can't..."

"Catra, we can't give up now!" It was a miracle in and of itself that Bow seemed to retain any sort of optimism out of this. "Even if we're the last two standing, we have to keep trying!"

"What's the point?" It was hopeless to her, now more than ever. "What do we have to gain if we continue fighting like this?"

"What do we have to gain if we don't?" Bow shot back, earning Catra's full attention as she looked up. As she did, she noticed the sword in his hands, the same one he gladly handed back. "Catra, if we give up now, there will be nothing left to stop the Horde. No kingdom will be strong enough to fight back, nobody will be brave enough to unite the kingdoms around here. If we threw in the towel, we lose everything. No matter how impossible it seems, we have to push forward no matter how hard it gets!"

A part of her wished she shared in Bow's foolish optimism. To be able to look something like death in the face like this multiple times, to always have a strong backbone after all the beatings he took, the noticeable bruises and scrapes against his arms and armor as he spoke to her, it was almost endearing to see from anyone in these dark times.

It really was his greatest quality.

"Awww, now don't go getting her hopes up like that~" A familiar voice taunted, much to their dismay as they looked back.

There stood Adora. The Force Captain leading the charge against the Battle of Bright Moon, the one who casually carried herself over to the other end of the ravine through all the trees in a matter of minutes. The one who had shadowy tendrils sticking out of her back, the one who sneered at them with nearly forty soldiers behind her, followed by a row of tanks behind that. They were all staring down at the last futile resistance that the Rebellion had to offer, and Adora couldn't be any happier than this.

"Don't you know it's rude to get peoples hopes up, just to crush them later?" She added, giving a small scowl at Catra as she said this. "Trust me, I know from experience..."

"Adora!" Bow shouted angrily, standing his ground as he reached for one of his numerous arrows. Or he would, that is, if he wasn't met with empty air. Turning his head, he saw all of his arrows were gone, having used them up in the climactic battle against the Horde's forces and their droids. Still, refusing to back down, demonstrating his courage in front of a friend who needed it most, he let out another scream of anger as he charged Adora directly, intending to fight her off with the bow clenched tightly in his hands.

The Force Captain would've been amused by this endeavor if it wasn't for his relationship to the person he hated most right now, and Catra. Side stepping the oncoming strike with ease, his movements being as slow as a senior citizen in her newly enhanced state, the captain didn't show any signs of caring as she smacked him away with one of her gargantuan fists, tossing him into the air until he slammed directly into a tree within the woods, out of the ravine.

The archer huffed his last breath as he fell to the ground, snapping through a giant branch as he passed it, and falling face-first to the gravel below. It was the last amount of energy he had as he tried to pick himself off the ground. What few inches he could manage were dusted away as he finally collapsed again, out of breath, out of energy, and out of consciousness.

Just the way the Force Captain liked it.

"Well that was a good warm-up." She teased as Scorpia sluggishly made her way over, holding an arm over her stomach. "Hey... are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah," Scorpia smiled a little, glad some part of her friend still remained, "just sore."

"Well, you can take it easy now." She replied, patting her shoulder as she turned back towards the feline. "With Bow out of the way, there's nobody left to-"

* _splish_ *

"You've got to be kidding me..." The captain's irritation was matched only by her scowling.

Their attention was caught by the small splashing sound they heard at the other end of the ravine, the very place a lone magicat struggled to stand up. They watched her as she weakly pushed her way off the ground, using the sword to support her as she picked herself out of the shallow waters that submerged her feet. It almost looked like it was taking all of her energy to lift the sword to her side with both her hands, panting heavily as she stared down the invaders.

She was broken, battered, weakened, exhausted, scarred, scared, trembling, and nervous. Her clothes were torn with a few cuts along her chest, not to mention the gaping hole that was scratched off of the back of her outfit, she was severely bruised on nearly all her sides with cuts on every limb of her body, and the girl looked as if she ran a hundred miles without taking a single moment to rest or get a drink of water to freshen up.

There was nothing about her that looked ready to fight against the legion of the Horde, yet she was the only one who remained conscious after everything she's been through. She was the only one still standing on her feet, the last person blocking their way to the castle, and the final obstacle standing in their way.

The one person standing between Etheria, and complete and total destruction. She was the one who needed to finish this fight before all was lost.

Her name, is Catra. Her name, is She-Ra.

She was the last hope for the Rebellion.

This was her last stand.

 

_**...** _

 

_**...** _

 

_**...** _

 

_**A/N: I don't think I could end a cliffhanger more suspenseful than I had now of all times XP Hoping this keeps everyone on the edge of their seats because, as of now, we are down, to our GRAND BIGGEST FINALE OF ALL TIME PEOPLE!!!!! THE FINAL CHAPTER OF SEASON 1!** _

 

_**There can be no words to describe everything that will happen, just know that through it all, it will (hopefully) be the biggest chapter I've done to date, as well as hopefully the most enjoyable/tearful. There will be a lot happening in it, i give you my word, hence the oversized chapter I intend/hope to get pushed out. There also will be a bit of music recommended to listen to to intensify the feels and whatnot. And after that, after a noticeable break I intend to have, we'll finally be moving on to SEASON 2! (which i've yet to watch any of so im very excited for it ^^)** _

 

_**Hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!** _


	54. Season 1 Finale: No Happy Endings End

**_A/N: Hey Gang! You like reads that take over an hour :D?_ **

**_Audience: NO!_ **

**_Me: Well too bad, here we go!_ **

**_God this one was annoying to re-edit and fix X/. It wasn't bad writing_ _itself_ _, the annoyance came in that when I had to copy and paste the flashback bits, they all came out jumped and bulgy in a bizarre way, and annoyingly enough, CLUSTERED TOGETHER, so i had to manually re-paragraph them myself T_T and I know i could've copied and pasted differently to fix it, but that was after the first fifteen minutes of corrections i_ _listed, so I couldn't afford to miss anything i forgot about._ **

**_But with that jumbledness out of the way, behold. Not just the grand finale to our first season, but the most I had ever written in a day. I pray to you all:_ **

**_Enjoy X)!_ **

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

"You can't be serious." Adora smirked with a hand at her side, staring across the ravine to her former friend.

The Rebellion was, as of now, finished. Every last ounce of resistance the Rebellion had to offer had finally been wiped out. The barrier protecting the Moonstone from the Black Garnet's dark magics was destroyed, allowing its corrupted energy to slowly drain away at what little lifeforce remained within the jewel, even as they speak.

The archer, Bow, laid unconscious against a tree after Adora bashed him away. Glimmer lost her energy saving her mother from one of the droids after another surge of her glitching washed over her, while being electrocuted by the robot she destroyed at the same time. Scorpia made quick work of taking out Spinnerella in person as she snuck up behind her and stung her, followed by Netossa who she took out with a group of soldiers after trying to avenge her fallen friend. And Swift Wind, the noble steed, was powerless to protect himself as he flew Catra across the valley, trying to reach the Queen in time to save her, only to be blasted out of the sky.

The mightiest of these defenders was the Queen of Bright Moon herself, the Immortal Queen, Angella. Everything the woman had done affected all the soldiers and machines launched against the castle. Her barrier proved resilient throughout the battle, her magics managed to blast away the tanks and droids several time throughout the war, disrupting their efforts and advances as the remainder of the Rebellion attempted to fight off the invading Horde army.

It wasn't until the tanks and droids had finally amassed in number that they managed to launch a surprise volley against the barrier directly, firing a barrage of energy at the barrier endlessly without mercy. Eventually, the barrier gave way as it crumbled, the combined might of the Horde finally beating back the last barrier the Queen had to throw at them as she focused on defending the Runestone directly as a last resort.

She was an easy target for the approaching droid that managed to scale the pathway earlier, the Queen struggling to maintain what little magic she could around the Runestone and fight off the droid at the same time. She was defenseless to stop the droid as it advanced, launching a single, powerful, blast of energy at the Queen, knocking her out cold like the rest had been, and for those who were soon to follow. With her unconsciousness, there was nobody left to protect the Runestone or the castle.

Except for one.

Her name was Catra, the last defender standing between the Horde and the destruction of Bright Moon Castle, along with the rest of Etheria.

Catra was in no state to defend as she stood there, sluggishly standing on her own two feet with a weak grip over the sword as she panted. She was beaten, battered, bruised, exhausted, panting, sweating, and still the furthest one from the edge of consciousness. She was the only one who managed to stay around throughout the entirety of this battle, the very one she didn't want any part in, the last battle that would determine her relationship with Adora from this point onward.

Ever since their one-on-one fight began, Adora held the advantage. Thanks to the mass of shadows she managed to collect, due to the never-ending darkness that swirled above, the Force Captain was all but invincible in her present state, shrugging off most of Catra's potentially lethal attacks from being blown at point blank range by an explosive arrow to the back, to being bashed away with a massive tree and slammed against a rocky cliffside as a result.

All of Catra's best attacks were brushed off with ease for the blonde girl who managed to walk off what little injuries she sustained throughout the fighting. Anything Catra managed to dish out proved to be in vain, even in her partial She-Ra form, as she was powerless to resist against Adora's own attacks. Her strength was enhanced, her defense was enhanced, even her agility was enhanced in this state, and it still wasn't enough to defeat Adora.

From being slammed against the ground, bashed against a tree like her, and having four painful scars across her back that never ceased to burn, still ripe and fresh from the moment Adora scratched them into her flesh a few minutes ago. Maybe it was because she was in her She-Ra form that they didn't bleed, not that the alternative was any better as she still felt everything. If her She-Ra form ever gave out after all the pain and exhaustion she's gone through, there was no telling how much pain she would be in anymore.

Her emotional struggle with the situation was proving more problematic than her physical one, just by an inch as of now. She didn't want to fight her friend, she didn't want to hurt her. Everything from where they were now to how they came to be was all of her fault. She's the reason Adora is doing this in the first place, she's the one who caused Adora to go off the deep end. All because of how she treated her in the past, all the ways she used their friendship to her advantage. She was responsible for what Adora was doing here, and she needed to find some way to fix it before it was too late.

She was all that was left by the end of all this. Through all the fighting, through all the struggling, she was the last one still standing, however weakly she might be. And now, she was staring at two Force Captains, at least forty soldiers behind them, a dozen tanks behind that, and who knew how many droids that were roaming the forest.

She couldn't afford to lose here.

"What do you think you're doing, Catra?" Adora couldn't help but grin at her pitiful display, an ounce of her still feeling sorry for the state she was currently in, and a pound of her laughing on the inside.

"I'm... huff... g... gonna stop you... right here..." Catra panted, struggling just to breathe, much less hold the sword up.

"Really... You? Stop us? By yourself?" Every question she asked was fresh in her mind, hearing the chuckling and laughter from the fellow soldiers that stood behind her, joking about the freak's antics. "Don't waste your breath. Soldiers!" With her arm raised to her side, the soldiers stood at attention as they began to march forward, ready to take Bright Moon Castle for glory of the Horde.

"How... How about a wager?" The magicat's curious bargain actually managed to intrigue the Force Captain, the soldiers coming to a halt as they saw Adora close her hand again.

"A wager?"

"Yeah, a wager. Let's make a bet right here, right now, about which of us will win in a fight."

She chuckled quietly. "Catra, what makes you think you're in any position to make a bet against me right now? I mean look at you! You can barely stand on your own two feet-!"

"Then you should be more than enough of a match for me, Adora." Catra interrupted, tightening the grip on her sword. At this point, she was grasping at straws here. She had no idea what to do, any idea of how to do it, or how long she could hold on to this charade. All she could do is hope enough time would pass for a potential miracle to come about. Being the way she was right now, Catra knew the kind of person Adora was presently.

She was being Catra. And nobody on Etheria knew how to play at Catra's own game better than her.

"Think about it for a minute. Would you, the so-called honorable Force Captain," she sneered, pointing her sword directly at her, "really be satisfied if anyone else got to finish me off?" At the comment, Scorpia noticed a small twitch from Adora's eyes, as if the girl was actually contemplating her words. "If they're the ones who finish me off, you'll never get over your grudge against me. You'll always have that annoying spark of doubt clouding your mind, and it'll haunt you for the rest of your life."

"..." She was no stranger to Catra's trickery and pranks over the years, and this was barely any different from them. She was just trying to pull something here in order to get the drop on her or to come up with another scheme. If anyone was capable of seeing through Catra's plots and shenanigans, it was Adora, the very person she grew up alongside with all her life.

Then again, she couldn't deny there was some semblance of truth in her words when she thought about it. She still had that annoying spark of concern over Catra like she claimed, and it was something that continued to bring an endless source of pain to her, no matter how miniscule, even after all that's happened. The moment she could get rid of that spark, she knew she would be free of her past and her pain, and all she had to do was strike Catra down with her own two hands.

"...What are the stakes of this wager?" She finally asked, much to Scorpia's surprise.

"But Adora-!" Any argument she had to make about this was silenced as Adora raised her hand a little in pause as she focused on Catra.

"One on one. You against me, in front of your entire army. If I win, everyone has to turn back and leave Bright Moon, including you."

"And if I win?" Adora asked curiously. If there was something as big as a retreat for Catra's victory, then surely she had to have something big for Adora's victory.

"Satisfaction." She stated.

"...What? That's it?  _Satisfaction_  for kicking your butt?" It was almost insulting how little the reward seemed in comparison to Catra's own reward. "How is that supposed to be a big payoff for me? It feels like you come out with more on top if you won."

"Are you kidding me? Do you know what I would give to have any sense of satisfaction?" She played on, gulping in the back of her mind that she could pull this off. "If good always wins, you would have the satisfaction of beating me and proving that you were right about everything. You would prove that the Horde are the good guys, prove to the world that they stand united against tyranny or whatever garbage you believe they're telling you. More importantly, you would be proving yourself right about me." At the statement, Adora blinked. She was getting to her.

"Prove that everything you said about me was true. That I really am a terrible person, and everything I've done was for my own gain." She said, lowering her sword as she looked off to the side in partial disgust. "You would prove that everything I've done in my life was for my own selfish desire... that I'm only looking out for myself. It would show everybody that you have every right to hate me, Adora, and nobody could blame you anymore." As she finished, she glanced over to the Force Captain as she saw a small twitch in her shadowy fingers. That was the twitch she needed from her to prove that this was working.

Catra had messed up so much of Adora's life from the moment they first became friends. She used her name to sew fear into the hearts of the Fright Zone guards, soldiers, and staff just to get away with whatever she wanted. She always let Adora take the fall whenever they caused trouble, knowing any punishment she received would be nowhere near as severe as anything Catra would claim.

If she actually took Catra on her bargain, she would prove to everyone that everything they feared about Adora was wrong. It would prove that Adora was unaware of Catra's actions from the beginning, that she was the innocent victim in all of this. There would be no one to question or fear Adora or her name any longer if they bore witness to her cutting off all her ties to Catra right now. She could communicate with her fellow soldiers again, with no one trembling at the mention of her name, regardless if Shadow Weaver was around anymore.

Not to mention what she said about the good guys always winning. Everybody that wasn't part of the Horde doubted in them. They saw them as senseless savages that were only trying to spread chaos and ruin across the world. Nobody wanted anything else to do with the Horde unless it was to benefit themselves, or simply out of fear. If she managed to beat Catra, she could prove to the world that they were wrong about them. The potential relationships and allies they could garner out of it would be superb!

And, of course, all of it came down to Adora's ties to Catra herself. She needed some way to cut her ties directly from the girl, no matter how forceful or cruel they were. As long as Catra was around, she would continue to torment her to no end, whether or not she was alive. She would be reminded of their possible friendship that still remained, plaguing her with memories of a better time with her that would bring pain back to Adora everytime she remembered something.

She needed this outlet. She had a chance to fix her past once and for all, every last detail from beginning to end.

It began with Catra, so it was only fitting that it would end with her as well.

"...Soldiers!" Adora finally spoke, raising her arm again as they prepared to strike. "...Everyone is to stand down." Her orders were met with expected skepticism and surprise amongst the crowd, none of which matched Scorpia's expression. "I'll take care of this myself. Under no circumstances is anyone allowed to interfere or assist me until this battle is over. Am I clear?" The few mumbles and questions she heard were quickly silenced as she shot a sharp look at them. "Am I clear?!"

"Yes, sir!" They replied, saluting.

"Adora, you can't be serious!" Scorpia replied as her half-blonde-half-black-haired friend stepped forward. "She's just trying to trick you, there's no need to this! We're just wasting time if we-"

"Scorpia." She cut off, speaking calmly and directly as she turned her head to the left, just enough to see her mouth as her hair covered her eyes. "I need to do this... please..."

It's not like Scorpia couldn't understand why she wanted to do it. With all the pain she put Adora through, she needed to find some way to bring back the original Adora, the fun, perky, chipper one that always made the Fright Zone feel a little less darker whenever she walked through it, who always had a smile glued to her face whenever she greeted somebody. If anyone deserved to ask for a selfish favor for a change, it was her.

Thinking about it, too, if she was to do this and came out of it victorious, it might actually bring the real Adora back to her! She could have her own little buddy back in the Fright Zone instead of this one that was slowly starting to scare her with each passing moment. If she refused her right now, there was no telling if her dear friend would ever come back to her, not when she needed her most.

So, with a hearty sigh and a small smile, Scorpia nodded, taking a few steps back as Adora turned her head back, not before Scorpia noticed the small smile growing on her face.

"Besides," Adora continued as she reformed her blackened shadowy arms, "I never did take off that bounty on her. When I finally beat her, everyone who's present here will be rewarded for her bounty. They'll be praised for defeating the terrible She-Ra, on top of destroying the Rebellion." With conviction and darkness running through her veins, Adora took a stance. "Everything I do, I do for the Horde. It's always been for the Horde."

"And what has that gotten you, Adora?" Catra questioned, tightening the grip on her sword as she prepared for her last battle. "Nothing but sadness."

"...Goodbye, Catra." There were no more words that could be said between the two, despite the voices shouting in both of their hearts.

They had messed with each other's lives sine this tale began. Catra ruined the best relationship a friend could ask for. Adora assisted in kidnapping Glimmer and Bow which lead to the events that have unfolded within the last few days. Both of them were responsible for each other's current misery, and both were at fault with their own. Nothing could be said anymore that the two haven't heard from the other before.

All they could do, was fight.

"Haaaaaaaahhh!" Catra roared as she charged straight ahead at the Force Captain, her feet splashing against the shallow waves of the water below. Adora didn't even bother putting up much of a resistance as she casually walked over to the girl, her face devoid of emotion or care as Catra drew back her sword.

* _clang!_ *

As Catra attempted to strike the first blow, it became clear why she was so calm about everything. With just the tip of her shadowy finger, Adora easily managed to block the attempted swipe from her right, standing in place as she looked on at her former friend in disgust.

"Is that truly it?" There was barely a twitch in her finger as Catra attempted to increase the pressure on her sword, glancing back and forth between her sword and Adora's cold expression.

It might have been another fault with her new She-Ra form, something she wasn't used to given the lack of times she managed to transform with it. After all the beatings she took to get as far as she was now in the conflict, every injury she had sustained and what little she actually felt given her She-Ra state, it finally dawned on her that, while her new form was enhanced and amplified like Adora's was, her physical body still had its own limits. It grew exhausted like an average person, it became weaker as her muscles were spent. She was playing with an exhausted, tired out, body that has grown progressively weaker throughout the fight, and she barely noticed it.

Adora mentally shook her head as she saw Catra struggling to push the blade any further against her finger, watching as Catra attempted to apply more pressure to it by using both of her hands. Seeing the girl trying her hardest to injure Adora in some way, to protect these people she barely knows, was revolting to her.

"You know, there was a time I would have given anything to see this day." Adora commented as she easily blocked several of Catra's incoming blows with her claws. From above, to the left, and straight at her head, she brushed away every strike that came to her. "You, fighting with all you got to protect a side with all your might, doing what's right? I would've been more than proud of you any day I got to see that, to see you give your all even though it was pointless.

* **WHAM!** *

"Agh!" Catra cried out. It took a single punch to the gut to blast Catra nearly twenty feet of way, causing the girl to skid across the ravine like a doll. She winced a little at the pain, wiping away the small scrape against her chin before charging straight at the girl again, ready to strike with all of her might. "In case you haven't noticed, that's exactly what I'm doing!"

"But you were supposed to be on our side while doing it!" She yelled angrily, blocking the overhead swing with her blade-covered arms. "We were supposed to be a team the entire time, Catra!" At the shout, the force attempted to swipe clean across Catra's head, forcing the magicat to flip backwards from the first strike and dodge back when the second strike attempted to impale her in the ground, the shadowy blade cutting clean through it. "We were always supposed to have each other's backs, Catra!"

"We promised each other each and every time that we would be there to support each!" Thrusting both her arms into the solid earth below her, the ground started to tremble violently. From where she stood, Catra watched in horror as the ground around Adora started to pool in an unearthly shadow, one that started to spread further and closer into the magicat's direction.

Starting from the halfway point towards reaching the girl, her eyes widened in shock as large shadowy spikes started erupting from the ground in all directions from the shadows. Ones that were thin in diameter, large in length as they could tower over the two combatants, capable of puncturing solid holes into anyone caught into this deadly trap, and were on a direct course towards Catra herself as she observed the pattern approaching her.

 _Is this really how things would've gone originally, Adora?_  Catra wondered in her mind as she continued to push on. Vivid flashes of an alternate reality pushed through her mind as she wondered to herself,  _Would we really be right here today on opposite sides if you found the sword first?_

A part of her could see it now, probably in the exact same predicament. Adora would be fighting with everything she had in a futile effort to stop Catra, as she and the rest of the Horde continued to lay siege against the Rebellion. She would be looking at a distraught Adora who struggled against Catra or her merciless army as she continued to fight in a losing battle.  _Or would we actually be on the same side again?_  That was another sea of possibilities that began to flash in her mind.

In another take, she never would've been fighting against Adora in any reality. Here, in this scene, she could picture the two of them fighting tooth and claw against their enemies, either laying siege to the Rebellion itself or protecting it against whatever foe threatened to destroy everything they held dear. Then again, if Adora really did find the sword originally like she was always intended to, there was a greater chance the war would've been over by now, with Adora having won the war for the Rebellion in the short few months that Catra had taken her place in.

 _I bet you would've done everything perfectly, you know?_  Coming back to reality, Catra jumped to the air as a final, massive, spear, sprouted straight towards her, nearly striking her foot as she jumped upon the shadowy tendril, running as fast as she could down it and into the sea of spears ahead of her.  _You probably would've united all the princesses already, you could have saved Glimmer without any casualties like me. Maybe you would've done a better job convincing me to come back, or maybe I would've been too stubborn for my own good._

 _I just know that... we shouldn't be fighting like this._  She told herself, ignoring the small tear that ran down her left cheek.  _We shouldn't be on opposite sides of everything, Adora. We never should have been. All that your doing, everything that's going on... it's my fault._

Reacting appropriate, as best she could, she ran through the shadowy pillars that sprouted around her, carefully maneuvering through the dreaded impalers that were sure to end her miserable existence if one of them managed to strike her directly. Despite her best efforts, she wasn't capable of reacting to all of them perfectly, finding her right arm getting scratched once, the other one twice, and nearly jumping as the tip of one of the protruding spears just scratched the right side of her cheek by half an inch, all while she was focusing on running up towards the Force Captain causing all of this.

Little did she know that the same Force Captain was charging at her at the same time, the feline being too distracted on avoiding the pillars that blocked her path to realize they had stopped sprouting. By the time she reached the epicenter where they first grew from, she found her entire face grabbed by a large shadowy hand, lifting her off the ground as the suddenness of the event caused her to drop the sword to the ground.

She pulled as hard as she could against the hardening shadow as it slowly squeezed tighter and tighter around her head, feeling the lack of necessary oxygen being nowhere near in comparison to the pain it was causing by having her head slowly crushed.

"We made all sorts of promises to each other, Catra!" Adora continued, gritting her teeth tighter as the rage began to redden her eyes. Within a mere second, releasing her grip from the girl's head, Catra nearly heaved in agony as she felt another direct strike of a shadowy fist colliding into her stomach, blasting her away far enough to crash her into the edge of the doorway to the Moonstone's stairs to the chamber. "And you broke every single one!"

"Ough-!" Catra coughed, spitting a little into the water.

**_Let Go_ **

_Shut up!_  Catra yelled inside of her own mind. Light Hope ruined enough of her life as it was. She was taking her old life away, gave her a task she never asked for, and expected her to follow suit as she became the She-Ra the world needed her to be. She would  **never**  give in to Light Hope's final demand, she would never let go of Adora!

She had no idea how far her body was being pushed to its limits, unable to get a firm grasp on how exhausted she was becoming. All she knew was that the minute she gave up, everyone would lose. Even with the sword being kicked a few feet closer to her, ten feet away from where she kneeled, Catra didn't give up, instead choosing to charge the girl head on as she extended the claws in both her hands. "Nggghhhhhh!"

"Who promised to always have my back while I had yours? You did!" Right as Catra attempted to claw at her face, Adora easily managed to grab her right hand entirely in her shadowy tentacle-sprouted right arm. "Who promised to help me whenever I needed her the most? You did!" Growling, the half-blonde tossed the girl into the air behind her, launching her a good fifteen feet away and above the ground. "And who promised they would always be there for me, to always stand by my side, and would never allow anything bad to happen to us as long as we had each  ** _OTHER?!_** "

Shooting her tentacle forward, Catra found her new flight halted as the same tentacle wrapped around her stomach, feeling her head and feet lurching as she came to an abrupt stop. "You did." Before she could comprehend what was happening, she found herself being arched over Adora in a perfectly aligned angle, eventually slamming her into the ground back where she started from was a thunderous crash shook the ground throughout the ravine, small cracks forming along the pillar from the shock-wave.

Her She-Ra form was starting to lose its pain tolerance as Catra's body started to numb. She could feel the sores of her battle escalating around her her arms and legs. Her head was beginning to feel lighter as her senses dulled, doing everything in her power to maintain the will to stay conscious. Her eyelids were taking up most of her energy as she refused to close them any further than the halfway point, fearing what would happen if she closed them completely.

She didn't know what to do anymore. What could she do anymore? She needed to protect her friends. She refused to fight Adora with all of her might out of fear of hurting her, or any possibility of reconciling their relationship. She wasn't able to accept the consequences of her past actions, her inability to let go of her past keeping her from achieving anything close to victory. She had an entire society that needed her to back them up, and she couldn't give that to them when they needed her most.

Her body shaking from the pain of what she was experiencing, she barely had the energy to pull herself to her hands and knees, staring at the water as tears formed in the corners of her eyes that she could see in the reflection. She wasn't a hero. She wasn't a She-Ra. She wasn't any symbol of Hope.

She was Catra. Worthless. Useless. All she could do is lift her head as she saw Adora approaching in the reflection, her friend looking down at her with her own tears of anguish filling her eyes.

"And now, I'm going to end it." She started, looking to the sky where the darkened Moonstone was still floating. "Starting with the Rebellion."

"No!"

* _thump_ *

Following Catra's cry, the girl found her feline ex-friend wrapping her arms around her waist, burying her head into her stomach as she sniffled. Adora had never seen Catra cry so dearly before, never fight for something like this. With little option left, the girl did the only thing she could do as she threw her arms around her, hugging onto her for dear life.

"You're right." Catra finally admitted, mumbling into Adora's stomach. "You were right about everything, okay? I was a horrible, horrible, friend. I abused you, I took you for granted, used you to make my own life easier because I was a coward. I was scared, I was weak, and I was tired of everyone picking on me. And I used you every time I could just to feel like I belonged somewhere, alright? And I never took your own feelings into account for anything I did."

"Catra..." Adora... surprisingly... found her expression starting to soften as the redness left her eyes a little. Was she... really seeing the real Catra now? The one that she previously knew as the sweet, sincere, kind, and sensitive girl that she was before? Was she actually being serious about everything she was saying?

"I deserve whatever punishment you think is necessary, okay? For all the times I used you, for how horrible I made your life just to make mine a little better, I deserve all of it. If you want me to come back to the Horde to pay for my crimes or whatever, I'll do all of it. You can carry out the punishments yourself for all I care. I deserve whatever's coming to me."

Lifting her head up, Adora could see Catra's tear-stained face as she continued, "But please, just stop this already. Let the others go, alright? They shouldn't have to pay for all of this just because you have a personal grudge against me. I'm the one you want, not them. So just let them go and take me like you always wanted, and I'll do everything I can to prove to you that I'm really your friend. I promise, and this time, I swear I won't break it."

"..."

* _scrunch_ *

That did it.

That pushed her over the edge.

From her right hand, Catra's attention was drawn as she saw her friend squeezing her gargantuan shadowy arm, shaking it as she did. It wasn't the reaction she was expecting from her, or anywhere near it for that matter. When she turned to look into Adora's eyes again, her heart nearly fainted.

The seemingly-peaceful, softening, expression that was originally growing over Adora's face started to boil with the blood rushing through her veins. Her eyes started to harden as every fiber of her being was reaching a bursting point, her eyes starting to redden brightly as anger and rage consumed her entire person. Whatever she said just now to reach Adora's heart, any chance she had to finally make amends with the girl, was finally broken. She could see it perfectly well in on Adora's expression.

Right as the tears ceased to flow from her eyes, and the rage consumed her.

"You just proved it." What did Catra do to spring this reaction out of her just now? What did she mess up in to anger her all of a sudden? "You never did care for me to begin with, did you? Here you go again, worrying more about the people you just met instead of the person who was always there for you... I truly never was your friend, was I?"

"What?!" Oh no. "Adora, that's not what I- Gnnk!" Catra nearly bit her tongue as she found a powerful grip wrapped tightly around her neck, lifting her off the ground as her airwaves were completely cut off.

"They're the only ones you care about, huh?" Adora scowled, tightening the grip. "They're the ones you keep talking about, the ones you always came back for. I don't know if you really consider them friends like you say, or if you're just so insistent on getting that fancy kingdom of yours, and honestly, I don't care anymore. If you care so badly about the Rebellion..."

With a pause, Catra was suddenly tossed high into the air by her former friend, shooting into the sky like never before as Adora threw her towards the sky above her. She was so high up that, for just a second, she saw the top of the chamber, the sight of her friends and allies sprawled across the room flashing in front of her eyes.

At that same moment, Adora appeared in front of her, having thrown herself high into the air with the tendrils behind her back pushing her off the ground with great force, almost like a spring, as she gathered nearly every shadow she possibly could into both her arms, enlarging them into the terrifying tentacles that they were until they were twice her own size in length and width.

"Then you can fall with them!" It was a force unlike anything Catra's ever experienced, a strike possibly hard enough to shatter a small mountain. In one solid strike, squeezing both her tentacles together like a wrecking ball as she rose them above her head, she slammed her massive shadows into the defenseless magicat, and in one spectacular motion of speed, the victim shot back towards the ground like a speeding bullet, the five seconds it took to be thrown this high up being a flash of a second that it took to come back down.

Hard.

* _CRASH!_ *

The ground quaked with a massive tremor as the girl was slammed straight into the ground, the massive tentacle bringing her down with full force, the Horde Force Captain easily returning to the ground back to the other side of the ravine where her army was still at the ready. Adora smiled with wicked glee as the dust burst from the hole she had made, returning the long tentacled arms to her side once more as she waited for the dust to settle.

"...Mmh... Ngh..." Catra groaned in tremendous pain as she slowly pulled herself out of the small crater Adora had made with her body. Her entire body was drenched in water from the large stream as she groveled, her muscles weak from exertion as she crawled out. Her body was aching all over, her back was scarred beyond measure. In one small flash of light, Catra's entire person was engulfed in white temporarily until it diminished over the span of a few seconds.

She could see the state she was in from the stream's reflective waters. She had scrapes, cuts, bruises, and she didn't even want to think about what happened to her back. The sight of her injuries were the farthest concerns from her mind at that moment as she stared at her body in general, realizing something that she didn't think was possible.

"It's... It's gone..." She muttered weakly in disbelief. Her She-Ra form, the one she had used to fight off Adora, had disappeared. She was back to being the same plain old Catra once again. The one who always screwed things up, the one who could never see things through to the end, and the one who always needed to be rescued.

Adora had won this fight with her own two hands, and had removed her painful ties to the past at long last. With a mocking grin, noticing the sword was spaced between them, Adora flung an extended shadowy foot at the sword, flinging it across the ground until it stopped a few inches away from Catra's side.

With her sword tossed to her side, she watched as the glow from the Runestone completely faded, as if its powers were completely used up. She actually wanted to hear the voice for a change to see if this was all really happening, and there was nothing!

Adora had literally beaten the She-Ra right out of her.

There she stood across the Stream, about forty feet from her, as she cackled with an overwhelming sense of joy and accomplishment. She had defeated She-Ra, the supposed Symbol of Hope for the Rebellion, the one who was always a thorn in the Horde's side. Legend says she was supposed to be all powerful, all knowing, and if that was the case, then there truly wasn't anything special about who she just smacked down.

Everything had gone pretty smoothly since the start of this fight. She would commend Catra on her efforts if she had any sense of care for her anymore, but she should've known she couldn't win. Nobody can compete with the supreme might of the Horde, or its armies, as long as they had Lord Hordak leading them. The Rebellion's defenders were crushed, any resistance they once had lying beneath the ground they collapsed upon. This wasn't just the day Adora would declare victory over the Rebellion itself, this would be the day that she foiled Catra's selfish desires to obtain any kingdom she had imagined.

Ahead of her she watched the kneeled Catra, the magicat who could barely stand on her hands and knees as she panted out of breath. Without her She-Ra form, or what was a part of it, she was experiencing all the pain her body had gone through till now, all the exhaustion and the energy she had spent since her fight began. It was hard enough for her to stay awake at this point she was so exhausted, and nobody was coming to save her anymore.

All around her the allies and friends she came to know and care about were done for. Glimmer had succumbed to her injuries from the droid combined with her glitching, Bow was knocked out by Adora without any sort of magical protection like Catra had, Scorpia had disposed of Spinnerella and Netossa with the help of their soldiers, and her noble steed had been blasted out of the sky because of her own recklessness and need to charge straight for the Moonstone to protect the Queen who had been incapacitated.

They were exhausted, passed out from the amount of effort they took and the injuries they had sustained throughout the fight. The Princess Alliance wasn't going to answer her call, not that it mattered since all of them would've been too far away to save them in the nick of time. For the first time ever, Catra found herself completely alone without anyone to back her up.

Nobody was coming to rescue her.

Nobody was coming to save the Rebellion.

Nobody was going to survive what soon followed.

Everything relied solely on Catra... and she could do nothing about it.

Shakily stretching her arm over, still weak from injury, she dragged the sword in front of her as she sluggishly lifted it till it was standing in front of her, requiring both her arms to keep it lifted as is. "Fo... For the Honor of Grayskull." She panted. Nothing happened, her fears doubling down at the reality. "F-For the... the honor of... Grayskull!" There wasn't any spark emanating from the sword.

Just holding it alone was enough to give Catra shivers. She couldn't feel the same warmth she used to whenever the sword was in her hands. There wasn't any sense of optimism or hope coming from the sword as she stared at it. With the darkened sky and the energy of the sword tapped, she couldn't see any reflection from the sword's blade or its stone. The sword's energy had been used up. There was nothing left to save any of them.

"It's... It's not fair..." Catra teared up as she collapsed from her present state. There was a small splash as a part of her body was sunk into the stream, the right side of her face submerged as she stared at the last hope they had falling to her side next to her.

Adora could just make out the small wiggle of Catra's tail, confirming to her that she was alive, as she felt the rumble of half a dozen tanks rolling up behind her. As part of the deal, Adora got to claim the reward she wanted for winning this duel. With Catra's defeat, there was nothing left to combat them or keep them from destroying the Rebellion at long last.

And after the new revelation Catra had given her, she would've happily destroyed the Rebellion anyway even if she had lost.

As for the beaten girl, she could barely twitch as she weakly pulled her arm towards the sword, dragging it over at a snail's pace as the tears flowed from her eyes. "I-It's not fair... not for them..." She whimpered quietly to the sword. "They... They didn't do anything wrong here, they never did."

The Rebellion was in shambles, their defenses were done for, and the last hope for the Rebellion lied on the ground, beaten and battered.

"All they've done... was being nice to me... when I didn't deserve it..." The cat's ears lowered against her will, her tail coming to a halt as they used up too much energy themselves.

Adora would've gladly let Catra live so she could rot in the prison sector of the Fright Zone for the rest of her life, along with the rest of her stupid friends.

"I treated them... t-terribly... and they still... s-still put up with me." Her consciousness was beginning to falter as she continued reaching her claw towards the sword. "They sh... shouldn't have to pay... for my recklessness... for my own greed..."

Adora shook her head at the pathetic display Catra was putting on as she saw her feebly reach for her sword. It didn't matter if she could't hear what she was saying, much less knew she was talking, she had enough of this girl. She would come by for a visit every couple months with an intention to taunt her, poke fun of her at how she failed, and reminding her that she would never get her kingdom anymore.

"P-Please..." Catra gritted her teeth against her tongue, trying to keep herself awake. "I know... I'm selfish... I... I know I can never c-change... B-But please... let me... let me do this one thing."

But she was passed the point of showing mercy to this girl, the one who used her almost as much as Shadow Weaver did.

"Let me save them... just this once..." She cried. "Let me be the She-Ra they need, the hero I have to be... just to save them... I don't... I don't care if I can't... can't ever turn into She-Ra again, or any part of She-Ra."

Smirking, she raised her hand to the sky, directing the tanks behind her as they aimed the barrels of their cannons to the defenseless magicat.

"Just let me... save them..." She could feel the tip of her claw brush against the hilt of her sword as her vision started to dim, struggling to see any portion of the sword in front of her, forcing her to rely on her sense of touch.

She would stamp out the last threat to the Horde, and the Sword of Protection, all at the same time. And without any hesitation, she threw her hand down, giving the signal. It was time for her to cut all ties to her past and start moving towards the future.

"Let me save them..."

Starting with Catra.

"Let me save them!"

"Fire."

Feeling her hand finally wrapping around the hilt after all of this time, she used every last ounce of strength to call out the one phrase that she needed most.

"FOR THE HONOR OF GRAYSKULL-!"

* _ **BOOM!**_ *

In a spectacular array of destruction, Adora watched as a dozen massive beams of energy blasted from behind her, enveloping the magicat in a cloud of sparkling thick dust. Catra had no means of protection anymore with her She-Ra form spent. She had no allies, none that Adora knew of anyway, that could've rescued her from such a strong force. Catra had been consumed completely by the explosive might of the Horde, as would anyone else who would dare to challenge their supreme might.

This was the way it was meant to be. Adora knew this sense deciding to lead the attack. This was her mission, not just to destroy the Rebellion once and for all, but to cut all the remaining ties to her past that had plagued her even after the events of the Beacon. With Catra gone, she was finally free of her past, free of her burdens. A smile crept along her face as she knew of the new reality that would soon meet her.

At her side, Scorpia turned to the girl with a small smile too. It might have been a bit different to see Adora in such a state, but at least she had her friend back as she saw the familiar, friendly, smile coming back to her. She knew Adora wasn't in pain anymore, and after everything she knew the girl had been through, she deserved it.

She just hoped it meant things would go back to normal between them again.

It was a momentous day for the Horde as Adora raised her fist to the air, listening with glee as the soldiers behind her roared with cheer and excitement. And why wouldn't they after all they had accomplished this fine day? They defeated the dreaded She-Ra, crushed the Rebellion and proved to the world that they were the greatest fighting force on Etheria, and that nobody should cross them. They proved the other kingdoms were better off joining them in unity than against them in war.

Most of all, it was the end of hope for anyone who would dare to resist in the Horde's endeavors. The Horde would bring unity across the world, just like Adora always knew they would, and unite the kingdoms under one banner. It would be a glorious one that stood for the peace and protection for all life in the world, and one of endless destruction and warfare for anyone who would dare to tarnish that rule of peace they had to offer.

Finally, at long last, the war had finally come, to an en-

* ** _FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!_** *

A magnificent force of wind blew across the entire valley as a spectacular pillar of light erupted through the dense cloud that had previously blanketed Catra, one that stretched to the very heavens themselves! It was massive in size as it scaled that of a tank in radius, the force of it's wonderful creation pushing passed a dumbfounded Adora as the force nearly pushed her off her feet. She was forced to plant the tendrils in her back into the ground just from being this close to it, Scorpia barely maintaining any better as she blocked the wind stinging her eyes and pushing at her with her large claws.

The soldiers behind them didn't far any better as the pillar continued to erupt. A handful of soldiers that couldn't maintain their footing, first one, then two, then four, found themselves being blasted into the air across the ravine, colliding into a few of the trees, and droids that were behind them. Even the tanks were being blown back by the terrifying force of power they were bearing witness to, some of them being turned completely to the left or right, a single tank actually being flopped over on it's back, nearly crushing one of the soldiers who dodged out of the way in time.

"W-What is this...?" Adora was at a loss for words at what was happening right now. Had one of the other princesses come to save them? Did they have some backup plan or an ally they didn't account for? Who was responsible for this sudden burst of energy, the ones that showed no end in sight?!

"Adora!" Scorpia shouted out, grabbing her attention as she faced the sky. Turning to the sky itself, Adora's eyes widened at what she saw; the newly created force of light, one that had the energy to push passed the surrounding tanks and send soldiers through the air, was so pure in its magic, that it actually tore a hole in the sky, specifically, the cloud of darkness that had engulfed everything above, as the pillar blew passed it.

At least several feet were surrounding the pillar were clear of its dark energy, allowing the Force Captain to see the beautiful blue sky that the clouds were covering. This force, this beam of light, was so pure in its energy that it managed to combat the power of the Black Garnet's power, her power, as the clouds continued to partially dissolve every inch. And all of it was emanating from the very person they tried to shoot at, the one she had finally cut ties with after all of her pain and suffering.

There could be no coincidence to explain all this, nothing behind the scenes to suggest to her that someone else was pulling this off. There was only one person who could fit the criteria at this moment, the one person she knew as capable of ruining her chances of happiness and made it their personal mission to see Adora miserable and suffering to the bitter end.

Catra.

_Surrounded by a seas of beautiful stars and a bluish galaxy, Catra rose herself from her as her body glowed with a beautiful blue light, one that had seen the cosmos since the dawn of time, and had met with the night's sky on a regular basis. With her eyes close and a calmness in her expression, Catra continued to float in place as a gargantuan sword, one that made her look like the size of an ant in comparison, rose behind her._

_With the energy that gathered, the sword slowly started to pass through Catra, all while an array of flashing lights started to pull towards the girl, enveloping her in a glorious display of light and beauty. Catra could feel the wondrous energy fill her entire body as the sword slowly pushed into her, eventually phasing passed her as the rest of her glorious creation had come to be._

_Starting with the back, a serene crimson-colored cape started to flow forth, gliding along her back in a fluid motion as the rest of her body followed in her transformation. The cape sparkled in a dazzling array of light as the small anchors of light finally pulled from it, allowing the cape to stretch across half of her back, connected to the armor that continued to materialize around her._

_Both her shoulder-pads and her tiara that had transformed in her previous She-Ra state were nothing in comparison to the beauty that they were now. Her shoulders were cover in a pristine golden orange that jetted from the tips of her shoulder, nearly a foot in length, as they spiked across them to offer her shoulders maximum protection. Along with that, her tiara shimmered like never before as it grew, the tips along her cheek growing until they reached her jaw, and protruded inward an inch along her cheek where they curved._

_The top of her tiara grew the most amazing pair of, what appeared to be, golden wings, one that extended right in front of her cat ears as they rose from the tiara's new shape. Within the center of this wonderful transformation, two small brow-like slits could be seen on both ends of the tiara above her eyes, while a lone, red, jewel was adorned within the center of this fascinating spectacle, one that sparkled like the light that grew from her._

_As the sword passed halfway through her, Catra began to hug herself as the rest of her body continued to take shape. From her wrist, passed halfway up her elbows, grew the most formidable pair of bracers one could ever ask for, one that shined with a radiance like the protective anklets that formed along the sides of her legs, also stretched halfway up to her knees, though lowered on the inner sides of them. And despite the lack of shoes, the sword continued to offer its protection to her as it grew a shining force of gold sandals across her feet, thin enough for her to use her feet's claws and as sturdy enough as a tank's armor, despite how thin it was._

_From within the center of her chest, the spirals of light began to gather as they spread across her body as a whole, creating a bright, shining, vine of energy that formed along her outfit as it sprouted in all directions and corners around her, creating a golden flower-like design in the middle as the petals were painted around her stomach, with the only golden lines that connected the collar of her chest-piece running down the middle of her outfit, connecting to the bottom of her spiked white skirt that grew around her waist, with a serene blue coloring on the inside._

_Her legs weren't barren anymore as a simple weave of white covered them like it had her chest, a few slits along the knees to allow her the maximum mobility that she needed to preform her mighty leaps and agile reflexes that she was used to. They stretched all across her legs to the tips of her ankle where they were mostly transparent, allowing one to see the golden ankles that protected her legs._

_As the incredible transformation slowly came to an end, the last of her magnificent appearance didn't end with another piece of clothing, but her hair. Her hair flashed in a sea of warmth as it grew along her back, nearly doubling in size, as its color changed to that of one of a blazing fire, lighter along her head and stretching out into a slightly darker orange. It was as if she had the fires of the morning sun blazing from behind her head._

_With the last of her transformation finally coming to an end, the sword that phased through her shrank to a decent size as it spun around her, spiraling as if it was happy at the new transformation she had finally came to. With her form now fully completed, Catra threw her right hand behind her back, grabbing the sword's hilt, the same sword that appeared to gave grown an additional foot, as it was aimed across her left._

_Opening her eyes, her transformation had finally been complete, the look of pride crossing her expression and amusement at what she had become._

_The **TRUE**  She-Ra had been formed._

With her transformation coming to an end, the pillar of light around her dissipated, allowing the rest of the world to gaze at the marvelous creation that had taken place. Nobody present to see her face stood there without their mouth gaping open in shock and amazement, others in fear, as some of the soldiers pulled themselves back to their feet. A couple of the soldiers were getting weak in the knees as their legs wobbled, fear taking some of them as they gulped.

Adora couldn't be more amazed or confused at the new form that her friend had taken, only knowing the rage that was building up in the recesses of her mind as her friend returned with renewed life. All of her injuries she had sustained, everything that she had done to her, had completely vanished. There were no cuts, bruises, not even a scratch, as Catra stood there, staring back at her friend like nothing was out of the ordinary.

That was until she blinked, at least. Catra didn't know what to say to as she blinked, feeling as good as new, as if she hadn't been put through the most painful experience of her life. She felt a new wave of warmth washing over her that she's never felt before, a calmness that she's felt for only moments of her life. For the first time in her life, she felt peace.

At this, she started to get a better look of herself as she nearly jumped, almost dropping the sword out of her hand as a result. Everything about her was completely different, looking as if she had seen a ghost as she observed. Her hair was a different color, she swore she was possibly a foot taller than before, and she could see muscles grown over her arms and legs. She felt lighter than ever before, yet sturdy all the same.

"W-What the-?" She muttered, seeing the reflection in the surprisingly now-clear waters in front of her. To Adora's dismay, even though the pillar of light had dissipated, the hole it left in the sky did not. "My hair, my wrists, my-!" Her eyes bugged out for a moment at the greatest of changes she had ever witnessed in her She-Ra form. "I have pants!"

She couldn't tell what she should be feeling right now, or if she should try to feel anything else out of fear if the She-Ra form would spontaneously disappear from her. Pulling the large sword in front of her for a closer look at her own reflection, a small smile grew over her face. For once since finding this sword, right when she needed it the most, it came through for her, She doesn't know if it bargained with her deal of never transforming into She-Ra again, and she didn't care. She was just glad it listened to her for what felt like the first time ever.

"Thank you..." She whispered to it, seeing the runestone embedded within the center of the sword shining with a brilliant radiance of white light.

* _spzzzt_ *

"Huh-?"

* _pew!_ *

* **BOOM!** *

That time Catra did jump, as well as anyone it suddenly passed by, as one of the dozens of tanks behind Adora was destroyed in a fiery explosion. Much to Catra's surprise, and shock, as she admired the sword for once, a small bit of energy began to radiate from the blade of the sword itself. Without so much as a blink, the blade shot out a pure blast of energy from its tip, firing directly at one of the many tanks and destroying it entirely.

It was fortunate for Adora that no one had been directly piloting the tanks, being newly automated thanks to Entrapta's new design, though that didn't get rid of the rage burning inside of her that Catra effortlessly destroyed one of their tanks as she glared back to her. The magicat lowered her ears guiltily as she looked back and forth between Adora and the sword, just as surprised as she was that she managed to do something so incredible with barely a thought.

She had achieved the true state of She-Ra. Hooray! Now if only she could figure out how to use its powers, that would be a big help.

Giving a nervous smile to her former friend, she quickly shook her hands back and forth as she leaned back. "Heh, whoa, whoa, whoa, time out. That was seriously an accident I swear!" Her pleas of apologies fell on deaf ears as Adora directed her hand towards the girl again.

"Fire!" She ordered one of the surrounding tanks. In two seconds, Catra watched as the beam of energy blasted from the tank towards her, the feline throwing up a hand out of reflex like it was actually going to stop the blast.

* _spzzzzzzz_ *

And it did.

The momentary smoke that engulfed her diminished rapidly as she appeared through the smoke. On the other end, Adora watched in amazement as her friend continued to stand there, her eyes closed and her head turned away as her still-risen hand took the entirety of the blast head on, leaving only a small whiz of steam erupting from the blasted hand. Waiting a few more seconds for something to happen, Catra opened her eyes in confusion as she gazed at her protective hand. She barely felt the blast from a tank coming to her, feeling like nothing more than a ball she simply caught out of the air, and barely feeling any heat from her palms at all.

She knew she wasn't invincible, and she didn't care. If she had the power to destroy a tank and shield a blast with her hands, then that must've meant she was strong enough to take on the Horde army, right?

That foolish optimism was swept aside as she lifted her head back, eyes widening at the sight of the droids that were marching through the woods that approached the tanks. She could tell Adora was lining up her troops in a grand formation to wipe out the magicat from the face of Etheria, the rage burning in her as the black-half of her hair levitated a little.

"Fire! Everyone fire!" The Force Captain barked, the droids and tanks taking aim immediately upon command.

In another torrential rain of destruction, the magicat was assaulted by an endless barrage of firepower, lifting the sword in front of her for protection as the explosions and blasts went off all around her. Despite being more invulnerable than she had ever been, she couldn't shrug off the indefinite damage they were doing as if they were nothing, feeling each blast against her legs and her arms hurting a tiny bit more, growing progressively painful as the endless sea of red and green energy rained around her.

After a solid minute of the nonstop firing, Adora rose her hand again, ordering them to hold their fire so she could check on the girl's status. Much to her dismay, and annoyance, even after what should have been enough force to take down Bright Moon Castle directly, the girl still stood her ground, holding her arms around chest and protecting her head with her sword as she took the brunt of the Horde's might from forty feet away.

Noticing the lack of energy raining around her briefly, Catra opened her eyes and arms back up, trying to process what she should do. She wasn't reckless at this time, and she knew she couldn't afford to be. If she thought the same way she always did, she would throw out the one chance she had at using the sword's spectacular gift, and she couldn't afford to waste it. What she did need was to think of a way to defend herself, and the entirety of Bright Moon that stood behind her defenseless.

As if reacting to her frame of mind, the runestone within the sword shined a little brighter, catching Catra's attention. It was the first time the sword had ever spoken to her like this ever since the time before she became She-Ra for the first time, back when the entire adventure started. She knew it was trying to do the same thing to her too, and, while not hearing any actual voices in her head, the fact it responded to her line of thought made her wonder if it was trying to tell her how or what to do.

"Could it be... really easy with a single thought?" She mumbled to the sword. There was no reaction this time, and it was the first time she ever felt that was all she needed to understand. With a look of determination spreading across her face, giving a firm nod to the blade, she looked back towards her friend, the same one that would glare daggers at her if she ever could. "I'm not letting you hurt anyone else, Adora. Not around here."

"Tch, you think you have a choice in the matter?" Adora spat, raisin her arm again as she prepared her orders.

"For once... yeah... I think I do." Catra replied, gripping the sword in both her hands as she flipped it over. Closing her eyes, calming her breath, the girl gave a loud battle cry as she plunged the sword directly into the ground at her feet, holding onto it tightly as she tried to focus all of her thoughts into what she wanted the sword to do.

Right at the exact same time Adora gave another order to fire.

* **BOOM!** *

"What?!" Unlike her previous attempts, this one was met with resistance, the kind no one would ever be able to expect, much less pull off, as stupendously as Catra had managed.

From the point of impact, a mystical barrier began to sprout, blocking off the explosion as the smoke rushed passed Catra's head without any sense of care. From the cracks in the ground that grew from where Catra planted her sword, with all the energy she had, the entire Horde army bore witness as a great barrier began to grow, not just around Catra, but around the entirety of Bright Moon itself.

Spread all around her from where she stabbed the blade, a dazzling transparent array of rainbow colors danced across the valley from where Catra kneeled, all the way behind the girl as it formed its mighty shield. The magical barrier of wonder stretched towards the sky as it started to encase Bright Moon in a bubble-like defense, forming around the castle and everything it touched around it, including the runestone's chamber and her friends that her behind her, in a magnificent defense that grew over the valley.

It stretched so far that it nearly touched the sky, raising above the Moonstone as well, as it continued to form and center at the tip of the bubble-like shield. All this time, Catra focused all of her energy, wincing a little as she knew she was taxing her powers, as the energy poured around her. She needed this to work, otherwise she didn't know what else to do. She still didn't know what to do once the barrier came down for crying out loud! She just knew she needed to buy a little more time for something, anything, to help them.

And she didn't know why, either. It was just another feeling the sword was giving her.

At long last, with the Horde in a trance-like state of wonder, the shield had finally formed. Still being at its core where she maintained the barrier, Catra tightened the grip on her blade, knowing it required her constant energy to be maintained. The bubble stretched and connected to the sky above the castle, forming the perfect defense as it stretched across in all directions in a perfect sense of balance.

The energy to pull off this incredible feat could only be maintained by someone with magnificent power, someone with a mastery of the runestones that were used to power the world. Someone like the true state of She-Ra that Catra had finally formed. Now the only question that remained was figuring out how long she could keep this barrier up for.

"Ghhhhhh!" She hated this girl! Hated! Hated! HATED! She was the last thing she needed to get rid of if she was ever to find peace, and Catra couldn't give her that, like everything else in her past. She continued to be a nuisance to her after being down and near-death, and she still managed to somehow pull herself off the ground in a glorious new state of wonder. She couldn't allow this girl to continue existing, she couldn't allow anyone with this much power to exist! Without raising her hand first in preparation, she thrust her fist in the barrier's direction, a vein of anger appearing over her right eye. "FIRE!"

At her beck and call, one of the droids obeyed her as it targeted the middle of the barrier in the air, taking its shot directly at the center of the great dome that covered Bright Moon. Upon the impact of its red-colored beam of energy, Adora watched with amusement as she saw a small portion of the barrier's dome waver. She knew despite Catra's seemingly newfound power, even she couldn't maintain something this grand indefinitely.

However, to her surprise, it didn't seem like it was a simple barrier they were dealing with either. After a few seconds passed, the forces noticed as a small streak of electricity began to spread around the point of impact that hit the barrier. Right as she was beginning to ponder what could possibly be happening, Adora watched in horror as that same beam of energy, coated in a beautiful glowing light, was returned in a random direction, turning back to watch as one of the tanks on the opposite side was destroyed in a small explosion from the droid's energy.

This barrier wasn't just a wall that stood between them. It was a living weapon that protected them Catra, and Bright Moon, from harm, and would ensure anyone that tried to cause them harm would find their attack bounced back.

But she wouldn't give up.

"EVERYONE OPEN FIRE!" She screamed angrily.

All at once, like before, a rain of destruction was showered upon the barrier, with the lights and waves of its energy bouncing across the points of impact. As expected by the Force Captain, one that slightly frightened Scorpia, seeing the extreme anger rising through her friend, the beams of energy that were blasted at the tank were bounced back in multiple directions, each shot of energy being directed harmlessly towards the sky, or, in some unfortunate cases, back at the tanks and droids that fired in the first place.

Dozens of the soldiers found themselves scrambling for their lives as they tried to dodge the incoming fire, feeling like they were out in the open for hunting season, as they had no means to protect themselves from the tanks' and droids oncoming blasts. Noticing the panic building up behind her, Adora decided to create her own barrier out of the shadows, one that was minuscule in comparison to Catra's, but one that protected a large portion of the soldiers who ran behind it as the droids and tanks took the rest of the rebound energy.

As expected from the Force Captain, just as she was starting to wonder if the barrier could ever be taken down, she grinned as she saw holes and tears starting to form around the bubble, ones that tried to regrow itself in a futile effort to protect the castle. Large beads of sweat started to pour from Catra's forehead as this went on, struggling to maintain her concentration on the barrier, even more so now that she could feel the tears in the barrier as if they were in her own mind.

What was she supposed to do now? The sword told her specifically how to form the colossal barrier, and it gave her the power to do it at long last, so she was thankful for that, but there was little else she knew how to do. With all the energy she was pouring into this great barrier alone, she didn't know how long she could hold out against the rest of the Horde with the near hundreds of droids, tanks, and soldiers that remained.

And that didn't include the two Force Captains she knew she would have to deal with!

 _Come on... think of something..._  She yelled in her mind. There had to be another thing she could do as the barrier continued to diminish, with large spots of red starting to form over the weakened dome, burning with the energy that was slowly down its restoration. Could there be a way to still turn this all around and get Adora back on her side? Was she just supposed to wait here for the end to come, after everything she went through just now?

Personally, she didn't know which part would annoy her more at that- being unable to get Adora back to her side, or the idea that she would still lose everything right  **AFTER**  she finally gained the true form of She-Ra?

As she continued to fret, Adora grinned some more as she lowered her own barrier. The protective bubble was losing so much of its power so fast that it couldn't even direct its energy back anymore, cracks appearing along the walls and top of the dome as it started to crumble. Knowing it would all come down once it was dealt with at its source, Adora shot both of her large shadowy arms directly at the protected Catra, forming massive drills that began spinning out of control as they reached the wall just inches from Catra's lower head. Catra did her best to ignore the sparks and the cracks that were quickly forming as she tried to protect the Rebellion in her last stand.

 _Was becoming She-Ra just a fluke?_  She wondered.  _Was this just a tease to make me feel better before my end? Or did I do something to mess everything up, **again** , like always?_ She was tired of being a screw up, tired of letting everyone down. She thought with this new form, she could finally be the hero they needed her to be and actually make a change for once in her life when she needed it most. And, like always, it was proving that it was all for naught.

Maybe she should just be happy that she finally got to experience what it was like to be the real She-Ra for once? Thinking about it, she could at least admire the fact she actually stood her ground against Adora and the Horde army directly like this, single-handedly, which was more than anyone else could have ever said. She couldn't tell if she was still feeling at peace anymore as she used every ounce of her strength keeping the barrier formed as best she could.

At the very least, she could say she died trying for someone else, for once. She just wished she didn't have to smell saltwater while she was doing it.

"...!" Catra blinked as she opened her eyes again. "Wait... Saltwater?" She muttered.

Around her, across the ravine on both ends, The Horde, Adora, Scorpia, and Catra, began to watch as small specks of water began to rise around them, little droplets that were rising upwards instead of downwards for once, the Horde coming to a halt as everyone gazed in confusion at the events. The humidity in the air began to flourish as the sounds of waves were becoming increasingly louder. At the stop of their firing, Catra finally rose to her feet, pulling the sword out of the ground so she could regain some of her energy from the diminishing barrier, just in case.

Her ears gave a small twitch as she swore she heard the familiar splashing of forced waves, the rhythm of the ocean beating gently across her ear drums as it came from the ocean the ravine was connected to. She wouldn't believe it in a million years, even if she saw it twice, as they finally came.

Atop a mighty wave that nearly stretched to the top of the chamber, she saw Mermista, the Princess of Salineas, riding atop the magically gathered waters, with the adventurous and brave Captain Seahawk riding his ship at her side, the two of them charging straight through the opening of the ravine as Seahawk rose a torch towards his ship's sails.

"For adventure~!" His joyous cry for adventure came to an abrupt end as a smaller wave of water washed over him, drenching him in its warm liquids and dousing his fire.

"No!" Mermista yelled, continuing to focus on her wave steering. She wasn't about to put up with him burning his  **fifth**  ship after all this time!

"Awww..." So much for letting his new ship meet the glorious fate of the previous ones.

"They... They came..." Catra was frozen as she continued to stare at her, watching as Mermista's wave split around her as it continued on towards the Horde. Adora let out a yelp of pain as she and the rest of her forces were swept across the ravine, half of them gargling in the fresh saltwater that was forced down their throats, knocking several of the tanks off the ground in turn.

As she watched the amazing display of power, Catra turned back, seeing a still-chipper Seahawk land gracefully with Mermista right next to him. "Tadaaaaaa~!" He sang with his arms spread out, waiting for an applause that never came as Mermista approached Catra with a firm look on her face. Catra returned the same look as she stared into her eyes.

The last time these two met each other, they were at each other's throats. They blamed the other for losing Entrapta, hated each other thinking they were responsible for Entrapta's loss. Neither of them talked about or showed the least bit of interest in reconciling with the other, whether or not the Princess Alliance was still around, and Catra was sure they would still try to tear at each other's face if they were given the chance.

Then again, she knew she wasn't fair either. What happened on that day was something outside of both of their controls, along with the rest of their friends. They couldn't allow a petty, unnecessary, argument get between them when they found themselves in the middle of a war. Catra could bear no anger towards the girl without being angry with herself, especially since she still harbored the guilt of Entrapta's loss in the back of her mind.

With a mental sigh, Catra shrugged off the nerves in her shoulder as she prepared to speak.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry." Both girls blinked at one another at the revelation, Catra noticing a small smile growing on the mermaid princess's mouth as she stared at her.

"Look, I shouldn't have blamed you for my own doing, okay?" Catra commented, scratching the back of her head. "We lost Entrapta because of me, it didn't have anything to do with you."

"Are you kidding? It had everything to do with me. For all of us at that." Mermista added, gesturing towards Seahwak as he tried to relight his torch with his soaked matches. "We were all supposed be a team back there and have each other's backs. I shouldn't have left the airhead's side when we ran through the vents, none of us should. If you're responsible for what happened to Entrapta, then we are too. All three of us."

This was... warming, to her. A special kind of warmth that gave the strength to smile a little. They didn't harbor any ill will towards the cat girl for everything she's done, at least not involving Entrapta or the botched rescue. It gave her a closer feeling of true peace that she hasn't known for years, and it made her-

"Wait... did you just say the three of us?"

Meanwhile, Adora was grumbling as she pulled on the tank near her to rise to her feet. She growled as she saw the other princess standing next to Catra, another one of her  _friends_  that she traded Adora for and left her behind for. So this princess wanted to meet her end too? That's fine. It saved her the work of having to track her down later and invading her kingdom. Without a princess at the command, they took easily take over Salineas with little resistance, and gain control of the sea with their superior naval fleet at their hem.

Looking across the ravine, seeing her troops, tanks, and droids sprawled all around her, the Force Captain squeezed what little water was still in her hair, directing her attention to the closest pair of troops that she could find. "Hey! Get off the ground!" She barked to the disoriented guards. "We still have a job to do, so find a tank and blast them already!" The guards shook the dizziness out of their head, too little too late as a new force began to sprout around them.

Literally.

Within seconds, the guards were ensnared by a tangle of greenish vines that rose through the water, pulling them to the ground and immobilizing them where they were. Seeing this display, the angered Force Captain saw the same vines beginning to grow around the surrounding woods, capturing several other guards as they pinned them along the trees and the forests. As if it wasn't adding enough insult to injury, the same vines turned to some of the remaining tanks, forcing their barrels downwards where they couldn't fire.

Then it had the audacity to do the same to her! Without missing a beat, Adora found her arms, waist, and neck ensnared by the sturdy vines too, the Force Captain struggling to pull away from the surprisingly efficient vines that bound her. Her attempts to pry away from the incredibly strong vines were put on hold as she noticed pink rose petals beginning to fall around her, looking away into the woods on the opposing side, she saw another of the dreaded princesses appearing, Perfuma, as she rode along a massive green vine at its tip, chuckling as she made her way over to the others where she saw the most spectacular sight of all!

Landing on her feet, Catra's relieved expression quickly changed to nervousness as she saw the sparkles growing in Perfuma's eyes, the princess of flowers squealing with her hands in the air. "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-!" Catra had never been more thankful for her new state of resistance, otherwise she had no idea how painful that high-pitched squeeing would've been to her ears.

"Ehh... Perfuma?" Catra spoke, raising a hand to her. "Are you oka- Agghh!" The cat was powerless to stop her as Perfuma suddenly threw herself at the dazzling wonder standing in front of her. Rolling her eyes at the display, Mermista picked the two off by the backs of their necks, trying her best to keep Perfuma pried off the feline as she continued reaching for her. Releasing her grip, she watched Catra catch the girl's wrists in her own hands, keeping her at arms length away from her as she continued to squeal.

"I knew it!" Perfuma squeaked at long last. "I always knew you were the real She-Ra!" Catra sighed at the comment. Of course, out of all the plausible reasons to be squealing like a moron... like a goofball, this would be one of them.

"Perfuma, I'm not exactly..." Catra stopped as she stared into Perfuma's eyes. The girl just stared at her, blinking on and off, with the biggest smile Catra could ever expect anyone in the world to have. She wanted her to be She-Ra, she believed her to be She-Ra with everything she had! How was she supposed to dash away her dreams like this when she had a smile that brightly pointed at her? Glancing over at Mermista and Seahawk who gave her a shrugging smirk, she sighed. "...Ok, fine... I'm She-Ra. Happy?"

"EEEEEEEEP!"

* _thud_ *

For once, Catra didn't seem to mind as Perfuma jumped her again, wrapping her arms tightly around her and pressing her cheek against Catra's for dear life. While it was embarrassing enough to make her blush, Catra still found herself being filled with an unfamiliar warmth again, this one actually starting to grow around her. She barely paid any mind or attention to herself as she chuckled a little, a white aura beginning to spread around her body as she playfully tried to pull Perfuma off of her.

At the disgusting sight of the aforementioned princesses, Adora noticed how all of their attention seemed to be drawn at the pitiful display between the two, concentrating back at the matter at hand. Whether or not she could fight back the princesses with her remaining army, she knew everything would still follow in turn after she destroyed the Moonstone of the Rebellion, the source of Angella's and Princess Glimmer's powers.

Seeing how brute force was out of the question, she resorted to the shadows that obeyed her every command, forming a pair of efficient blades that cleaved the vines in twain. Grinning, the Force Captain jumped into one of the surrounding tanks, focusing as she directed the barrel of the powerful war machine at the pillar itself. By the time Catra even saw this from the corner of her eye, it was already too late.

* **BOOM!** *

Jumping from the ground and off She-Ra, the princesses and Captain gasped as the pillar started to crumble at the base. With its massive weight playing against itself, the pillar above started to give way as it shattered, tilting from the explosive force of the impact as it started to tumble towards the Castle as a result.

"Noooo!" Catra panicked instantly as she sprinted for the great pillar, knowing half her friends were still trapped at the top of the great chamber, unconscious.

* _crackle_ *

"What?" What was going on? Was the weather starting to affect the castle too? It had yet to at this point, so there was no way in knowing if it finally had. Around the broken base of the pillar, stretching up passed the middle of it for added support, a giant pillar of ice grew along the outer wall of the great stone monument, saving it from its inevitable collapse, and catching it from falling any further.

As if that wasn't enough, the exciting display that played out following this was too good to be true. One by one, in massive frozen waves that burst from the ground, the group watched as many of the Horde tanks were thrown through the air, tossing them into the frozen woods where they shattered, others exploding upon impact. It was like the very element of frost was at their side, fighting alongside them as it pushed away the surrounding tanks near the pillar.

Or a very young child by the name of Princess Frosta, who rode along a blanket of ice she created from the palm of her hands, just like the other princesses did with their own elements. Reaching the group of able-bodied heroes, the young princess jumped from the edge of her frozen wave, spinning through the air briefly, and landing perfectly a few yards ahead of a group of relieved and excited heroes, and a very surprised Catra as she looked at her with the same cold stare she had at the Princess Prom.

"You... actually came to help?" Catra asked, still unable to comprehend what she was saying.

"Hmph." The young girl mumbled, turning her head away. "Don't get the wrong idea. You were still an obnoxious and rude guest at the party, and I still don't like you. But..." The girl shifted her eyes back to the cat as she continued. "It doesn't mean I'm going to leave someone behind when they need it. Besides, they messed with my kingdom's weather. That's as good as declaring war on it." She sneered back to the She-Ra as she got back to her feet. "Unless that's a problem for someone's  _pet_."

"...Heh..." Catra smirked back as she saw what remained of Adora's army. "Not at all,  _brat_."

This was... astounding, to say the least. Lined up one after the other, with Catra in the center of all of this, the princesses and captain stood beside her as they stared down the army and the scowling Force Captain. Sea Hawk and Mermista on her right, and Perfuma and Frosta on her left. All of them drawn with their own weapons and element at the ready, all ready and willing to sacrifice their lives for a war that they wanted to part in, but came to anyway because of her.

Her.

Catra.

The person who was always the screw up.

She's never felt so much happiness before in her life as she stared at the reflection she saw in her sword, this time finding a joyful Catra instead of one who was always sour or confused. They accepted her after all her mistakes, despite what a screw up she was to them. They saw her as a friend who needed them at her side, across the Rebellion's side, and they were willing to answer the call.

Catra couldn't help it as a small tear rolled down her face, all while the aura around her grew brighter, as she smiled proudly. Looking back to the angered friend ravine, Catra raised her sword to the sky, with the conviction and determination to finally bring this battle to a long awaited end.

" _ **FOR ETHERIA!**_ " With a roaring cry, Catra unleashed a radiance of light as the surrounding allies charged straight at the surrounding Horde, knowing victory was at their side as long as they had each other.

* _Sheeeeeeeeeem!_ *

And it was from the radiance of light that surrounded her that a bright aura of energy erupted, spreading across the environment around the valley and causing all of her friends and allies to glow, no matter what state they were or from where. One by one, her downed allies were awakened by their renewed energies as life started to return to them, feeling their consciousness returning to them in full.

Netossa winced a little as the water touched her opening eyes, rubbing the slight sting she felt as she rose to her knees. Still a little disoriented, Bow rubbed his head as he slowly got to his feet, shaking the weirdness out of his mind as he felt like he slept for a thousand years. Not one hint of exhaustion remained in his blood as he looked around, gasping in surprise as he saw the new state Catra was in.

"Catra?" Was it even her? She looked so different from how she used to be, yet somehow more familiar than ever before!

Up above, the remainder of the fallen allies slowly started to find their own energies returning, starting with Swift Wind as his nostrils flared with life. Of all the ways he could've gotten blasted out of the sky, he prayed he would never have to feel the massive force of a tank's barrel blasting against his side again. Chances were, without the armor that broke off from his recent attack, that he wouldn't be able to tolerate the pain twice as agonizing.

Along the side, Glimmer winced as her fingers slowly twitched, finding the hazy vision from her opening eyes beginning to clear up. While questioning what she was first experiencing, her confusion slowly changed to wonder and joy as she saw her mother picking herself off the ground as well, the Queen rubbing her eyes as she felt her energies return to her.

"Mooom!" Glimmer cried out, rushing to her side.

"Glimmer!" The Queen only had a second to open her arms before she found them filled by the tender embrace of her loving daughter, smiling tearfully as she wrapped her arms around her. Never had the two been so happy to see each other like today, both nearly crying with joy as they hugged.

It was at this time Glimmer saw a tendril wave of light rushing over them, sweeping towards the sky until it connected with the Moonstone that loomed above them. With a gasp, she and her mother turned to the runestone as the light covered over the massive rock, shining it with a mystical force of energy that Etheria had never experienced in the past.

Filled with its newfound source of power, the energy coursing through its entirety, the stone began to spin in place as a blue light started to fill it from the inside. With every spin, Glimmer felt her body starting to rejuvenate with her magic, a smile crossing her lips as she saw the wonders being shown in front of her. She had no doubt that, despite everything she had been through at this point, Catra somehow managed to save the day, like she knew she would.

And she failed to disappoint.

Upon reaching its limit, the runestone unleashed a massive wave of energy across the entire valley, coating everything in a warm light that cleared the entire sky of the darkness that had once surrounded Bright Moon. All around her, Adora watched in terror as the darkness that had previously given her so much strength had been taken away from her in an instant, knowing the only source of magic she had left would be whatever she retained from first putting on the headband. While it may prove problematic, she still had an excess amount of energy, one she ensured wouldn't go to waste.

As if it wasn't enough to just envelope the valley in its beautiful light, the same streaks of light swept across the entire world! From Salineas, to the Kingdom of Snows, to Plumeria, one by one, the many runestones that had given the princesses the source of their power were washed over with a sense of tranquility and life, filling them up again as the princesses felt a surge of power like never before!

It didn't just limit itself to the allying princesses, either. All the way towards the Fright Zone, as she continued to examine and take readings from the mysterious Black Garnet, Entrapta's attention was directed to the wave of unusual light she saw spreading through the complex. Upon touching the Black Garnet, the mysterious stone shimmered with an unusual light, one that pried the many wires and technologies from its body and preventing the technological genius from continuing her studies. In another flash of light, the entire room went dark after the Black Garnet flashed, leaving Entrapta confused with only the glowing eyes of her mask showing through the dark.

As the two continued to hug, Glimmer saw a light coming from her mother's being, being filled with wonder as she observed the unseen spectacle taking place in front of her. As if she knew what was going on, the Queen opened her eyes calmly to her daughter, brushing a hand softly against her face. This one simple brush was all that as needed for the princess to feel her own source of energy return to her, eyes widening at the sight as her own body began to glow. She chuckled with glee as she watched a small spark of her magic dance off of her.

Her powers had finally returned.

"Go on, go get them." Her mother instructed with pride. Glimmer gave off a single tear of joy as she clutched her mother's hand tightly for a moment, the happiness filling both of them never being any brighter before today. With another smile, the princess disappeared in a flash of sparkling light, her mother's pride overwhelming the Queen as she turned to Swift Wind. She couldn't tell if the Horse was somehow more excited than her daughter as he flapped his wings triumphantly, taking off to the sky as he planned to charge headfirst into the ensuing Horde below them.

*swoosh*

Glimmer's excitement continued to climb as she teleported back to the ravine, her powers flourishing with each passing second. All around her, her smile somehow widened twofold as she saw her friends and allies all fighting around her, thrilled to see her friends and allies hadn't given up on her like the Rebellion originally thought. Not only that, but the princesses shared in their new surge of power as they glowed with their own fantastic lights as they battled away at the evil Horde.

From the streams, she watched Mermista washing away the dozens of soldiers and several tanks and droids with a massive wave of her magic, her body glowing with an aquatic blue light of energy as she did. Surrounding what massive gathering she could of automated tanks and droids that she could, encircling them in a wave of powerful water, Mermista moved out of the way as a large boat began to surface from the waves behind her, being sailed by an experienced, seaworthy, captain known as Seahawk.

"Adventurrrre!" Seahawk could be heard shouting from afar as Mermista made her way towards him. The Princess of Salineas couldn't help but smirk as the Captain's quirky antics as she grabbed onto him, riding on another way as she moved the two out of harms way, right as the boat finally caught on fire. All of the droids that had encircled the field were crushed under the combined might of Seahawk's flammable ship and the power of adventure, delivering a devastating blow to the remaining forces that failed to fight back.

A short distance below Glimmer, from what few guards managed to run passed everyone, trying to make a futile effort at stoping the runestone at its source,, Netossa could be seen duking it out with them directly, glowing with a dark violet hue, and throwing an ensnaring net of energy at a pair of guards, trapping them against each other, and kicking away at another soldier that rushed her from behind.

As she did, she saw a pair of droids attempting to approach the princess directly from both sides, wanting to get the jump on her depending on whoever reached her first. Before that became a possibility, though, Netossa found herself engulfed in a large violet wave of gust, one that spread across from her in all directions, sweeping the droids off her feet and blasting them into the icy formations that had grown out of the ground from where Frosta had attacked. Curious at the brief spectacle of wind she had witnessed, her wonder soon turned to excitement as she saw Spinnerella, her beloved friend descending from the sky above her in a brighter shade of purple, and tearing up the sight of her wellbeing.

It was a touching reunion as Glimmer saw Netossa throw her arms around the princess, glad she was okay after all they've been through.

On another side of the battlefield, she saw Princess Frosta and Perfuma, two unlikely elements working aside one another as they rode across the field with their own magic answering their calls. From Frosta's vantage, radiating with a bright sky blue in color, she fired several streaks of frozen crystals at the surrounding tanks and droids, trapping half of them while destroying the other half that tried to counter her antics. They were powerless to stop the small princess as she jumped into the air, surrounding herself in a dozen smaller icicles that shot in all directions ahead, consuming the dreadful machines and solid cases of ice.

She had no concern or reason to hold back as she attacked the nonorganic creatures and machines of the battlefield, saving that excitement for the flowery princess riding next to her in a bed of vines. With the blessing of nature lighting up her body in a green light, the princess of Plumeria laughed with amusement as she entangled a handful of guards and soldiers who were powerless to fight back against her ensuing vines, some of them being hung upside down by their feet while others were tangled up completely in a heap, ready to be collected and brought to the prisons the Rebellion had for their enemies. At least she took the liberty of making sure each and every one of them were presentable for later capture, creating a small necklace of flower over their heads and necks as she caught them.

This is exactly what Glimmer expected the Princess Alliance to be like when it finally formed. This  **was**  the Princess Alliance to her. Friend and friend, ally and ally, side by side. Everything about this scenario was perfect as she saw Bow running up to her.

"Glimmer!" He cried out with joy, the small V-shaped heart of his chest's armor glowing.

"Bow!" The princess called back, teleporting from her spot as she appeared right next to him, hugging onto him tightly. The two didn't think they were going to see each other given how the night was starting to play out. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Me too! I mean, you being glad, not me but... heh, you know what I mean." He chuckled, glad to see his shining pink friend again.

"I don't get it, how did this all happen?"

"How do you think?" He grinned, looking off in the distance.

Following his gaze, Glimmer nearly gasped as she saw the new state of She-Ra Catra was donning, watching her friend battling it out with her other friend as the two stood their ground. From the battle, Catra yelped as she was tossed into a tank by the vengeful Force Captain, Adora's hair becoming more erratic as the rage continued to consume her. Within seconds from being tossed into the tank's hard defense, the girl was quick to jump atop of it as she was nearly impaled by Adora's shadowy, spiked, fist that came crashing into it. Without wasting a breath, the Force Captain roared as a blade sprouted from the tank soon after, nearly cutting the girl in half if she hadn't reacted in time, blocking the terrible blade with her sword.

It did little to keep her from being flung a few feet into the air, forcing her to repeat a good distance behind Adora. Having expected this, unwilling to give Catra a moment's peace, Adora tore down the middle of the two tanks as she ripped them aside through the power of her shadows. Shooting two massive tendrils into the ripped halves of the tank, Adora roared violently as she turned around, stretching the tanks as far as she could in order to reach them, and slammed them against Catra from both directions all her might.

In a scenario that might've crushed the average person, the Force Captain continued to grumble in pain as the sight kept her from feeling any sense of peace or joy. At the other end of her shadowy tendrils where the ripped halves of the tanks still stood, she saw Catra, the magical gritting her teeth as her body continued to glow with a white light, as she kept the tanks at bay through the sheer force of her own personal strength, her arms pushing aside the incredible contracts with all her might.

"Is that... Catra?!" Glimmer stammered as if she had never met the girl before.

"I know, right?" Bow replied, still excited by the sight of the amazing duel. "Can you believe it? She's actually winning!" Bow's hopeful optimism wasn't shared by his friend who continued to look on with worry. It didn't matter to her if she could see Catra giving it all she's got, she couldn't forget the concerning worry Swift Wind told her about in the middle of this great war.

_"Glimmer, I'm telling you, she's going to be a wreck after this." Swift Wind fretted, bashing away a soldier that tried to sneak up behind him with his two back hooves._

_"Yeah, you said that before. What do you mean by a total wreck?"_

_"I mean personally!" With their area cleared temporarily, he looked on in the direction of the conflict in question. "Do you know how hard it was to convince her to come out here in the first place? She couldn't bring herself to leave after you guys left her, and now she's forcing herself to fight because she feels like she has to, not because she wants to."_

_"B-But we didn't force her to join us, Swift Wind! We gave her a choice, remember?"_

_"I'm not saying she didn't want to fight with you guys, I'm saying she decided to help you guys and is struggling with her choice. Glimmer, don't you understand what's at stake here for her? If we manage to defeat the invasion, Catra would be cutting all personal ties with her past! That mean would mean she would have to cut her ties with-"_

_"Adora..." Glimmer could tell immediately what the problem was getting at here._

Coming back to reality, she couldn't help but notice the pained expression on Catra's face from afar as she saw the girl struggling keep the tanks away at arms length, the two halves seeming to draw an inch closer as she did.

"No," Glimmer replied to Bow as she watched, "she doesn't." It wasn't a matter of Catra being unable to overpower Adora, she knew Catra wouldn't be able to force herself to overpower Adora. She still had care and deep concern for her friend, the one she was responsible for ending up in this mess! "She can't bring herself to fight Adora with everything she's got, Bow!" She stated worriedly. "She needs our help!"

...

* _WHAM!_ *

"Ngggh!" Adora grumbled as she was thrown to the floor of the ravine, pushing herself up to her chest as she gazed all around her. Throughout her field of vision she could see it,  _feel_  it, as they were losing.

The soldiers that failed to make their escape were being captured by the remaining princesses that continued to surround the battlefield with their magics, their droids were being destroyed and pushed aside like they were mere toys. All of this, all that was happening right now, was because of her, and Catra. The person she gave in to and allowed to stall for time, the person who might've known her friends were coming to save her at the last second, and purposely proposed a duel to stall for time.

Once again, Catra had used her. And that was the most sickening feeling she ever had as of now.

Her new appearance didn't come without any merits, she realized. She needed to be careful with her shadows as of now. With the bright shining sun in the sky, she couldn't afford to take off her headband anymore, not without losing all the powers that came to be. If she tried to recharge her own powers, she would only receive a fraction of whatever she started out with previously when the valley was coated in darkness. And actually keeping or maintaining her shadows were starting to become problematic as Catra's new state continued to remove them!

Whenever she threw another of her tendrils at her, not only did Catra manage to keep her from reeling in her former friend, Catra, at least twice, managed to rip them from her person, actually ripping off one of the shadowy tentacles that were over her back in the process! The pain was unlike anything Adora had ever experienced, feeling like she lost a limb, whether or not it was real. All that remained in its place was a blackened stump that Adora had to power on through, being careful not to expose her back anymore than she had to towards the magicat.

Along with her strength, her surprising ability of shooting energy through her sword wasn't just for show, either. On multiple occasions, when Adora attempted to call in any surrounding droids for reinforcements, the droids were quick to learn just how powerful the new She-Ra had came to be. The energy that drew from the sword shot forth like a beam of light at her enemies, piercing through the droids one second and causing them to explode in the next one after. They even hurt Adora's shadows, to her dismay, forcing the captain to keep the shadows close to her being once again.

Whatever this new state of She-Ra was, it was a nightmare. She had power, she had newfound strength, and worst of all, she was losing this war. Like many times over, Catra had used her for her own benefit again, and this time, there could be no forgiveness. She didn't care at all as she heard Catra approaching her, the patter of her feet brushing against the cold water doing nothing to distract her.

"It's over, Adora." Catra stated, standing a good twenty feet away from the girl for safety.

"No... No it's not..." Adore grumbled, wobbling a little as she got back to her feet, panting out of breath. "I... I can still..."

"Would you just stop it already?!" How much was she supposed to argue like this?! She couldn't keep protecting her if she wasn't willing to surrender. "Just look around you, Adora!" Catra ordered, seeing the Force Captain turning her head as instructed. "You've lost! Okay? Just accept it! If you don't stop any of this, I can't protect you from the Queen!"

"...Protect... me?" The girl lowered her head as she squeezed her hands, letting out a small chuckle that Catra's ears could pick up. "You... protect me? How laughable..." Catra spotted an irritated scowl on the right half of her face, while the blackened hair on her left half covered the rest. "So what? Now I'm supposed to turn into you? Weak, pathetic, useless?" Catra's heart stung at the comments as her ears lowered. "I'm supposed to turn my back on my morals and start using everyone around me like pawns?" With an anger fueling behind her, Catra saw the tendrils of her shadows starting to gather at the palms of her opened hands, Adora drawing in all the energy she could as she was consumed with rage.

"I want to be perfectly clear,  _ **Catra**_. I, will never, be, like, you. Not now," the shadows around Adora's feet started to spiral in a terrible display of power around her as she raised her hands, "not EVER!"

* _Sssssssssssssssskkkkkkkkkssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhh-!_ *

"Ah-!"

* _spzzzzzzt-!_ *

Catra only had moments to react to Adora's final attack as it came right at her. In a colossal wave of dark energy, bursting from the palms of Adora's hands, Catra was nearly consumed by a never-ending flow of darkness as a gigantic blast of shadows were directed right at her. She-Ra was barely given a moment to catch her breath as she was forced to direct her sword at her ensuing shadow, stopping the blast just a few feet ahead of her as a stream of white energy poured from the tip of her sword, combatting the darkness. It did nothing to prevent her from being pushed back another thirty feet, but it was better than ending up as a potential stain in the water.

Around her, all of her friends and allies were drawn to the sight of the terrifying display of power as they saw the power of light and dark being forced upon each other, seeing streaks of light and darkness shooting across in nearly every direction as Catra managed to push back the beam of energy towards its center. Both, Catra, and Adora, found waves of energy shooting passed them in a spiral of power, with pure light bursting passed Adora, and an empty darkness spiraling over Catra.

"Catra!" They all called out with worry, rushing over to the scene as close as they possibly could. The streaks of light and darkness were destroying everything around them as they continued their epic struggle, neither girls showing any signs of faltering under the intense might of their magic, or signs of backing down, knowing what it would possibly mean for either one of them if they were to show any signs of weakness for even a second.

"She-Ra!" Perfume cried out.

Unwilling to just sit on the sidelines and wait for one side to win, Mermista nodded to herself as she attempted to shoot a large stream of her magical waters directly at the enemy ahead, only to find the energies disintegrating her waters the moment they approached, evaporating almost instantly.

"I can't get any closer!" She revealed, attempting to fire another stream of water at her, meeting the same results. Deciding that approaching Adora was out of the question, Perfuma attempted to sprout her vines closer to She-Ra, hoping to pull her out of the twister of darkness that was pushing passed her. Unfortunately, it proved to be just as in vain as Mermista's attempts as the moment they neared the poor girl, the vines found themselves shredded in under a second, the darkness unwavering as it ripped through the vines.

"I can't reach She-Ra, either." She felt so useless as she watched her friend struggling with all her might.

"Catra!" The group turned to see the Princess of Bright Moon and her friend running towards them, the looks of worry shared among their faces.

"Hey Twinkles, are you okay?" Mermista asked, finally seeing her for the first time in awhile.

"I'm fine," she replied, not caring at the choice of nickname she picked, "but what's going on?"

"The lad's doing everything she can to fight back against Adora, lass!" Seahawk explained, looking back to the fight. "Nobody can reach them in the state that they're in, the girls' magics are too strong!"

"Nooo..." Glimmer fretted, looking at the scene with anguish.

What was she supposed to do at a time like this if magic couldn't get through their magic? Everyone was helpless as they watched the two girls continuing to collide their magic against one another, struggling to get the pull on the other one as best they could, only one side refraining from using everything she had.

_**Let Go** _

"No!" Catra yelled aloud, ignoring the voice in her head as she tried to maintain her grip on the sword. Every second that passed she caught a glimpse of Adora's face from far away, seeing the hatred building up behind Adora's innocent eyes. "Adore, please!" She could be heard shouting over. "I don't want to do this!"

"I've had enough of your lies, Catra!" Adora screamed angrily in return. "Once I finish with you, I'm tearing down the rest of the Rebellion, even if I have to do it by myself!"

"Adora, please..." Tears started to form in the corner of Catra's eyes at the revelation, picturing the chances the rest of her allies had at trying to deal with Adora in her newly empowered form.

At the waver in her heart, the remaining allies watched in horror as the dreaded wave of darkness began to push against the light, gaining an inch little by little as it neared over towards Catra. As it did, the violence on Catra's end started to pick up, the energy coming closer to the girl with each passing second. About a fourth of the way there, the energy narrowed in its spiral passed her, actually cutting her a little against her legs and her shoulders, a few strands of Catra's hair getting cut off as it clustered.

It was a terrible sight to behold as the allies could do nothing to assist in this. Whether they stood a chance against Adora themselves, they didn't know what fate would befall Catra if she failed to stop Adora's incoming blast of pure darkness. There were only a few select ideas that came to mind, and none of them proved pleasant to the girl.

"She's starting to lose ground." Frosta said, trying to pick up an idea along with the rest of them.

"Couldn't you form a wall of ice or something, lass?" Seahawk suggested hopefully. You know, something block the attack long enough to pull her out of there?"

"Are you kidding? I don't know what sort of power those two are unleashing. Even if it's durable enough, Catra's light could reflect off of it and shoot out everywhere, destroying everything around us." It amazed the captain that such a young girl managed to come up with a quick-witted explanation behind all of this, just not enough to keep him from growing ever-increasingly concerned.

"She... She needs us..." Glimmer mumbled, looking at her sparkling hands. Catra's always been there for them, no matter how many times Catra refused to acknowledge the opposite. Even if she still couldn't see it after this, she had to do anything she could to save her. "I'm going in," she announced squeezing her fist, "I think I can get to her through teleporting."

"Glimmer, you can't-"

"Look, Bow, I know what you're going to say, but I don't have a choice!" She quickly interrupted. "If we don't do anything now, Catra could die. I'm not going to leave her behind like this without someone to support her!"

Blinking at the statement of conviction she spouted, Bow grinned. "Stop you? Are you kidding? I'm not letting you go by yourself without me." He stated, holding her hand. It warmed Glimmer's heart that she had such a dear friend like Bow at her side in a time of crisis like this. Looking around, the others smiled to her as they gave her their support too, knowing it would be up to those two to help Catra see this through to the end. And in dazzling sparkles of light, the two teleported, leaving a hopeful trail of purplish dust in their place.

Back on the other end, Catra continued to falter as she started using all of her muscle to maintain her stance and her sword's grip. The tunnel was closing in on her, drawing near her body with every rapid rush of energy, and cutting away at her with every centimeter. It didn't matter if she refused to push back against Adora's magic, if she dropped the sword at all at this point, it would be the end of her.

"Adora, please..." She continued to whimper, a small strand of tears rolling down her right side. "I don't want to do this by myself... I don't want to do this by myself..."

"You don't have too!" Catra nearly flinched at the sudden voice as she felt two different hands on her back, pushing against her shoulders. Pushing against her from behind, out of the tunnel's wave of darkness, she saw a shining Glimmer and a courageous Bow, both smiling to her as she continued to push the sword. And there they were, with that annoying smile that always popped up at the most annoying of times to her. "Hey, Catra, like the new look, though I prefer your old one, really!"

"Glimmer?" She turned her head from her left to her right. "Bow?" He grinned back, giving a thumbs up with his other hand. "What the heck are you guys doing here?!"

"Oh you know, was just in the neighborhood, wanted to check out the sights, etcetera." Bow joked with a cheeky grin. "What do you think we're doing here? We're here to help you!"

"Help me?" Oh dear First Ones, please tell her they were joking! "Are you two crazy?! Get out of here while you still can!"

"Oh darn, I think my magic tapped out just teleporting here. Talk about bad timing, you know?" Glimmer shrugged.

"Yeah, I think I sprained an ankle or something too while I was at it." Bow added, the two of them wincing as the wind blew passed their eyes. It pained Catra to see how casually the two were shrugging all of this off, like it was a bad joke where she was the punchline.

"This isn't funny, you dweebs!" Catra shouted over the roaring tunnel. "I don't know if I can stop her! I don't know if I can force myself to stop her-!"

"We know, Catra, and we're fine with that!" Glimmer replied, catching her off guard as she had a small smile. "Look, I might not know the real Adora like you do, and I probably never will. But she's your good friend, and if you don't want to fight her, that's fine with us." She was bluffing... right?

"What... What are you saying?"

"She's saying we're beside you no matter what you choose, Catra." Bow answered for her. "Whether you want to fight Adora or not, we'll be here to support you, all the way through." They were... joking. They had to be joking. It was the worst joke Catra had ever experienced in her life, and the WORST possible timing they could ever pull off a joke right about now!

"You... You idiots..." Catra teared up. "Why can't you ever leave me alone when I want you to?!"

"Because, Catra, and I'm telling you this for the very last time!" Glimmer said in a stricter tone. "We're your friends. And we're not going to leave your side no matter what happens, got it!" She could just make out the smile on Bow's face as she nodded to her before the two pushed against Catra with all they had, trying to help her keep the magical warrior from stumbling as Catra turned back towards Adora, distraught.

She hated them. She hated  **every**  last one of them. Those stupid people in the Rebellion who were a constant source of misery, those annoying morons who never did whatever she asked them to. They were the worst kind of friends anyone could ask for!

She didn't ask them to be at her side like this! She didn't want them throwing themselves in harms way just because Catra refused to harm a friend as close to her as Adora! They weren't helping her in any sense by doing this, they were forcing her to make a decision against her will! Those ingrates, those selfish pests, those, terrible... horrible... friends...

She gazed as closely as she could into Adora's eyes from afar, seeing little to nothing resembling the dear friend she once had. Her friend would never be the one trying to end Catra's life, she wouldn't be throwing everything she had at her just to make Catra suffer. She wouldn't be looking at Catra with such an unsettling rage rage, the likes of which had never been seen before, with the desire to make Catra suffer for a lifetime of past mistakes. This... this wasn't the same Adora she knew.

But... what was she to do? She couldn't hurt her friend!

_"Hate you?" At this, Catra paused in their walk, giving Glimmer her full attention. "Who said I ever hated you? Both of you for that matter?"_

_...Was this really the same Catra or did she end up being replaced by some artificial AI that took over her brain here? Because that would be the only explanation for the complete shock of display presented by Catra. That was possibly, without a doubt, the closest thing to an actual nice thing she ever said to the two._

_...And it was kind of scary..._

_"You... don't hate me? About before?" The suspension of disbelief was all over Glimmer's face. "B-But you were so mad about everything, and you didn't want anything to do with us. How was I supposed to think you didn't hate us?"_

_"Well, duh, I was mad about it, but it doesn't mean I hate you for it. It's not your fault for being stupid." She commented, continuing their walk._

_"Gee, that's encouraging to hear..." Ok, now there was about a fifty-fifty-chance this was the same old Catra._

_"But you don't hate us?" Did Bow hear that correctly? Was there truly a possibility for the Best Friend Squad after all this time?!_

_"Of course not. I just don't like you two."_

_No there was not._

_Noticing the lack of response to this, Catra grimaced, looking at her sword again. She hadn't forgotten everything that happened in her dream, how that once blissful reality turned into a ravaging nightmare with a few choice words and decisions. How her entire kingdom came down upon her head in a matter of hours, in the dream anyway, because of who she wanted and didn't want to be around, who she kept close and who she pushed away._

_She was tired of the long day she had, all this sappiness that was coming out of her mouth even as she spoke. But... she didn't want to relive that. She didn't care about anyone else, but if that was the kind of reality that awaited her in the future, if it would only last as long as she kept people from feeling pushed away, then she needed to change, if only a little. She couldn't afford to lose her kingdom like that again._

_Or Adora._

_"But..." The two perked their heads up as she went on. "If it means... anything..." Ugh, why did she have to do this? Wasn't the fact she was fighting with them enough for them? Or did they like to torture her by being a bit more open about this kind of garbage? "Compared to everyone else I grew up with... most of them, anyway... you guys are... I don't know..." A small pink blush picked up on the side of her cheeks, barely noticeable until Glimmer leaned over to her side a little bit to see if she saw what she thought. "... More tolerable. People I dislike the least. All right?"_

_"Catra..." She did everything in her power from squealing out in pure delight, her and Bow both!_

... No... the scene flashed in her eyes painfully as she maintained where her sword's energy was.

_"Why do you have to be such a buzzkill around here?"_

_"I'm not being a buzzkill, I'm trying to help you!" She retorted quietly . "Catra, these people care more about She-Ra than they do you."_

_"Uhhhh helloooooo! I am She-Ra?" She rolled her eyes._

_"No you're not! Your name is Catra and you're a part of the Rebellion!" Glimmer corrected. It was like Catra had completely forgotten about her old life in the last half-hour they've been here._

_For all she knew, she did._

_"Ugh, why are you so laaame? Why can't you be more like Bow? He has the right idea."_

_"Bow?" She had almost forgotten about him after everything that's happened. Without skipping on the details, Glimmer looked to the right as Catra's tail directed her._

_Off over in the distance, a couple dozen yards away, she saw Bow entertaining several kids and adults while holding a stick like a sword. "How about the time she saved Thaymor by staring down an evil Horde Captain, and made them call off an attack through sheer willpower! Or how about the one time when She-Ra borrowed my toothbrush, and single handedly defeated a hundred Horde Soldiers!"_

_"Bow, don't lie to them!" Catra called out with a grin._

_"You're right, I'm sorry... It was two-hundred soldiers!" The kids around him cheered with excitement as Catra laughed._

_"Hahaha, I officially know which of you two I like more now!"_

Stop it!

_*tug*_

_Catra blinked. Looking down slowly as ever, she was met with the rather strange sight of Glimmer, pressing her head into her chest as she wrapped around her in a tight hug._

_"...P... Pinky? What are you doing?"_

_"Catra, I'm," she sniffled, "I'm sorry." Leaning her head up, Catra saw the strange look of sadness filling up in her eyes. But they weren't tears for herself, not that she could feel. It almost felt like... they were for her._

_"Sorry? ...About what?"_

_"About everything!" She sobbed. "I always thought you didn't want friends because you thought one was all you needed, but that wasn't the case, was it? You don't want friends because you can't trust any friends, can you?"_

_"I..." The look on Catra's face as she paused confirmed it._

_"You spent your entire life on your own, too scared to make friends because you don't know what would happen if you did, because you were too afraid of what pain it would bring. You're afraid of what will happen if you have any more friends and you don't trust them enough to not leave you. To live your whole life with that fear, unable to trust anyone, even yourself... It's one of the saddest things I've heard..."_

_"..." Catra didn't know what to say. Was she feeling sorry for her pity for her? Was she trying to drive Catra insane or something here? To drive her off the deep end, maybe even over the balcony itself? She didn't know anymore. She didn't want all this mushy stuff filling her mind unneededly, she didn't want anyone else reading into her personal life like this!_

"Please... stop..." Catra whimpered, biting her lower lip.

_"All my life growing up in the Horde, I didn't have any brute strength or quick wits to get by in my training. The only way I managed to survive was with my speed and my recklessness, nothing else. Adora was the only one I could rely on to bail me out of trouble whenever I screwed up. She was always the perfect cadet whenever it came to any training. She was smart, she was fast, strong. Usually she left everyone else in the dust, and I... I always hated her for it."_

_"But Catra, you're nothing like her!" Bow tried to argue._

_"Oh, gee, thanks for that enlightening encouragement." Catra scoffed with the roll of her eyes._

_"No, I mean, so what if you're reckless? It doesn't matter to us."_

_"Bow's right." Glimmer agreed, nodding. "Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. It doesn't matter how many or how little you have of either. We all make up for it by compensating each other."_

_"And what if someone has to pay for it?" She shot back. "What if someone dies because of one lousy weakness you have or an entire mission gets screwed up? You guys would've been better off if Adora was fighting for you guys. Knowing her, she would've gotten everyone in and out without a single casualty. We don't even have that many people anymore because of me."_

_"The Princess Alliance breaking up was outside of your control, Catra. Everyone was torn apart by what happened to Entrapta. What you did taking it out on Mermista might've been wrong but it wouldn't have changed much if you didn't. You need to stop blaming yourself on everything that went wrong and move on."_

_"..." This was the other reasons she hated having never learned when to shut up! They always got into your personal business, they always stuck their noses in places they weren't wanted or needed, and they never left you alone! She understood what they were getting at, she truly did, but it didn't make any difference to Catra if she was still the same person by the end of it._

"Don't make me... Don't make me do this... please..." The moment she gave in, the moment she accepted what needed to be done, she knew there was no chance of ever reuniting with Adora, or the happiness the past had to offer, anymore.

_"...Glimmer? Why... Why are you guys being so nice to me? After everything I messed up? What if I'm not even She-Ra like you said?" How... How could they do this? Why were they wasting their time with her after everything she revealed? Even if she saw them more as friends, it didn't mean the feeling felt reciprocated half the time, and given the circumstances she was currently in, she didn't think they would want anything to do with her._

_She wasn't She-Ra, she kept messing up, she made everything worse. She was far beyond the point of faulty and more of an accident waiting to happen, she was... she was a freak. Someone who did more harm than good based on her personal experience. A jerk who abused her friends' trusts for her own benefit, like Adora said._

_Why were they treating like this?_

_"It's like I keep telling you, Catra." She replied with a smile, patting her shoulder. "We're your friends, and even if you mess up, we'll always be by your side."_

_"..." The magicat turned to the blade as she held it in her hands, staring at the familiar reflection as always._

_What if she was wrong about this? What if she was wrong about everything? Maybe she wasn't supposed to be She-Ra, maybe she still isn't She-Ra based on what Light Hope told her. What if the very next mission they went on could be their last, like it was with Entrapta's last mission? What if she doomed everyone from the start and lost the entire Rebellion as a result? What if everything Light Hope and the others said about her was true? What if..._

_... Why? Why did she care what they thought? She was Catra, one of the best soldiers the Horde could ask for, the person everyone labeled a freak. She was always talked down to and insulted by her peers and the kids she grew up with. They always told her she was never capable of accomplishing anything, they never saw her as one of their own like Adora did. They were quick to point out her mistakes and mock her for it, conflicting her with numerous feelings and issues in her heart. And they were with the Horde, the force that threatened to destroy Eitheria._

_So why should she care!_

_"...Glimmer?" Catra spoke, Glimmer noticing the hint of emotion behind her voice. "I really, really, really, hate you." Lifting her head towards her, she gave a small grin, giving Glimmer the idea despite already having a pretty good one._

_"Catra! You're back!" She was unable to resist the urge as she threw her arms around her neck, squeezing her tightly. She didn't return the hug and she didn't try to push her away. For once in Catra's life, she welcomed it._

**_/ / / \ \ \_ **

**_*Let Go*_ **

**_\ \ \ / / /_ **

...The sword wasn't telling her to let go to fulfill her destiny. It was telling her to let go to save her own life.

There was no avoiding it, not any longer. Catra knew that now. She always knew it. This battle, everything that had taken place with Adora, was all her fault. She was the reason she ended up like this. She was the one who caused Adora to become the violent person she was. She should've shown more care or compassion to he girl who treated her like a dear friend since the moment she met her, and she refused to give it out of her fear of appearing weak, and now it was costing her.

This was her own punishment. Her punishment for being greedy, for being the selfish cat that she was. By refusing to let go, she was allowing her greed to give in again, allowing her greed to manifest into the horrible monster that created Adora in the first place. Her punishment for never being the person who treated her most like a friend was to lose that very same friend in turn.

And she couldn't deny it, any longer.

It was the punishment she deserved.

Tears started to flow endlessly from Catra's face, the droplets flowing down her cheeks being blown into the air by the intense force of the powerful blast. There was no hesitation on Adora's end, no attempt to hide back her rage and contempt for the young girl, and no ounce of care over who she had to hurt to do it. Adora was her enemy, now and forever. And if she didn't fight back against her now, she was going to lose the very last things she had left in this world, that annoyed her to no end.

Her friends.

The duo behind her heard the sniffling coming from the magicat as they saw the droplets of tears rushing from Catra's eyes passed them. Already, the guilt started to settle in to the two of them as they saw her raise her sword further into the shadowy magic, knowing what she was going to do.

"Geh..." Catra squeezed her eyes shut briefly, opening them to show the watery tears that continued to flow.

" _Goodbye... Adora..._ " And with that, Catra screamed. With every last ounce of strength she could draw in from her sword, from her friends, she took a step forward as she unleashed a powerful blast of pure light straight into the darkness, the darkness doing nothing to slow down the terrible power of light that shot across the ravine, towards the defenseless Force Captain who could do nothing to move, not with all the shadows she was drawing to herself.

Within that one moment, right as the light was about to hit, the redness faded from Adora's eyes, as an expression of confusion and wonder crossed Adora's face. "Catra-?"

* _ **BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!**_ *

The tunnel of darkness and light had finally ceased as Adora was encased in a powerful dome of light, one roared with life as it surrounded everything ten feet from her in a miraculous display. Catra let out a gasp of exhaustion as did her two friends, the glowing aura that once radiated among the princesses finally extinguishing. Never had they seen anyone preform a miraculous feat such as Catra's before, and chances were very unlikely they ever would again.

With her energy spent, the magicat's form finally came to an end as Catra dropped the sword, panting out of breath as she returned to the endearing, shorter, magicat they came to know her as. None of them could blame her for being so out of energy like she was now, not after that stunning performance of magic.

With her powers drained, Catra lifted her head slowly, along with the rest of them, as they saw the dome starting to diminish around the Force Captain. There she stood, Adora, with her head held back and her arms drooped behind her, as the shadows that used to surround her slowly dissipated into nothingness, burning away from the light's pure energy.

At first, there was nothing but fear on Catra's end. Even if she was supposed to stop her friend, that didn't mean she had to end her existence to do it! Thankfully, she noticed a small twitch coming from the Force Captain, the now fully-blonde girl pulling her head forward where it slumped.

Upon her head, the others gasped. The headband, the grand source of Adora's legendary power, started to crack. Along with a single tear that grew from above and below the sacred jewel from the Black Garnet, the headband itself started to rip before their very eyes. Eventually, the entire thing tore itself apart as the gem of Adora's power shattered into dust, blowing across the wind as the shredded remains of the headband flowed lifelessly to the waters around her wobbling feet.

Adora's power, was gone.

It took an ample amount of her own strength just to lift her head back far enough, enough for Catra to see the pained expression in Adora's eyes, and the tears that flowed down her cheeks. She had no power, no chance of victory, and no means to calm the rushing torrent of sadness that overflowed in her heart. She was now drowning in a bottomless abyss of sorrow.

"I... will never... forgive you..." With that final utterance, the girl started to collapse, her eyes rolling to the back of her head as she passed out. Before she could collide with the ground, however, before there was any chance of potentially rescuing her, she was swept away, by a treasured friend known as Scorpia, as the two sped off into the distance in one of the remaining skiffs.

**_(A/N: Once again, and for the final time in awhile, now would be the perfect time to play the music that goes along with the following scene until indicated otherwise. For the following scenes, its recommend to listen to the theme Home, From RWBY Volume 4 on youtube)_ **

"You... You did it!" Glimmer cheered loudly, her one solitary cheer erupting the cheers and applause of the allies from afar. At long last, the Battle for Bright Moon had come to an end, and victory came to the heroes in the very end! Nothing but cheer filled the skies, along with Swift Wind who made his way over after beating down the last of the droids he could, as far as the eye could see. This would go on to be one of the most momentous days of the Rebellion, and they all had Catra to thank for it.

"Way to go, Catra!" Bow cheered, pumping his fist in the air. Geez, with all the excitement that was taking place right now, there was no way in telling how excited Catra must have felt!

After all this time of feeling like a screwup, she finally had something she could NEVER deny! Thanks to her, and her two hands, she saved the day. She beat back the evil Horde army, restored the runestones to their rightful state, and actually managed to heal everyone, including Glimmer from her glitching, in the end! If she ever thought she was a screwup before, there was no way she possibly could now! Even if, for whatever, minuscule reason, she said she was, they were prepared to splash her face enough times to tell her otherwise.

This was a glorious day not just for the Rebellion or the Princess Alliance, but for all of Etheria!

"..."

* _sniff_ *

"C... Catra?" The lighthearted mood and tone in the atmosphere took a sudden shift as Glimmer heard the small sniffling coming from her. Before she could raise a hand towards her, Catra collapsed to her hands and knees, in an agonizing look they had never seen before.

Catra was... crying. In the reflection of the waters surrounding her, they could see her face. The face that told a thousand stories, that had witnessed all the beauty and horrors of the world. Not one part of her freckled face appeared to be without pain and suffering as Catra sniffed. The person who always hated to look weak in front of the others, the one who always kept her emotions bottled up inside of her, was releasing them all at once, possibly for the first time in her entire life.

It was only now Glimmer truly realized what Swift Wind had meant about Catra being a wreck after this. The worst part wasn't the climax of the great war itself, it was what came after the long conflict.

"Ghh... AaaaaaahhhhhhhhhHHHHHHHHH!" Catra screamed as she raised her arms as high as she could, slamming them into the waters in front of her.

* _SPLASH!_ *

"Aaaaahahahaaaaa!" This was... beyond the point of saddening, to watch. Catra, the strong, almost-fearless warrior, that she always displayed herself to be, had finally broken down. Catra didn't know what to do with this pain, this endless surge of misery that rushed into her.

She was gone. Adora was gone. Her old life was gone. Everything that she came to know and love about her old life had been taken from her by her own two hands, because of her selfishness. The reality of everything finally dawned on her as she realized everything she had now lost, and everything she would never have back.

Within there own mind, Catra recalled all of it, against her wishes. All the memories of her and Adora, all the good times they had, playing before her, inaudibly as Catra continued to cry out. The music overlapped the voices asher past flashed before her eyes, possibly for a final time, that Catra would ever want to remember.

_With that, Catra let out a taunting hum to herself, feeling accomplished, as she turned around to walk back._

_Coming face to face with a smirking Adora who had a raised brow and the little girl looking up curiously at the mean twelve year old._

_Adora spoke down to Ami. She took great amusement to see Catra standing up for the young girl despite her aggressive appearance when she met Ami the first time._

_Catra grumbled, looking away with a small blush on her face._

_Adora cooed, pinching Catra's cheeks._

_Catra yelped, slapping her hand away in embarrassment. The little girl actually began to giggle a little at this, something Catra knew she couldn't scold her for with Adora around. And that's if she wanted to in the first place._

_Adora informed with a casual smile on her face, much to Catar's dismay._

_Instead of getting any word out of the girl, Catra looked down to see the excited four year old holding her hand up to her, wanting to take magicat's hand, furthering her embarrassment._

_Groaning audibly to the two, Catra rolled her eyes as she resigned herself to the annoying fate of cleaning up someone else's mess with them. She warned, taking the little girl's hand into her right hand as the three walked down the hallway. Ami could be found walking between the two with a happy smile on her face._

This was her ultimate punishment, one she knew she would have to bear for the rest of her life. Any connections she had to the past were finally over. With Adora's defeat, Catra was a part of the Horde, no longer.

_According to the stranger himself, Shadow Weaver had no say in the matter._

_Shadow Weaver glowered as she saw the insect taunting her._

_The stranger boldly said._

_A young blond child asked as she walked into the door's line of sight._

_Seeing the child passed Shadow Weaver's flowing robe, Catra let out a squeal of pure delight. She ran straight passed the two adults as she ran straight into Adora's excited two friends happily embraced each other in a warm hug as they laughed, overjoyed that they got to see the one friend neither of them thought they would ever see again._

How was this fair for her? Wasn't she suffering enough having to fight Adora to begin with? Why did she have to do all of this alone? Why did she have to find herself without any friends, to live in a world where she was loathed for her very existence?!

It wasn't until she felt a gentle hand on her back that she realized it.

She wasn't alone.

Turning around, the magicat saw a similar look of despair on Glimmer's own face as she kneeled, trying whatever she could to give her friend a comforting smile. She completely ignored anything she was saying, her emotional state preventing her from understanding what was being said, but she was sure it was something along the lines of, "it's okay", or something. She didn't know what it was, and she didn't care as she did the first thing she had ever done in her life.

She hugged her. She threw her arms tightly around Glimmer and cried into her chest as Glimmer hugged her back, tearing up as she felt a portion of Catra's pain, all while Bow kneeled at her side as well, doing what he could to hug her and offer his own support. The others looked on in dismay at the scene as several of them prepared to step forth, wanting to comfort the cat girl as well. All of their possible support and encouragement, however painful it was, was put to a stop as Mermista held out her hand, blocking their way.

She was trapped in her own look of despair as she turned to them, shaking her head "no" to the rest who wanted to be there for her. What Catra was going through right now, everything that she was experiencing and feeling, she needed those closest to her right now for support, not the people she considered simply allies for the time being.

_It was like a commandment amongst the children, one that all of them knew of. Yet, despite knowing all of this, Adora offered to help the young girl. She was brave enough to help the young girl and didn't care if it caused trouble for her or not. The only one that did care was Catra herself._

_The girl mumbled looking away._

_Adora passed off with a smile. She helped wipe away one of Catra's tears with a thumb, trying to dry the girl's face._

_With that, Adora pulled the girl over to her as the two settled into the bed once again, side by side. Catra shuffled a little as Adora hugged her closely and pulling the blanket over them. It comforted and let her know she would always be by her side. It helped somewhat as a small smile grew on Catra's face, one Adora was happy to see as the two of them finally closed their eyes._

_The nightmares would never cease, but as long as they had each other, there was nothing the two would have to fear._

The Queen was unwilling to sit idly by as the scene took place in front of her, seeing everything from the ledge of the chamber as she overlooked the entire valley. Flapping her wings gently to the ground, she made her way over to the beloved trio of friends as she took her place right alongside the rest of them. Glimmer shot her a brief look of sadness before the Queen embraced the three of them in a warm hug that only a mother could provide, doing her best to drown out the noise of the saddening cries as she wrapped her wings around all three of them.

Growing the same idea, Swift Wind gracefully flew his way over as fast as he could without making too much of a scene. Lowering himself as much as he could to the four, he laid his head across Catra's back, wrapping his left wing around the four of them as he did his best to comfort his master with all his heart.

_Everything just seemed to slow down around the two of them as they processed what just happened._

_Here Catra was, about to take her first glorious bite of one of the delicious muffins created by the Horde. Every hair on her body was raising with excitement as she imagined all the wonderful tastes and wonders she was about to experience in her very first bite! And what happens next?_

_Gruel happens. From out of nowhere, from out of their view, someone threw a large chunk of gruel at the poor girl, splatting across the left half of her face. Regardless of how hot, cold, hard, or soft the substance was, that barely mattered in comparison to the aftermath._

_The muffin. The great, glorious muffin, was dropped from her hands, falling into the slush that was gruel. The muffin was quickly absorbed into the meal, drowning the entire muffin from head to toe. Nobody wanted a soggy muffin, and nobody wanted a muffin covered in gruel._

_Adora grumbled to herself as she glared back at the thrower. Just like she thought, there was Lonnie, raising her fist proudly as the other kids near her cheered for her fantastic throw. Maybe she didn't see the muffin she was holding and maybe she did, it didn't matter. All this left was a very distraught Adora._

_And a very sad Catra._

_She cried silently, forcefully keeping her mouth close as she sniffled to avoid more unwanted attention. She didn't care about the stinging gruel in her eyes as much as the act itself. It stung. It hurt. It reminded her of every reason she was unwanted by everyone._

_Adora grumbled squeezing her fist._

_Catra pleaded grabbing her other arm. Adora was surprised as she looked back to the tearful looking new friend. Even after all they just did to her, she still preferred to let it go, opting to cry as gruel continued to drip from the left side of her face. She sniffled. Strangely, her following words were inaudible, yet Adora acknowledged it like she heard what she said._

_It made her feel worse thinking those bullies would get away with what they did. People like that should always get punished, just like Shadow-Weaver always taught her! Yet, she couldn't bring herself to leave her friend as she was. She was in need, in fear. She couldn't leave her side in this state. She gave her a warm smile as she grabbed one of her napkins. At least gruel was easy to wipe off. She wished all of their troubles could be solved so easily._

_At the very least, Catra found comfort in someone else. She found someone who cared for her, wanted to protect her._

Catra never felt more alone in the world before, save for these people that surrounded her now. They were all she had left, all that there was to fight for. By leaving one life behind, she grew into the life of another possibility, one of a family.

_The girl continued as she sat left to the crier. She heard Catra hiccup at the mention of the word "monster",_ _confirming what the girl already thought._

_For the first time since she came across her, the young Catra tilted her head up a bit, letting the new girl see her different-colored eyes and the tears that flowed down her face, along with the red mark on her cheek._

_Why couldn't this girl get the message? Catra remembered thinking to herself. I just want to be alone._

_Then get it through your head already! I want to be alo-!_

_She remembers going silent at this statement, fully lifting her head to look the strange girl in the eyes. Nothing but sadness and a runny nose filled Catra's face, and none of it bothered the other girl. There was no audible indication coming from Catra's sobs, only a small twitching sensation as her small tail wiggled slightly._

_That was the one question that sent Catra over the edge. She remembered doubling her cries of misery and sobbing as she laid her head into the girl's shoulder, holding her tightly like she would disappear if she didn't. She was the first one to ever say an F word to her that wasn't Freak, the first person to ever make herself feel wanted. She couldn't remember what was going through her head at that time, just that she didn't want to be alone at that moment._

_The other girl continued to smile as she patted Catra's head, enjoying the possibility that she made a new friend._

And now that life was gone. Everything that Catra had in her past life was over now. Despite telling herself that she had a new life to move on to, it did nothing to quell the rain of sadness spreading in her heart, no matter how warm the group's hug came to be. It was comforting, and exhausting, all at the same time.

After another minute of endless flow of tears, the Queen opened her eyes as she noticed the deafening silence around them. Growing the same look of curiosity one by one, her friends pulled back from her a little so they could see the sate of their despairing friend.

She was passed out. After all the energy she had exhausted, physically, mentally, and emotionally, it was too much for the young girl. It proved too much for anybody, at that! Nobody could go through the pain Catra felt at this point as her world collapsed around her, not this quickly, not too soon.

Wiping a few of the dry tears across Catra's cheeks, the Queen gave her friends a small smile as she picked Catra up, cradling her like a small child in her arms as they began to walk away. There was a small, peaceful, expression on the cat's face as the Queen carried her, one that brought a little comfort to the rest of her remaining friends as they followed along behind her, all of them leaving their way back towards the castle.

They were determined to do whatever it took to bring a smile back to Catra's face, and Glimmer knew the perfect way to do it!

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

It felt like forever since she had a good rest as Catra opened her eyes again. Her body was still sore all over from the energy she had spent throughout her deadly struggling, even though she had enough energy to lean out of the bed she found herself in. She rubbed her head a little as she felt the small ache in her forehead, trying her best to ignore it as she looked around the room.

She appeared to be in a medical wing of the Castle, one she had visited on several occasions after cutting or injuring herself during training. Sometimes she got in way over her head when she first started to train here, picking fights with random soldiers in training as she adjusted to her new life at first, and, while winning majority of those fights and  _letting_  others win the rest, she always came out of it with a few sore bones and a cut or two around her lips.

Catra sighed as she ignored the beating the room took as she got out of her bed, and the peaceful flower that was placed along the nightstand of the bed with a "Get Well Soon!" logo on it. She wasn't feeling better after her long rest, she didn't know if she was ever going to feel better again. Her old life was over, and so was the precious friendship she once held dear. She could never bring those back to her, no matter how much she pleaded to anyone who would hear her. She was right back to her old self again as she knew she wouldn't have anyone to back her up, or anything that could bring a sense of comfort to her again.

As she traversed the ruined hallways towards her room, she observed the broken shambles as she passed along. By her guess, it was around night time, what with the little night light she could see in one hole of the hallway's massive ceiling. In the distance, her ears twitched as they picked up the sound of hammers banging away at each other, hearing them pounding against the castle as they were no doubt repairing sections of the castle, something Catra knew she was going to be forced to help with tomorrow morning... unless she was lucky.

Luck wasn't something she felt anymore after the events of today, maintaining the same solemn look on her face as she neared her room. If she was lucky, none of these events would be happening. If she was lucky, Adora would still be by her side. If she was lucky, she wouldn't have to go through all this pain and misery she was currently feeling in her heart! She knew this was her punishment for all she did, for all she made suffer around her.

She just wished it hurt a little less as she pulled open her bedroom door.

_*creeeeak*_

...And maybe it would be. Her eyes widening with surprise and confusion, nearly everyone, save for the Queen who was most likely overseeing the repairs of the castle, had gathered here. All of her allies, all of her friends, were standing before her under one room, all looking back to her with a welcoming smile as they greeted her upon return, some of them like Mermista smirking that the lazy cat had finally awakened after long last, even though it was so close to bedtime.

Embarrassingly to her, all of them were also donning their own sorts of PJs, ones that embarrassingly matched the stupid "Sleepy Kitty" shirt Catra suddenly realized she was wearing, finding the urge to strangle Glimmer to death, knowing it was her idea, pushed away by the sadness that still continued to torment her. Their pajamas and outfits matched them perfectly in all regards, with Mermista wearing a bright blue bathrobe, Perfuma wearing a long, light-green nightie that stretched to her feet. Among the remaining friends and allies, Glimmer, Bow, and Princess Frosta wore similar pajamas with wooly shirt and pants matching their own colors, with Bow wearing a yellowish shirt and orange-red pants. That saved the  **manliest**  of men, Seahawk, to proudly don his white and red striped boxer shorts and white shirts, who would've preferred going commando if Mermista didn't threaten to drown him in a toilet.

Again.

Despite the sight of her friends trying to cheer her up, it did nothing to soften the blow to Catra's heart as she shrugged to the rest of them, remaining silent as she walked passed the group of allies over to her bed, where she proudly collapsed onto it in a heap. Tomorrow was going to prove to be a big day for the Rebellion, seeing how the Princess Alliance had reunited once again, and with parts of the castle still shambling around her, with a few cracks within the walls of her room, and a pile of debris that appeared to be pushed aside for this little slumber party, there was no doubt that it would take forever to clean this mess.

_*whomp*_

No.

They didn't.

Begrudgingly opening her eyes part way with an irritated look on her face, Catra turned back to see the knowing smirk on Mermista's face as she casually tossed her light blue pillow in the air tauntingly. Along with her, the other princesses and soldiers of their alliance were sporting their own pillows, some of them with a cheeky grin on their faces as the rest of them fluffed it back and forth, preparing for the bloody onslaught that was about to follow.

She just saved the Rebellion, lost her best friend in the world, and now was being denied the right to sleep to play some stupid game with the rest of them. Fine. She could accept most of this. What she would never except was the inability to earn some much needed sleep! She didn't care what they were trying to do for her or what their reasons for doing it were either! She was the mighty She-Ra, and she wasn't about to give in to their demands to play some foolish children's game just because they felt like it!

... So if they weren't going to give her any sense of mind, then there was no choice but for her to punish these ingrates herself! It would require a weapon of some sort, of course, and, since she couldn't risk ruining their alliance by using her claws, her sword mounted against the wall, or the piles of rocks she felt like chucking, she was limited in her options. She would have to use something softer, pleasant, something that would happen to be right around Catra's fingertips as she glared intently on the taunting mermaid. Something like, oh she doesn't know...

A three by six sturdy purple pillow that she TACKLED MERMISTA WITH!

From across the castle, the Queen lifted her head as she turned away from the construction she was overseeing, hearing the sound of crashing and mayhem erupting throughout the castle as Catra had, undoubtedly, awoken from her long slumber. Normally such a sound of chaos and discord would worry the Queen, knowing the magicat's antics were usually on par with that of a mad bull running through the castle. But after the events of today, and everything Catra had done for them, there was no way she would deny them this source of fun, a way to relieve the tension that had festered within Catra since day one.

For once since meeting Catra, it brought a smile to the Queen's face as she allowed chaos to continued wherever it ensued, willing to give Catra the chance to relieve her stress just this one and destroy as much as she wanted... at long as it was in her own room.

An hour later found the same group of heroes and friends exhausted and passed out around the room as everyone fell asleep minutes prior. Within the room, Mermista leaned against the bed as she sat along the floor, her legs splayed out where Glimmer could be seen resting a pillow against her right leg, and Catra could be seen sleeping with her own head against the left leg. Behind her, Bow's snoring head continued to drown out as he slept upside down, his head hanging over the bed as it was a few feet away from Mermista's own.

On another corner of the room, where a douse of water could be seen sprayed across the ground, along with a broken sink, Perfuma could be seen sleeping upon a hammock-like group of fines, wrapping herself in a bed of colorful flowers that she used for a blanket, all while one of her legs dangled over the edge while she swung back and forth. Directly below her, a stalwart sea captain could be seen snoring with his own lights out, his feet apparently entrapped in a block of ice as he snored over a bench-like structure of solid ice, and an overgrown snot bubble bobbing in size as he did.

The room was in a mess with torn shreds of pillows across the room, a broken mirror over in the corner, a dresser toppled across the rubble from the room's walls, and the heroes spread across the room in a disorderly fashion. In a bizarre way, the room was much more fitting now with Catra's personality than it ever had before. Zooming in a little to the young girl's face, there was a small smile creeping in the edge of Catra's lips as she continued to dream.

This was, for all that it was worth, a terrible ending, one that Catra wanted to change with each passing second. She didn't get her friend back, she was forced to accept her new destiny, and she couldn't do anything about it. All she had left were the people at her side and the friends she came to know as family. But all things considered, she guessed it could be worse. She could be without anyone at her side, she could have lost the sword entirely or be rotting in a prison cell right now along with the rest of the Rebellion. She still didn't want things to end the way it did, and she would take any opportunity she had to change it at a moment's notice.

But with all that was said and done, after everything she experienced, she did have to admit one thing.

...

...

...

...It would be a lie to say she wasn't a little happy in the end.

**_(A/N: End Song/Music)_ **

...

...

Failure was something that was never tolerated within the Fright Zone, though chances were still given. Atop his mighty throne within the citadel of the Fright Zone, Adora saw Lord Hordak, the master of the Horde, and the one who called all the shots that ran through this place. Without her headband in her possession, much less on her person, Adora could feel a chill in the air creeping along her skin as she started to walk the stairway to the master's throne, willing to face the possible consequences that would soon follow.

The only comfort she felt at the time came from the friends that walked by her side as she did, Scorpia and Entrapta smiling as they made their way up the steps that would determine their destiny.

Stepping to the throne's level, Adora greeted with the same honorable bow that she always greeted with, kneeling to her feet in respect as the others followed her example. "I've returned, Lord Hordak."

"Force Captain," the leader tapped his fingers against the throne's armrest, the taste of disdain present within his voice, "it seems your experiment has ended in failure."

"On the contrary," Entrapta perked up, springing to the air as her hair pushed her off the ground, "the experiment was a huge success!" Turning her head, Adora gave a small smile to the two friends she still had, glad to have people as reliable as them to have her back. It was the same smile Scorpia gave back to her as she nodded, telling the girl to rise to her feet with the promise to protect her. "I know more about First Ones tech than ever. This is just the beginning!" Entrant couldn't wait to build all the wonderful things she could from what the data crystal had to offer! She could just die, preform open heart surgery on herself, and then die again, she was so excited!

"She also got us closer to conquering Bright Moon than anyone ever has, Lord Hordak." Scorpia commented, protecting her friend once again.

"And the Whispering Woods is still in ruins." Adora added, giving Lord Hordak her direct attention, fearlessly. So what if she didn't have her headband or her magic anymore? She still had friends she could count on to be there for her when she needed them most. "Etheria is ours for the taking."

The temperature in the room dropped dramatically as Lord Hordak rose from his chair, eyeing the two girls who stood behind her, and silencing them completely. Without any quips or comments from the two neanderthals, Hordak made his way over to Force Captain that had accomplish so much, all under the Horde's good name. "...Very well, Force Captain Adora. You will have the opportunity to prove yourself to me... as my second-in-command."

This was a glorious moment for Adora as she glanced at the friends who stood by her side, the last people she could trust in the world. Catra would pay for everything she did, everything that she pushed Adora through, all for her own selfish ends. She didn't care who in the Rebellion got hurt as long as she made Catra suffer for it. With her new title as second-in-command, she would amass a stronger force the likes of which the Horde has never seen before, and she would sacrifice as much of herself as necessary to do it, promising to herself that she would maintain her own morals in turn.

"Besides, it's not like the entire assault didn't yield results." Adora reminded, earning a grin from the Lord standing before her. "Our backup plan proved to be success."

"We had a backup plan?" Entrapta questioned, seeing Adora giving her a smirk as she faced her.

"Entrapta, Entrapta, Entrapta, you should know like I do that any good plan has to have a backup plan." As Adora spoke, the scene shifted to the quiet night of the gathered princesses and warriors continued to sleep. Along another edge of the room, far away from prying eyes, a lone figure dug through the pockets of their previous clothes, pulling out a familiar Captain's badge that glistened in the moonlight. Their alliance with the Horde was all but secured, and they would continue working from the inside as long as Adora needed them to, and maintain her cover while doing. They gripped the badge tightly in their hands as they pulled out a small lockbox with a snowflake pattern across it, locking the badge away where nobody else could get it. Not only did the lockbox require a key only she could make, but it was hard enough to withstand a tank blast without leaving a dent on it, making sure that nobody would ever find out about her secret.

All of it, was for the unity of the Horde. And Princess Frosta would ensure nothing happened to her new allies.

"We finally have someone on the inside."

...

...

...

**_The intro starts with Shadow Weaver in the Black Garnet chamber spying and glaring at a image of Catra. Than the image dives into the water of her scrying spell._ **

**_~ We're on the edge of greatness ~_ **

**_Where we have Catra at Bright Moon looking both determined and forlorn out into the distance._ **

**_~ turning darkness into light ~_ **

**_Final Word Count: 540K+_ **

**_A scene of kid Catra and kid Adora training together in the fright zone under Shadow Weaver. Before being replaced with a image of Adora glaring at a heart broken looking Catra who's on her knees across a battlefield._ **

**_~ We're right beside you ~_ **

**_But than Glimmer and Bow teleport to Catra side raising her spirit back up, as shown with her surprise blinking when Gimmer offers her a hand, than she smirks accepting the help as she takes the lead ahead of them._ **

**_Special Thanks: Endless Chains, Star Saber, Peyton Helix, Nightmaster000, reaper king Shadow Joestar and Warwolf for their constant love and support, as well as everyone else who saw this season through to the end._ **

**_~ Ready to Fight! ~_ **

**_Catra raises her sword, transforming into She-Ra in a glorious flash of light_ **

**_~ (fight, fight, fight fight) ~_ **

**_Then She-Ra rushes off into battle with Glimmer and Bow following right behind her._ **

**_~ We're gonna win in the end! ~_ **

**_Final Review Count: 272_ **

**_Mermista rises out of a tide, blasting Horde soldiers with water._ **

**_~ We must be strong, And we must be brave ~_ **

**_Perfuma burst from the ground, capturing and tying up Horde soldiers with vines._ **

**_~(we must be brave) ~_ **

**_Final Favorite Count: 80_ **

**_Frosta rides an entire wave of frozen water, freezing Horde tanks in their tracks._ **

**_~ We're gonna find every bit of strength that we have ~_ **

**_The scene shifts to Hordaks throne room where the evil shadowy figure sits upon his throne, his red glowing eyes being the only noticeable part of him, surrounded by notable members of the Horde, consisting of Adora and Catra's squadron, Shadow Weaver, Adora, Scropia, and even Entrapta._ **

**_~ and never let go ~_ **

**_Final Follower Count: 72_ **

**_The scene shifts to an epic clash between Catra and Adora, the She-Ra gritting her teeth as she presses her sword against Adora's electrical baton, as the Force Captain herself grins with chaotic excitement as the red jewel from her headband shines._ **

**_~ (Oh ah Oh) ~_ **

**_Final Viewer Count: 25,811_ **

**_Adora and Catra push each other off as they back up into their friends- Entrapta and Scorpia for Adora, and for Catra Bow and Glimmer._ **

**_~ We must be STRONG! ~_ **

**_The scene ends with a final shot of both sides looking across the field, a transparent image of Catra and Adora's faces filling the sky as the colors are split between them;_ **

**_A majestic darkness shining into light upon Catra's side, and a horrid light seeping into darkness on Adora's half._ **

**_SEASON 1 OF CAT-RA: Complete_ **

...

...

"...Mmh..." Adora moaned as she tossed around in her sleep. Why were they still happening to her? What did she do to deserve this? Even without the headband, the nightmares that followed continued to haunt her endlessly. In flashes of heat that caused the sweat to pour from her forehead, the Force Captain found herself assaulted with nightmarish images of creatures and shadows she had never seen before, all wanting a taste of her rotting flesh that she suddenly grew in her dream. "No... Stay away..." She groaned.

She tried everything she could to sleep, from sleeping pills, a little jogging, and listening to one of Entrapta's three-hour stories about one of her earliest inventions, all the usual things she did when she needed help falling asleep. She was almost tempted to ask Scorpia to sting her before sleep finally overcame her, not without leaving her with a strange headache, of course.

She felt so weird as these nightmares plagued her. Were they trying to warn her about something, or were they trying to torment her to no end? The closer they got to her with the seeming intent to devour her, the further away they looked from harming her, instead acting as if they were frightened of her mere presence, like she was the one who was truly the monster in the end. It was a horrendous dream she wouldn't wish on anyone, save Catra, on her worst enemies.

Then again, with ow bizarre and twisted the dream was becoming, she was starting to regret those choice of words. Anguish and sorrow spread across the darkness in her dream, with the black scenery somehow becoming darker than she ever thought was possible! Eventually, it all culminated when a terrifying presence of evil began to approach her, one whose reddened eyes seemed intent on draining her body of all of its blood.

She could do nothing to fight back as she ran in her dreams, looking back as the monster approached her every second. "Stop... G-Get away from me..." She mumbled, her face contorting with pain as the sweating continued. "No... s-stop! Get away... G-Get away... GET AWAY!"

*CRASH!*

With the thunderous sound of a crash, with her nightmare coming to an abrupt end as she felt the creature grab her, Adora shot out of bed. The Force Captain was huffing and puffing as she looked around herself, feeling relieved that it was all a dream... for a moment. As her vision began to return to her, as well as her sense of reality, she let out a surprised gasp.

Everything around the room, from the empty beds to the tables to the dressers that filled it. All of them were pushed away from her bed, as if they had been blasted away in the Force Captain's sleep. What little confusion she grew from this quickly turned to a brief lapse of horror, then amazement, as she reached over to pick up the blanket at the edge of her bed, intending to wrap herself up in the warm sheets that did little, if anything, to provide comfort.

The moment she reached for it, Adora flinched. The blanket was moving on its own towards her as a lump started to appear from under it. Placing itself softly in her hands, off to the side, her eyes nearly bugged out as she saw a shadowy tendril pull one of the pillows from the floor, patting it softly to get the lumps out, before placing it behind Adora's head again, patting her forehead softly before returning to nothingness.

Adora still had her shadowy magic, and it was alive.

"...Whoa..."

...

...

...

**_A/N: I can not express my gratitude enough to the fellow fans who helped me get this far, or the blood sacrifi- I mean moral support it took to do it! It was thanks to you guys and your unwavering support that I managed to reach this far, and I can't thank you enough for it. People like Endless Chains, Shadow Joester, and Peyton helix for their excitingly long reviews ( I cant wait to see what they write after this ^^) and others like_ _reaper king_ _, Star saber, and warwolf for their constant communications throughout the time._ **

**_This chapter was a heckava lot of fun to write if it wasn't obvious, and I had a blast doing it. None of this could've been possible without the fans unwavering, constant, support to back me up, or the fans I've come to know and kill- err- love, I mean, (yes, that seems believable... lol XP) as time went on. In just a few months, we created an entire season of She-Ra, and honestly, i didn't think I'd get this far. I honestly thought i'd stop like 12 chapters in out of boredom, unaware of how much fun I was having with this until i reached the 6th episode ^^_ **

**_So, what's the plan now? Well for one, TAKING A BREAK XD! Lol, oh god i need to rest my fingers. I'm sure i had to staple them back on in the DAY I spent writing this entire chapter (minus 3k from the day before but even then), and had to surgically fuse my wrist in place to keep them from falling off. Now with this out of the way, i'm gonna spend some time relaxing and enjoying the feedback I get from my beloved fans, and the people who helped me reach this far. After that, I'm moving on to season 2 folks! Dear god im excited cause I havent seen a SINGLE episode of it yet XD idk what to expect, but I heard its exciting!_ **

**_Will I get to season 2 straight away after my break? Idk. One spoil i keep hearing is that the last episode ends on a cliffhanger, so if season 2 so far is only half of it, i might wait until the entire season 2 comes out before I make my plans for anything. Then again, i might not. Who knows (I do XP), we'll just have to wait and see._ **

**_Once again, thank you to all the beloved fans who helped me reach this far. I didn't think it was possible, yet here I am ^^ I hope you guys continue to show your love and support for this fic as I try to take a break. Spread the word out if able and do what you can to get this fanfic known. Who knows, with enough support, we might just reach our own fan art and creations and whatnot ^^_ **

**_Thanks to all and I hope you all enjoyed! As always, leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed. Now if you'll excuse, i'm EXHAUSTED T_T...lol ^^ See you guys later!_ **


	55. Season 2 Episode 1: The Frozen Forest Part 1

_**A/N: No people, you're not hallucinating, it's really real. I am actually continuing the series henceforth until I reach the end of this season X)** _

_**Hoooooooooftah, the series was fairly fun despite how short it was. There were a bunch of shocks, surprise, and humor through the show (despite its annoyingly short episode run), but every episode felt fun and fresh ^^ And dear GOD the cliffhanger for the last episode! I want to go into so many words for it but I just can't XD!** _

_**Huff... all I can say is, it got me too excited, so how could I NOT start season 2 immediately XP? One thing I should warn is that updates will be coming a little slower (maybe). Because I'm (hopefully) done with school, it means I won't be working there anymore, and as such, I won't be doing my typing there. That's where I had the most peace and free time to type, and got a lot more work done without distractions. It's not to say I can't type at all from home, but updates will become every few days instead of my usual daily runtime.** _

_**As it is, i'm hoping I can provide just as satisfying and fun tale through the shorter season as we add our own fun spin on things from beginning to end ^^ With that said, enjoy!** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

* _ **Crash!**_ *

Sparks shot across the room as the remains of a droid could be seen being thrown across the darkened training room of the facility. Followed by the sound of a large crunching noise, Scorpia could be seen falling through the blanket of darkness covering the ceiling, landing atop another of the battle droids with a cheeky grin. The droid wasn't even given a single second to shake off the Force Captain before Scorpia dove her claw straight into the droid's rough shell.

From there, another pool of sparks could be seen as the droid wobbled back and forth from its stance as Scorpia began pulling out a clawful of wires. The girl showed no signs of fear as she ripped the wires from the droid, pulling away at anything that looked important to its functions, until the mighty machine finally collapsed to the ground in a heap of rubble.

"A good soldier must have the strength to crush their enemies." A familiar voice could be heard as the battle drove on.

As Scorpia pulled her claws out of the mess, her attention was drawn behind her as another droid could be heard approaching, towering over her in nearly twice her size as it locked on to her. Backing up a bit from the sheer scale of the great droid, she ended up tripping backwards into the mess of the previous droid, a move that would normally leave anyone exposed and cost them their lives in the midst of a war.

Focusing on its target, giving off a loud hum as the laser began to charge, the droid immediately came to a halt as several large strands of purple began to wrap around the great machine, wrapping around one of its three legs, its head, and blasters as the droid tried to break free.

"And when brute strength isn't even to defeat your enemies, knowledge and wisdom can be your greatest ally." The voice added.

Throwing herself to the top of the droid, Entrapta could be seen using smaller strands of her hair to pull away at the droid's access panel located across its back. The chipper scientist expertly carried away with her shenanigans, a sly grin hanging from her mouth in excitement, as nuts and bolts could be seen being pulled away from the massive droid with each passing second. After awhile, just as two more droids appeared through the darkness, the red light of the current droid turned to a shade of blue, Entrapta giving herself a round of applause at her complete success.

Being approached from the other two droids, the present one turned to its former allies as it began to turn on them, firing an empowered blast of energy at one of the other droids, leaving a clean hole through the destructive machination as it stood in place for a few seconds, exploding in a fiery blaze that consumed its entire body.

Unfortunately, this gave the previous droid an ample amount of time as it fired against one of Entrapta's droid's legs, knocking it to the ground where it flailed around, and throwing the scientific princess off its back where Scorpia managed to catch her. The two watched in terror as the still-fully functional droid took another step toward the downed traitor, scanning it briefly before firing a final shot that put the injured ally down for good, the light of its core fading rapidly until all that remained was nothingness.

"Nooooo! Droid number 4813!" Entrapta cried, reaching out for her beloved creation in sadness. "I had her since she was a little blueprint! We've spent so much time together!"

"Didn't you just make her three hours ago?" Scorpia asked with a curious smile as she patted the despairing scientist's back in comfort.

Their moment of sadness and comfort was cut short as the fourth droid approached them menacingly, the sound of its mechanical gears echoing throughout complex. Setting the scientist back to her feet, Scorpia took her stance with her claws at the ready as she prepared to defend Entrapta with her life against the horrifying creation.

"But a  **true**  soldier," the voice continued, causing Scorpia to relax her stance with a smile, "knows how to combine the two to get the drop on their opponents!"

As expected, shifting her eyes upwards, there came the greatest friend a friend could ask for. From the darkness above, Scorpia and Entrapta watched as the memorable Force Captain- no. Hordak's second-in-command, Adora herself, fell from the sky, landing directly in front of the droid's sensors and blocking its view so all it could see was Adora's angered expression as she glared at it.

The two watched as the robot tried to fling Adora off of itself, flailing its body left to right with little result. Grinning, Adora pulled back her right fist as she held on, drawing forth a surge of shadows that gathered around her right arm, spreading across it entirely where it tipped off along her shoulder. Without any hesitation, any signs of fear, the girl plunged her shadowy fist straight through the robot's sensors like wet paper, effortlessly reaching the droid's main core and pulling it out with ease. As the robot wobbled, Adora jumped from the massive machine, turning her back to it with her friends as an explosion went off behind them.

With this, the three friends stood side by side as the lights finally returned to the room, revealing the broken remains and rubble of the dozens of other droids the trio had crushed through their combined might. Like at all times, the three friends had defeated their enemies by standing alongside one another, working as the perfect team as they made up for each others weaknesses.

"No one person can take on the world by themselves, nor should anyone attempt to." Adora said, gazing across the view in front of her. "As members of the Horde, we are all expected to stand at each other's side, and work together to bring about change for the greater good. Alone, we may be weak," Adora smiled as she glanced towards the two friends as they stepped forth, "but in the Horde, we stand united!" From Adora's perspective, this was everything that the Horde was about. And it was this very world that she fought to defend.

Now that the lights had finally returned, the trio could give the group of children that watched from the sides their full attention, all of them ranging from six to eight year olds with bright looks on their faces. All of them were dressed as Adora once was when she was a younger cadet, wearing mixes of red and white colored shirts and beige pants. Unsurprisingly, after watching the wonderful display they were given, the groups of children burst into cheer as they rushed up to the three as the instructor stood by, the three teens enjoying the sight of the children as they played around them.

Scorpia found a handful of kids poking around her hard carapace as if checking to see if it was real, being careful not to poke anyone with her stinger as she found another child hanging onto it. To the right, as if she was a celebrity, Entrapta found herself signing someone's small handbook, no doubt a fellow science enthusiast if the glasses the young girl was wearing was anything to come by. For what few children the two seemed to have keeping them occupied, none of it amounted to the near near-dozen kids swarming around Adora.

All around her, Adora watched with glee as half the kids around her asked her random questions, some asking about her personally, others asking about the adventures she's been on. The other half of kids were less interested in the girl herself and more about the surrounding tendrils of shadows that seemed to sprout from the ground around her, one of the kids poking the tip of one of the shadows curiously and chuckling as it shook itself like it was a snake.

It wouldn't surprise her if it was a snake-like creation either, seeing how her shadows were more alive than ever and she still had no idea  _what_  exactly these things were.

"Thanks again for taking the time to come down here, commander." The blue-skinned instructor gave a small bow, something Adora still wasn't used to since becoming the new second-in-command. "You do us a great honor."

"It was nothing, really." She replied, seeing more of the kids coming around to check out her shadows. "I enjoy any opportunity I have around here to help. Plus it gives me a good excuse to get some training in myself while teaching the kids."

"Well, hopefully, you being here inspires them to train harder." He commented, putting a whistle to his mouth and giving a small 'tweet'. Right away, the kids gathered around the instructor, standing at attention. "Alright squirts, you all know the deal. The commander comes by, and you're not allowed to complain about the drills for the rest of the week."

"Awwwww!" A majority of the kids whined instantly, earning some silent giggling from Adora as she watched.

"I want ten laps around the entire room, and I don't want to see any slouching or-" The instructor paused as he saw one of the green-haired girls raising a hand. "What do you want, cadet?"

"Can I ask miss Adora one more question?" She asked politely. Adora couldn't help as a small blush washed over her face, shaking her head at being called "miss".

"Not now, cadet. The commander has enough work to do as it is. She can't be bothered or waste anymore of her precious time-"

"It's fine, I don't mind." Adora interrupted, waving off his denial as she approached the young girl, squatting down a little. "What's your question, soldier?"

"Why did you lose at the Battle of Bright Moon?" The girl's innocent question brought nothing but fear and surprise to the instructor and Adora's friends who quickly shot a worried look at each other. Adora was rather taken aback by the question as well, her face getting a bit stiff as she tried to maintain her composure.

To be asked such a painful question like that out of nowhere through this peaceful environment, after everything she's been through in the last month and what lead to it, there were no words to describe the strange feeling striking at Adora's heart. The Battle of Bright Moon was an event she wanted to repress like no other, refusing to acknowledge what happened that day with all of her willpower. It wasn't just for her own sake that she tried to forget about what happened, it was for the sake of everyone she came into contact with, like this girl as her eyes looked closely at her feet.

Like she feared, she saw a small pool of shadow growing under the girl's feet as the girl, and those behind her, remained completely unaware. The pool spread about half a foot all around the girl, enough for her to fall through entirely if it was a whole. It was from that darkness she could see the tips of small tendrils starting to form on their own, growing an inch out of the ground as some of them began to split apart at the tips, forming mouths with deadly jaws of shadow.

Turning from the girl to her right hand, she saw that it was doing it again. Her hand was shaking uncontrollably as if it was possessed, twitching unnervingly as it directed the shadows to do what they were doing without her telling her to. Using her other hand, she grabbed onto her right as she held it tightly against her stomach, closing her eyes in concentration as she tried to focus on her commands, much to the child's confusion.

 _Come on, not now... it's okay... it's okay..._  She whispered in her head. Peaking one eye open, she saw the shadows beginning to descend back into the darkness, sighing in great relief as the shadows slowly disappeared entirely.

"Miss Adora?" The girl spoke a little nervously, wondering if she upset the nice blonde person. "Are you okay?"

"How dare you!" The instructor shouted, frightening the children as he marched over angrily, the little girl shriveling a little as she backed into Adroa. "Do you think it's all right to ask such a disrespectful question to the commander like that?! I should make you walk across burning coal for asking such a questi-"

"It's fine, instructor." Adora stated, patting the girl's shoulder in comfort, much to the instructor's dismay. No matter how respectable she was, she was way too softhearted to these younger cadets who needed strict discipline and training on a daily basis.

"But commander-!"

"I SAID IT'S FINE!" Adora snapped a little, glaring with a brief moment of anger filling her face as she looked at him. Along the right side of her face, out of the girl's field of vision, the instructor could see a small trail of black veins beginning to appear on Adora's neck, stretching until they reached the bottom of her cheek. The instructor gulped at the intimidating sight, bowing his head respectfully again as he stepped back. The girl showed no signs of fear as she smiled back to the nice commander defending her, right as Adora switched back to a softer expression while she didn't notice.

"S-Sorry... commander..." He apologized, allowing the commander to do as she wanted.

"As for your question, cadet," Adora began, rising back to her feet, "we lost because we were... unprepared for reinforcements." There were no words to describe how relieve Scorpia and Entrapta were to see Adora answering so relaxed. Given what happened two weeks ago the last time someone asked her this question, it was a miracle the girl's legs were still unbroken, or attached. "The enemy caught us off guard, that's all."

"Was the enemy tough?" A boy asked, a little shorter than the previous girl and sporting blue hair. "Were they scary, too?"

"Oh, yes, terrifying really." Adora nodded, holding up a finger. "They managed to deci... destroy, "she clarified to make it easier for them to understand, "all of our hard working droids and tanks single-handedly. Nobody that evil should have that kind of power."

"What about She-Ra?" That was the one question that got a brief twitch of rage in Adora's eyes, calming herself as she pressed her palms against her own knees, squeezing them tightly. "Is she scary too? I heard some grown-ups say she used to be someone really weak or scared... I can't remember which." If they weren't concerned it would cause Adora to snap, Entrapta and Scorpia would've gladly pulled her out of the encirclement of kids that grew around her.

No matter what anyone else said, or their reason behind asking it, there was no one foolish or gullible enough to question Adora about her loss against She-Ra, aka, her former friend, Catra. Even now, the painful reminder of that day continued to haunt her, tormenting Adora's nightmares every other night as she tried to forget about her tragic loss. To lose an entire battle, all because someone managed to trick her, to  ** _use_**  her again, baiting her into stalling for time for reinforcements to show up...

It was the worst feeling in the world. Rage, confusion, guilt. All of these emotions never left Adora's mind or heart since the day of that tragic loss. Everything that happened at the Battle of Bright Moon, the extreme loss they suffered in droids and their chance at bringing down the entire Rebellion, as entirely her fault.

And it took all of Adora's strength to resist the temptation building up inside of her, the one that wanted to harm anyone who would ask her such a question.

Taking a deep breath, standing tall and proud, she replied, "Ca- She-Ra is... a monster. A terrifying, horrifying monster of power." Even now, the images flashed in her mind. The memory of how she pulled off one of the tentacles from her back, the way she smacked her halfway across a forest with a tree, and the white blast that came rushing towards her, ending in her defeat. "She's someone none of you should ever underestimate, never give her the chance to catch her breath."

"Is she really strong?"

"Oh, yes, very strong. She has magics the likes of which people have never seen," she was flashed with the image of Catra creating the giant protective dome over the entirety of Bright Moon, "she'll take advantage of any ounce of weakness she sees in you," there it was again, with another flash of when she tricked Adora into letting down her guard enough to get behind her, and flailed her around with her own tendrils, "and she'll..." She paused for a moment as she remembered one of her many, painful, lies. The one she would repeat without end, as if she actually meant it.

_"I deserve whatever punishment you think is necessary, okay? For all the times I used you, for how horrible I made your life just to make mine a little better, I deserve all of it. If you want me to come back to the Horde to pay for my crimes or whatever, I'll do all of it. You can carry out the punishments yourself for all I care. I deserve whatever's coming to me."_

"...She'll say anything to get under your skin." She would never forgive Catra for all the times she used her in the past, and all the times she continued to use her to this day. Even if she hasn't seen her directly in the last month, it didn't mean anything she did since then didn't affect her in the time to follow. It affected her in a lot of ways, more than she or anyone else could've expected. Some of them good.

And some of them very, very, bad.

"That's why we must all stand together if we're to defeat such wicked creatures." The children looked less frightened of the terrifying details as Adora's tone softened. "If we're to stand any chance of defeating the Rebellion, and anyone else who stands against our unity, we must all stand as one. Even as we speak, the Rebellion continues to grow in power and numbers. I can personally assure you all, right now, that wherever She-Ra is, she is training, gathering her forces wherever they may be, and is preparing to strike at one of our outposts at this very moment!"

...

...

* _snnnnnnnkkkkkkkk_ *

"Zzz..." The large lump buried under her blankets continued to snore loudly as the bundle bobbed up and down. "Mmhh..." stirring as consciousness slowly came to them, the lazy figure's hand could be seen drooping over the comfortable bed, twitching a bit as the figure in question shuffled around in their exhausted state.

Why did mornings always have to feel like a pain around here to her? Why couldn't she ever have one morning where she was wide awake the instant she woke up and not like she was prepared to go back to sleep again for another day's worth of hours? It was always do this here, finish that there, or more annoyingly both, each and every day. She swears she could never catch a break around here, whether or not she was doing something today!

Shuffling a little more under her silk covers, the figure finally leaned up from the bed, the blankets being pulled with and sliding away as she sat at a straight angle. From the mass of covers and sheets she had piled around her for a comfortable night's sleep, a lone, familiar, figure appeared, untangling herself from the smooth silk so she could finally be revealed.

This person's name, was Catra. And she was the greatest hope for the Rebellion if they were ever to defeat the Horde.

Like she was most mornings she awoke, nothing about her screamed bright, cheerful, and ready for the day as she wore a long red shirt that stretched down to her knees. They took a little adjusting to get used to when she first got them, but she couldn't deny they were more comfortable than that itchy sweater Glimmer's aunt made her.

On her ragged face existed a girl who was destined to bring victory and hope to everyone she came across. Being the newly appointed She-Ra from a month prior, she was destined to unite the many princesses under one banner, and stop the needless violence that was spreading across Etheria. With the power of her trusted sword, the Sword of Protection, the allies and friends she came to know and meet, she was tasked with saving the world from a terrible crisis, and finish what the previous She-Ra couldn't: saving the entire world!

... Buuuuut she knew the world could wait for a single morning as she pulled herself out of the remaining sheets. The cat-like humanoid circled a bit around her own bed as she stretched, leaning herself forward as she pulled her back and pushed her legs as far as she could, feeling a calming relaxation coming over her before accidentally slipping her hands over the edge of her mattress.

* _thud_ *

"Ow..." She mumbled half-asleep. She didn't seem to care as she pulled her way over the floor until the rest of her body followed behind her. Once she was fully off the comfortable bed of paradise, she let out another snore-like yawn as she made her way to her feet, still looking ready to collapse on a moments notice as she wobbled for a few room looked just like the way it did almost a month ago, with a few exceptions made after restoring it to its former self after the massive battle.

For starters, she decided to add a bit more of her own personal colors to the chamber, painting the walls in a familiar tone of dark grey, a process that took over a day to finish when they had to move everything in and out. Along the right half of the room, her new bright red dresser came with its own mirror on the inside, something that was rather unnecessary since she wore the same outfit almost everyday, though it did make for a convenient spot to place her sword every night.

In addition to the grey walls, the floor also took a dramatic change in color and appearance as it now had a much thinner black carpeting so Catra could walk around her own place without having to put on those pesky shoes everywhere she went, at least within her own room. The color clashed perfectly along with the new red sheets, pillow, and bedding she received during the renovations, though they did little in terms of improving the quality or comfort, not that she was going to complain anytime soon.

Perhaps her favorite part of the entire place were the large bars that were installed above her room, ones that stretched from one side of the room to the next, with four large poles leading up to the ceiling. It was a nice way for her to keep her agility in check as she jumped among them, as well as a convenient spot where she could be alone whenever she wanted to deal with her own thoughts since no one could reach her save for Glimmer and Queen Angella.

Sluggishly making her way to her second favorite part of the room where a nice and long punchingbag hung from the ceiling. The bag covered almost entirely in cuts and scratches that had to be stitched back together by Catra every time she used it, explaining the curious sewing kit she had lying near it. With another yawn, rubbing the sleepiness out of her eyes, she made her way towards the soft padding until she stood right in front of it, staring at the one blue-colored outline of a face that annoyed her each and every time she stared at it.

"What are you looking at, Adora?" She grumbled, her half-opened right eye twitching at the sight. Cracking her knuckles as she took her stance, she unleashed a flurry of blows against the twisted punching bag as she did every morning she woke up since getting it, doing everything she could to get out some much-needed aggression.

Everyday she had to remind herself how much she hated Adora to get the aggression out of her and to help her wake up for the day. The more she told her this, the sooner she could move on through the rest of the day, doing whatever needed to be done. Whether it was fighting against the Horde or unearthing some ancient piece of First Ones technology, she never found a day to be boring, or at least without something going on.

Dealing the last of her brief barrage of blows, she panted a little out of breath, still trying to get out of her morning funk and awake for the day no matter how sleepy her eyes looked. Like everyday since getting the bag, she followed her recent barrage with the usual routine of examining her work. Everywhere around the bag had scrapes, bumps, and wrinkles all around it, as it should after she punched it enough to numb her knuckles a little. And like every single day, it was followed by one annoying realization.

There wasn't a single mark or blow against the drawing of Adora's face.

"Grrrrrrrrr!" Catra grumbled, gritting her teeth before cracking her neck a little. "I'll deal with you later..." She mumbled, making her way out the door, still half-asleep (or dead by the looks of it) as she trudged through the hallways over to the kitchen.

...

About ten minutes later found her pushing open the door to the room with her shoulder, carrying a plate filled with eggs and bacon in one hand and some orange juice in the other as she entered. Same old day, same old castle, same old everything else. There wasn't a single change to her day, and, whether or not she hated it that way, it sure as heck beat her first week here following the great battle, the countless hours she had to help rebuild broken parts of the castle.

She was completely oblivious to her surroundings as she made her way over to the dining table, taking a seat in one of the comfortable chairs as she always did in her always now-regular life. Despite having plenty of things she still needed to get used to around here, at least one of the few things she didn't mind not getting used to was how good the food tasted. Compared to the Fright Zone, the food around here was always good, even the one time she accidentally ate something spoiled. Sure she ate the food around here plenty of times before, but for some reason it just felt different since she cut ties to her old life, an endeavor in itself.

With a final yawn, her eyes opened up a little more as she slurped her lips over the delicious-looking food, the fresh smell of the morning breakfast filling her nostrils as she used her own claws to stab at the eggs like a fork. Smiling a little, she savored every delicious taste as she took that first scrumptious bite of her morning breakfast, leaning against her other arm without a care in the world, and enjoying the morning-

"Eh hem." A voice coughed, causing Catra to pause with her fingers still in her mouth. Opening her eyes wider, she gazed around the room as she realized she wasn't alone in the room.

Around her she saw several familiar faces and unfamiliar faces that were staring at her. For those she did recall, she saw a slightly blushing Queen Angella with her elbows planted firmly against the table as she rested her chin over her hands, trying to maintain her demeanor under these circumstances, keeping her eyes closed to relax. The other familiar face she recognized was an incredibly embarrassed Glimmer who had a hand slapped over her face, pinching the bridge between her eyes, unable to believe this was happening right now of all times.

The other half of the room consisted of two people she's never met before, one wearing a regal blue dress with a light-violet skin tone to them and blue hair. She had a beautiful golden necklace with a ruby adorned in the socket of her jewel, all as well as a long pair of thin white gloves that stretched halfway up her arms. The other one was dressed similarly in color as the man wore a proud blue tuxedo with a pair of reading glasses over his eyes, his brown hair neat and trimmed along the side of his face as well as a rusty old beard under his chin.

Both of them looked rather perplexed at the sight of Catra and her choice of appearance. Or maybe they were more confused as to why the girl suddenly barged into what was actually the meeting room instead of what Catra originally thought was the dining room, still dressed in her pajamas and looking like a mess with her hair still a mess as she had yet to clean up for the day.

"Catra," the Queen spoke as calmly as she could, "I'd like you to meet the Duke and Duchess of Richmond, the people I told you about who were going to discuss their financial support for the Rebellion this morning." Catra just blinked as she stared at the individuals, still with her claws in her mouth as she shifted her eyes back and forth between the Queen, Glimmer, and these two she completely forgot about today.

"Please don't say anything to make this worse... Please don't say anything to make this worse..." Glimmer whispered to herself, still pinching between her eyes.

Glancing from the Duke and Duchess to her plate of food, the magicat tried coming up with something to say as politely as she could, still with her full mouth. "...'ou 'ant sh'ome bacon?"

_We're doomed._

This, was the hero of the Battle of Bright Moon, otherwise known, as She-Ra...

...

...

The droids continued to trudge through the Whispering Woods at an even pace with one another as they continued to annihilate anything that was moving, or had any signs of life to them. Throughout the area, hundreds of trees could already been seen torn asunder, ravaged by the effects of the Black Garnet's energies affecting the planet a month ago and the endless army of droids that continued to march through it.

It was a simple way to maintain their ground while keeping their own troops safe at the same time. After all, except for Entrapta who died a little more inside each time, nobody suffered any big losses if the droids were destroyed if it meant the Horde armies were safer as a result. Sure, they couldn't think for themselves or perform any complicated tasks, but they were an expendable resource that could always be renewed and expanded upon; soldiers were not.

During their most recent siege, one of them came across a small sprout sticking out of the ground, one that promised to flourish with new life if given the chance. It was a symbol of everything the Horde stood against and hated, in some respects. To allow something so minuscule to survive out here, to grow in strength, and to come back later to stand against the Horde, like turning into another piece of sacred lumber that can confuse and disorient their armies from future invasions? It couldn't be allowed to exist, and wouldn't be allowed to exist.

And it was with this line of logic that the massive droid lifted one of it's appendages, and slammed down atop the innocent sprout of life.

Only to become entangled in a bundle of vines and greenery, along with the several droids that were following behind it.

* _swish_ *

"Hey, robot face," Perfuma could be heard yelling angrily, "watch where you step!" With a massive roar, the Princess of Plumeria yanked the three droids off their feet, pulling them and tossing them through the air out into the distance, unknowingly towards an innocent Bow who was battling it out with his own droids. It wasn't until he noticed the whistling sound of something falling out of the air that his eyes widened at the sight of the flying droids.

"Incoming!" He shouted to his surrounding allies. Before he had the chance to duck out of the way himself, he was tackled away to the ground by one of his close allies, in this case a speedy Catra, who was still in her regular appearance as she did. "Whoa, thanks, Catra."

"...Whatever..." Catra muttered, leaping away from him as she chased after one of the other attacking droids. Bow gave a slight frown at her lack of seeming care at her recent rescue, seeing how her behavior hasn't changed within the last couple of weeks. At least she was starting to fight along the rest of them more often than usual.

At the same time, the same droid that crashed to the ground could still be seen rolling across the forest, on a collision course towards another one of the familiar allies that went by the name of the Mermista, the Princess of Salineas. As any strong, able bodied princess who showed no signs of fear, the princess just grinned at the approaching obstacle as she formed an idea. Gathering a mighty deluge of water, just as it neared her, the princess launched the droid again through the air in a massive geyser, launching it a good ten yards away form her, and crashing it into another droid, destroying them both in the process.

Nothing felt better to the watery princess than using one droid to take out another, or just destroying droids in general. With a satisfied grin, the princess turned to the others as she saw Perfuma and Bow running up to her, slightly worried but relieved at the sight that she was okay.

"Sorry, Mermista." Perfuma apologized. Already, Mermista didn't show any signs of caring as she smirked.

"Wow, flower princesses can't aim." She teased, earning a satisfying blush from the princess of plants.

"I-I'm working on it!"

"Look out!" Bow suddenly warned as he drew his weapon at the approaching droid. No sooner did it show up did another familiar face enter the foray, in this case, a familiar pink-haired princess that went by the name of Glimmer, as she materialized right above the droid, landing on it with ease.

"I got it!" She declared, teleporting soon after with the droid in hand.

In the distance, the group could see the same princess reappearing in the air, nearly several hundred feet above the warming forest, and kicking the droid straight back towards the surface of the planet. Grinning to herself, Glimmer teleported again as the droid came hurdling towards the forest, exploding in a fiery haze that could be seen from afar as Glimmer reappeared once more. Nothing felt quite as awesome as being able to teleport your enemies, specifically robots, from lethal heights in the air and dropping them back down.

The princess watched the display with a sense of pride in her veins and her hands at her side as she joked quietly, "Thanks for dropping in."

"That never gets old, does it?" Mermista commented, enjoying the same sight with the others as they gathered.

"Nope!"

"How many droids do you think are left?" Perfuma asked looking around.

"They always come in greater numbers than before," Bow replied, "so I'm pretty sure there's still a handful remaining."

"Speaking of handfuls... has anyone seen Catra?" Mermista wondered. The question began to dawn on the remaining allies as they searched around.

"Oh, look, there's-!" Perfuma began to point out at the running feline as she charged towards another of the droids. The princess was beside herself as she paused, watching as Catra jumped atop another of the droids without any signs of backing down. Watching with the others, they were rather concerned at the sight as they saw Catra eviscerate the terrible droid within a matter of seconds, ripping it limb from limb as she dug her sharpened claws into the droid, pulling out every loose bolt and wire she could even after the droid collapsed to the ground. "-Catra..."

There wasn't really much anyone could say as Catra batted away at the mechanical monstrosity, soon going for her sword as she bashed against the creation in a mad fury. This was the Catra the group became used to over the course of the last month. Ever since the Battle of Bright Moon, following a few days of solemness and sorrow, Catra's had nothing but pure aggression running through her veins whenever she was fighting, and sloppiness whenever she was lazing around.

It's not like they couldn't understand what the girl was coming from, given all she went through from the events prior to the battle. Cutting off all the ties she had with the Horde, turning her back on any of the possible friends and allies she's made over the year, and losing the greatest of all friends for the sake of her new ones? It was a miracle this girl wasn't going insane and attacking anything that moved in front of her eyes.

Not that it made the situation any better for the rest of them.

In some cases, she's gone back to being the same old Catra they were used to. She was still snarky half the time, always teasing and making fun of Glimmer and Bow at least twice over the last month, which was a dramatic decrease compared to her daily taunts almost three times a day, and she preferred keeping to herself about her own problems and troubles of the past. It was definitely a refreshing change of pace given the circumstances, heck, they actually preferred this one compared to the one who seemed full of sorrow after the first week, but they at least wished she would be more open to them so they could help her more.

The only times when she did seem to get out of her funk was whenever there was a mission involving the Horde. No matter how bitter or depressing she might have been during the week, she always jumped the gun at the announcement of a Horde invasion somewhere or a place that needed protection against their invading forces. Having a complete one-eighty of her emotions, the girl did everything she could to charge head first into any of the droids she saw coming, ripping them until there were barely any scraps left, or dismantling them until she calmed down.

They didn't know if this was supposed to be an improvement of her over the last month or not. They just knew whatever she was going through right now, she was still in pain about it.

"Has... she gotten any better within the last month?" Mermista asked Glimmer and Bow, never taking her eyes off the magicat who charged after another approaching droid. She nearly flinched as the feline shoved her sword straight into the droid from under it, pushing it all the way around the mechanical creation and jumping on top of the droid as she brought it all the way around again. With a few sparks, the cat jumped from her recent droid and ran back into the forest as the droid was cleaved in two halves, falling in opposite directions behind her.

"Well... all things considered... maybe... ish?" Glimmer shrugged uneasily. "At least she's fighting the droids again, so that's good... right?"

"Maybe we should have another group sleepover!" Perfuma suggested with a comforting smile. "Those always seem to cheer her up."

"Yeah, I don't really know about that, Perfuma." Bow replied, walking over to one of the broken droids and examining it. "The entire first week after, she kept sleeping with Glimmer every night without saying a word."

"She nearly gave me a heart attack at least twice when I opened my eyes and found her laying right next to me." Glimmer added rolling her eyes a little. "She never told me if she wanted to sleep together, so I was never prepared for it. Then again, she really didn't say that much after the first week."

"You ever bother to just confront her directly about it?" Mermista suggested, kicking one of the downed droids to make sure it was completely dead. "I know she might not be in the best mood right now, but we need her to get her act together at some point. She can't be spontaneously bursting into fits of rage every time the word "Horde" comes up."

"Well... " Glimmer came to a pause as she looked around. "Hey, has anyone seen Frosta around here?"

...

* ** _WHAM!_** *

"Get out of my forest!" Catra shouted angrily, shoving another fist through the robot's metallic frame. The robot's efforts to shake the magicat off itself proved to be in vain. Within a matter of seconds, just as soon as Catra pulled her hand out of the metal carcass did she shove her sword straight in, destroying the droid's core almost instantly as it split in half.

That was one droid down, hopefully a hundred more to go so she could slice them all up!

Her wish came to her in the form of two more approaching droids who picked her up on their censors, charging at the lone girl as they fired several deadly blasts directly at her. Catra just grinned at their annoying efforts as she charged straight after them, enjoying the entertainment the droids provided as long as it meant she got to break something!

It was during this time that another figure peeked around the corner from one of the trees, a young, blue-haired, girl by the name of Frosta, Princess of the Kingdom of Snows. She watched the magicat carefully without trying to be seen, studying whatever she could about the girl as well as the sword in greater detail. It would've been in much greater detail if she was fighting in her glorious She-Ra form, though she supposed watching her fighting as the regular old Catra wouldn't change much.

As she watched, her attention suddenly shifted as she heard one of the other droids attempting to approach, standing nearly three times in height over her as it looked down at the small figure. At first drawing the power of her frozen ice over her hands into a mighty pair of gauntlets, the princess was just as quick to lower her own defenses as she noticed the droid just staring at her, scanning her briefly through its sensors, and determining she wasn't an enemy.

After all, why would it when she was working for the Horde?

Adora's plan at the Battle of Bright Moon, the backup plan that is, proved to be a resounding success in the end. Nobody else seemed to show any signs of suspicion or concern about her over the last month, which was exactly how she needed it to be. How else was she supposed to do her work as a spy within the Rebellion if everyone kept watching over her? There would be no chance to learn or divulge any of their secrets back to the Horde if all their attention was constantly drawn to her.

The only one she needed to look out for, according to Adora, was Catra specifically. Of all the people within the Rebellion, she assured her that if anyone was going to grow suspicious of anyone on the flip of a dime, it would be her. The girl who barely had any trust for her other allies, save for those she considered dear friends such as Bow and Glimmer, and was quick to get an uneasy reaction out of with just a few short words. If she ever wanted to get out of Catra's possible line of suspicion, she needed to find a way to gain her trust the fastest, less she give Catra any reason to begin doubting her or her behavior.

"Haaaaaah!" The same girl could be heard shouting as she appeared out of the air, landing on top of the droid and plunging the sword straight into its scalp. From here, Frosta just watched as she swung her sword repeatedly at the metal droid, sweeping away at the parts one after the other, until all that remained was bolts and wires that were tossed around nearly in every direction around her.

With the last of the droids finally destroyed, Catra panted as she sighed, finally catching her breath after using up who knew how much of her strength through her onslaught. "Finally..." She muttered, giving an unusual look as she eyed the princess behind her. "Why didn't that droid attack you?" The warning signals were going off in the back of Frosta's mind, realizing how Adora had more reason to be wary of her than Frosta initially thought.

Turning her eyes away for a moment, the girl gave her a simple shrug as she crossed her arms, walking away. "Hmph, how should I know? Maybe it just didn't see me as a threat."

"A threat?" Catra repeated, following behind her. "Since when do the Horde not consider princesses a threat?"

"How should I know? Maybe it was just confused or something since I'm a kid." Frosta replied, picking up the pace just slightly enough for Catra to notice.

"Yeah, I highly doubt the Horde would decide to be merciful all of a sudden and not target kids, especially one who can shoot icicles out of her hands."

"Well maybe they're not as bad as you said they were-!" Frosta immediately shut her mouth at this nervously, deciding to try and pass on the rest of the walk without saying another word. It didn't help in the slightest, however, as Catra sped up to the girl, walking on her left through the words as she gave her a more than obvious look of suspicion. "...What?"

"Where were you through the rest of the fighting?"

"I was dealing with droids myself, what do you think?"

"I don't recall seeing you anywhere while I was taking care of the droids around here." Catra pointed out, leaning a little closer to the girl as her suspicion grew. "And why weren't you fighting alongside everyone else?"

"Because I was trying to avoid you, thank you very much!" She grumbled back. "You haven't exactly been in the best of moods around people lately."

"Well it's not like I don't know who and who not to attack, you know. If I see someone in the way, I'm not going to push them aside or cut them unless I'm trying to help them out."

"Yeah, with your anger issues around here? That's a laugh."

"I don't have anger issues!"

"That's what all people say when they have it! Come back to me when you've calm down, otherwise stop being so Catra knew this girl was hiding something from her, she had all the signs of someone suspicious to her. Then again, given that was the case for ninety-percent of the people she came across, it wasn't saying much. "Why are you acting so weird lately?"

" _I'm_  acting weird?" She retorted with a smug look. "Look who's talking. I can't recall the last time I saw you going She-Ra around here. You don't have something to hide, do you?" That got to her. Two of the biggest signs that someone was hiding something was when they were doing whatever they could to ignore the question, the second biggest sign being when someone tried to change the subject entirely.

For Catra, there was a third sign when someone was hiding something. In her case, it was when somebody did something foolish like ask a question that would deliberately get under her skin, and judging by the smug look on Frosta's face, she knew it was intentional.

Having enough with the girl's snide attitude, she let out a small growl as she grabbed the collar of her winter coat, pushing her against the tree, narrowing her eyes.

"Ah!" Frosta squealed a little, caught by surprise by the sudden attack.

"Alright you little brat, now listen here." Catra grumbled, extending her claws in the other hand. "You're going to tell me what's going on, and you're going to tell me right NOW! So what are you hiding?" As expected, the ice princess narrowed her own eyes in contempt before shifting them to her right. Whatever she saw gave her enough reason to grin back to her before her expression changed into one of complete and utter fear and sadness.

"Owwww!" She cried, kicking her legs a little as she weakly pulled at Catra's hand holding her jacket. "Stop it, you're hurting me!"

"Hurting you?" How weak was this kid? She was barely pushing her against the tree at all, and for someone who had as much power as the other princesses, she should have a much higher pain tolerance than most kids her age and adults. "What are you talking about? I'm not even-"

"Catra!" The girl nearly jumped at the call of her name as she looked to her left. Sure enough, much to her regret, there she saw an irritated looking Glimmer and her friends glaring back at her, save for Bow who was missing from the crowd. Noticing the slack of her grip, the ice princess shook herself free from Catra's hand before rushing over to Perfuma's side, hiding behind her for obvious protection.

"Are you alright?" Perfuma asked, checking the young princess's hands and neck.

"I'm fine." Frosta replied, giving a small sniffle. "She just started acting crazy and attacked me for some reason."

"The heck I was!" Catra yelled back. "She was standing perfectly in front of a droid and it didn't bother her for some reason! Don't you find that weird?"

"I told you, it didn't see me."

"That's not what you said! You said it didn't see you as a threat!"

"Well that's what I meant at the time, I was just nervous to talk to you because you were shouting at me!" Frosta argued, rubbing her cheek a little bit for emphasis.

"I wasn't even trying to scare you-!"

"Enough!" Glimmer finally shouted, marching over to Catra with an equally unamused Mermista at her side as she crossed her arms. All the while she glared at the small bundle of annoyance who she swore smirked at her for a moment before walking away with Perfuma at her side. "Look, Catra? I know you're going through a rough patch right now, but you can't be taking your anger out on everyone around you, okay?"

"I'm not taking my anger out on anybody around here, Pinky!" Catra didn't help her argument in the slightest as she grumbled with this. "I'm just trying to do my job."

"Yeah, I think you're doing your job a little too well around here." Mermista commented, looking at what was left of the last several droids Catra destroyed. "Is it me or are you enjoying this a bit more than you should be?"

"So what? I'm not supposed enjoy the work I do?" She retorted, puffing a flock of hair out of her eyes. "Yeah, that's some great thinking. 'Hey Catra, you should start feeling bad for the robots you're killing', I can see that line of reasoning working."

"She means you should slow down a bit, Catra." Glimmer clarified, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves. "Catra, you've been going a little overboard lately, and you won't tell us what's bothering you."

"You expect me to trust you guys with every little detail of my life around here?"

"We expect you to trust us as your friends, Catra." Glimmer replied, placing a comforting hand on her right shoulder. Catra eyed the placement for a few seconds before looking back ot her. The fact she wasn't swatting or clawing at the hand right away was already a major improvement compared to the first few weeks since Catra joined the Rebellion, even though she didn't open up as much as she did over a month ago. "If there's something bothering you, you can trust us. We'll listen and try try to help you, okay?"

"..." Taking a deep breath through her nose, Catra exhaled as calmly as she could as she casually, and gently, pulled Glimmer's hand off of her shoulder. "I don't have a problem trusting you, Bow, or your mom, alright? But even if I did trust the others, I still wouldn't be able to tell you."

"Why not?"

"Because... Because I just..." Catra was beside herself at the moment. What was she supposed to tell these people? How was she supposed to expect them to understand after what's happened? It was mostly her fault it was happening in the first place, so what was she supposed to say about it?

* _shiiiiiin_ *

The three's eyes trailed the small light emanating from Catra's sword, watching the familiar blue hue coming off of the gem adorned in the center.

While it wasn't something the others were used to as often, it wasn't like they were unaware of its meaning. "I gotta go." She muttered. Without even giving a simple goodbye, the two watched as Catra bolted towards the closest ledge of the forest they were in, letting out a loud whistle through her fingers before jumping over the ledge, disappearing out of sight. What little fear there was of Catra jumping to her possible death was soon replaced relief and unsurprise as the magicat could be seen flying through the air on Swift Wind's back, the horse soaring through the sky gracefully at top speed.

"Where does she keep running off to?" Mermista could never get a read on the girl. Between her mysterious behavior half the time and her inability to talk to anyone else about how she's feeling, it's a wonder she even knew Catra's name at this point.

"Where do you think?" Glimmer shrugged back. "To hit some more stuff."

...

...

* **WHAM!** *

"Ghhhhh!" Catra grumbled as she batted away another droid with her sword in the cave's tunnel.

This was the only thing that Catra took any joy out of these days. Just her, her sword, and a whole bunch of things she could smash on a daily basis. Nothing bored her more than not being able to hit anything lately, and this place was almost a children's playground to her for the amount of stuff she got to wreck.

Coming across another of the approaching droids from further away, she grinned as she focused all of her energy into her sword, causing it to glow, and morph into a large flail, one that could stretch up to nearly fifteen feet in length and with a mace the size of her head. Tossing the mace casually in her other hand, she gave it a good old fashion toss above her and twirled the handle in her other hand, twirling the mace and chain and smashing it into the approaching droid.

No sooner did she do this did another two droids approach from the same direction, at least twenty feet apart from one another, the perfect distance to keep out of the flails way from hitting both of them at once. Despite the fact they seemed a tad brighter in intelligence than their counterparts, it did nothing to waver Catra's concentration as she lunged directly for the one on her right, morphing her weapon again into a golden spear that stretched a good ten feet ahead of her.

Using the spear's own length to assist her, she dove the spear directly into the ground beneath her feet, pulling herself over the bot as it attempted to fire one of its blasters at her. Expertly dodging the oncoming blast, Catra grinned with excitement as she twirled the spear overhead, plunging it directly into the droid's censor and piercing straight through its body. The moment she landed on the droid itself, she quickly jumped out of the way as the other droid attempted to blast her, destroying the previous droid entirely as it left behind a smouldering mess.

Scanning the area for a moment at the magicat's disappearance, its attention slowly drew towards the ceiling where the magicat was waiting patiently, hanging from the ceiling with her own claws. With pride running through her veins, the cat pushed off from the ceiling at top speed, transforming the great spear into a long gauntlet that stretched up the length of her arm with three one-foot blades at the time. Used to this sort of fighting style with her own claws, she managed to easily swipe through the droids legs, cutting off the first two legs where it collapsed forward, and using one of the broken appendages, impaled the metal construct with ease.

This was definitely one of Catra's most enjoyable moments since the Battle of Bright Moon.

"Awwww, is kitty playing with her toys?" A familiar voice cooed, irritating Catra and ruining the little joy she had. As expected, and annoying, off in the distance behind her, she could see the familiar face of a certain Force Captain named Adora, the girl laying around in a casual manner as she hung from an overgrown root sticking out of the tunnel's ceiling.

Of all the people she had to come across, why did it have to be Adora? Why couldn't it be someone less annoying to her? Like Shadow Weaver, or Lonnie, or anyone else she didn't live with anymore? At the very least, she could've came at a much later or sooner time before she started to have fun!

"Adora!" Catra shouted angrily, morphing her weapon back into its original form.

"Heh heh heh..." Adora chuckled as she slid off the large root, running down the tunnels with Catra chasing behind her. The girl lost sight of her as she rounded the corner, coming across an entire crossroad of tunnels with over eight different hallways and entrances to choose from. It barely took a single look around as Catra heard another run of chuckling before Catra lost touch of which direction she came from. "Awww come on, Catra. Try to find me." She taunted.

"Nghhhh!" Taking the chance, she took off in the rightmost direction, running at full speed as she chased after the mocking laughter. She now found herself lead into a fairly large cavern filled with stalagmites sticking out of the ground, all of them as large as a tree and blocking off any sight of a full-grown person, or a very annoying blonde in this case. "Adora, where are you?!"

"Yoohoo, I'm over heeeeere~" Her ears twitched as she turned to her right, seeing Adora casually leaning against one of the many rock formations with a wave. Chasing straight after her, the girl laughed again as she ran around the stalagmite, disappearing from view the moment Catra rounded the corner again. "Oooh, boohoo. Didn't find me there?" She teased, this time reappearing three rows over behind her when Catra checked again.

"How the-?" She shook the irritation and confusion from her mind as she grumbled again, giving chase after the girl angrily. "Hold still!"

"Only if you say pleeeeease!" She taunted again. Sure enough, the Force Captain wound up missing by the time Catra reached her again, fueling on to the fire of anger going on through Catra's mind.

"Fine! Please hold still so I can hit you!" She growled, seeing the ex-friend running down another pathway.

"Oh, Catra, you're never going to make friends that way." The cat nearly jumped as the taunt came directly behind her, finding the annoying Horde soldier leaning out from behind another pillar. "If you keep threatening people, they might leeeave... or you know, you might leave. Whichever comes first."

"SHUT UP!" With a beastial roar, she reformed the giant flail she had minutes ago, launching the massive wrecking ball straight at the closest pillar the taunting was coming from. To her disappointment, she hit nothing passed the crumbling stalagmite save for a pocket of empty air, and caught the sight of the same girl poking her head out from another stalagmite right passed it.

"Did I strike a nerve? Awww, naughty Adora...Ack!" She sneered, sticking her tongue out briefly before giving off a small shriek, diving headfirst behind the stalagmite before she was stabbed by an extended spear.

There was no end to the taunts from this girl, nothing to drown out the frustration that was building up with each of her annoying tauntings! She knew exactly which buttons to press when it came to the magicat, what words would set her off the quickest and most efficiently! At the rate it was going, she could easily get Catra to make a fatal mistake, one that could cost her the lives of her dearest friends.

Like the one she was about to make as an idea popped into her head. Returning the sword into its original form once more, the magicat concentrated as she closed her eyes, trying to pick up on any source of noise she could from Adora's movements. The cave was barren save for these two, therefore the next sound she picked up would indefinitely be Adora's. She just needed to find the right opportunity for the enemy to make any sudden moves, wait for her to make the smallest slip up. The moment she did, Catra would spring into action, and get the drop on this annoying-

* _shuffle_ *

"Hah!"

"Ah-!" The blonde-haired enemy was caught off guard as Catra lunged straight for her, finding a clawed hand wrapped around her throat as she was pressed against a stalagmite. Opening her eyes, she saw the fiery hatred burning within Catra's eyes as she continued to tighten the grip around her neck, actually lifting her a few inches off the ground as she scratched at her hand, choking. "C-Catra, I ca... I can't breathe..."

"Ngggghhhhhh!" Catra didn't care for a moment. She was tired, exhausted, consumed with rage over everything bothering her at that moment. Half of her dilemmas stemmed from Adora, so why shouldn't she get rid of the problem at its source?!

"C-Ca... Catra, I... I..." The light started fading from Adora's eyes as her resistance began to wane. It was only after hearing the feeble mumbling that Catra snapped back to her senses, shaking her head of the anger before a look of concern crossed over her. She wasn't squeezing the neck of one of the few people she hated most at that time.

It was Glimmer.

"G-Glimmer!" Catrar yelped, quickly releasing her grip from the girl. Instead of falling straight to the ground like anyone else would have, the young princess just froze in place the moment she started to fall. Rubbing her eyes of the confusing scenario, she watched as Glimmer's body gave off a slight shimmer, eventually resulting in a static-like phasing as the rest of her environment slowly started to phase back to its original setting as well.

All around her, the environment changed from its once peaceful, albeit violent-filled, cave, to the familiar recesses of the Beacon's training room, the very spot where Catra had found herself being able to blow off the most steam in the last month. If she ended up nearly ending Glimmer's life, like all the other times, then it proved, in turn, that she had failed her simulation yet again, the anger residing in her heart as she rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"You know you're playing unfair around here." Catra commented as the being known as Light Hope materialized behind her.

"I apologize for the discomfort, Catra, but I am not trying to be, as you say, unfair, with our simulations." She replied, emotionless as always, no matter how blunt her words were. "The simulations are designed for total accuracy. If you had truly found yourself in this scenario, there is an estimated forty-two percent chance you would have injured one of your allies out of rage."

"I wouldn't have to deal with all this anger stuff if you just got the sword working!" Catra grumbled.

"Working?" The artificial being inquired. "What do you mean?"

"...You're really going to make me spell it out for you, aren't you?" As if answering her question, Light Hope continued to stare at her as she robotically tilted her head in curiosity. Groaning for, hopefully, the final time today, Catra raised her sword to the sky as she spoke the sacred incantation. "For the Honor of Grayskull!"

Those five words were what triggered the miraculous transformation time and again. Ever since she was deemed the new She-Ra, her transformation and the wonders that came with it worked flawlessly. She found her transformation coming to her nearly every time she wanted it to, save for moments of extreme stress or worry, she always felt the familiar increase of strength and resilience that came with being She-Ra, and she found her abilities improving over the course of the last month as Light Hope instructed her to train around the facility on a daily basis.

And, surprisingly, it wasn't something she regretted either! There was no end to the amount of fun she had at being able to transform the legendary sword into a whole matter of things, between weapons, shields, and, somewhat annoyingly, trinkets! She relished the possibility of turning an ordinary sword into a massive maul that could pummel her enemies in one strike, loved the way she could form a whip sturdy enough to bind her enemies, or throw them into each other!.

There were some complications too, of course. For the time being, there was only a handful of items she could materialize intentionally, and half of those times they came out as something else entirely. It would've been humiliating if anyone saw the first time she turned the sword into a slingshot on her very first attempt, or a water bottle on the second. But somehow these still weren't the most annoying details of her new daily life.

No, that detail came down to the very thing she loved the most, and hated most of all. As the transformation came to an end, and the magicat gestured to the entirety of herself.

"I'm back to the same She-Ra I was before!"

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**A/N: Another another chapter bites the dust ^^ Not much to say here, other than I'm excited to continue this season for all it has to offer. I'm going to enjoy the extremely funny episodes (you guys know which Im referring to XP) as we get the series underway, and away from all the past drama, not to say there won't be some here and there, and into the more humorous side of the series ^^** _

_**As always, hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!** _


	56. Season 2 Episode 1: The Frozen Forest Part 2

_**A/N: Hiyo! Back with another resounding chapter! Gotta say, might be to uppity parts here and there, I did this over the course of the three days, and on the day I did adora's bit, I was in the midst of graduation (yippee ^^) so some parts of it might be a bit off in terms of writing, hopefully it's not too distracting. On the plus side, with all the dramatic parts a ways away, we can finally make room for some humor from the show, along with the usual moments here and there ^^** _

_**With that said, enjoy!** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

"And this is a problem, how?" Light Hope asked, her unchanging expression even more unchanged as she stared at the magicat.

"How do you think?" Catra grumbled, having dealt with this annoyance for the last several weeks.

Ever since the Battle of Bright Moon, things have gotten relatively back to normal, at least as normal as they could be around here. The Princess Alliance was working side by side again with Mermista, Perfuma, and Frosta working along with the Rebellion, Glimmer finally got her powers back, and Catra was the same old grump she used to be after several weeks of inner turmoil. Some people may have been put off by such a display, but for Glimmer and Bow, it was a welcome come back after all this time.

That didn't mean it came without any drawbacks, either. For starters, Catra wasn't just the usual grump she's always been anymore, she was a grump with severe anger issues. Every day she's gone out on a mission, she's always charged straight into whatever group of droids she could that have been surrounding the Whispering Woods for the last month. Unlike the other princesses who took a steady approach as a team, Catra showed no signs of backing down as she took out every droid she could come across, using whatever means she could to demolish the droids from head to toe.

Of course, the other princesses were well aware of her erratic behavior, they just didn't know how to approach it. How were they supposed to know how Catra was feeling after all she's been through? Turning her back entirely on the Horde, losing the closest friend of her life, and knowing nothing she did would bring her friend back to her? It wasn't just the loss of her friend that the others saw nagging at Catra, it was knowing she would be fighting against her for possibly the rest of her life.

The only outlet she had to get her pent up aggression out of her system was the endless waves of Horde droids that kept invading the Whispering Woods for the last month. Without wasting a single soldier, the Horde could throw an endless amount of droids at the Rebellion every day while their soldiers reclaimed any land they were invading. With Bright Moon being the last place Catra could call home, she wasn't about to let any Horde, robotic or otherwise, set foot on her territory.

It was probably the one upside to Catra's overly aggressive behavior as of late. With the magicat's anger focused solely on the Horde, she was doing everything within her power to fight back, fighting literal tooth and claw against the invading armies with all she had. The one setback they had yet to understand was why she never tried to turn into She-Ra while doing it. She kept fighting in her normal attire, save for the sword, having nothing She-Ra about her.

It was out of a deep secret she was keeping from the others, one only she, Light Hope, and Swift Wind were aware of.

"Why can't I turn into the full She-Ra like before?" Catra repeated her question, fed up by the appearance that represented a fourth of She-Ra. "What's keeping me from turning back?"

"As I've told you in the past, Catra, you can't-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've heard it already." Catra interrupted, repeating the same line she's heard a thousand times mockingly with her hand. "I have to be honest with myself, I have to be at peace, I can't be selfish, blah, blah, blah. I don't get  _why_  it's happening though!"

"I'm afraid I can not assist you with that dilemma, Catra." Light Hope regretfully informed. "If you desire, I could try to make the scenery more pleasing to calm your nerves." Without giving the magicat a chance to respond, the environment around them shifted to one of a sunny beach, one where the air was filled with the sound of relaxing waves and not a single cloud in the sunny sky. "Does this environment make you feel more comfortable?"

"Ugh, no! That's not what I-!" There wasn't any time to voice her complaint completely as the environment changed again. This time she found herself in a field of flowers, one overlooking a vast forest of autumn leaves and a beautiful midsummer sky, earning nothing but a twitching brow of irritation from the young cat girl. If she didn't know any better, she could've sworn Perfuma had a hand in making this simulation.

"Is this more suitable?"

"...The scenery isn't the issue." Catra stated as calmly as she could, waiting for the environment to return to its original First Ones' chamber. "The problem is, I need to be the same She-Ra they need me to be before, and I don't know what's keeping me from doing it." She gazed around her legs and arms, seeing the few semblances of She-Ra she always recognized like her golden bracers and her white chestpiece. "I'm back to being the same She-Ra I was before, and I can't afford to be this way if I'm going to continue fighting for the Rebellion. I need to know what's keeping me from reaching anything passed one-fourth!"

"Actually, if it's any consolation," Light Hope replied as she observed a monitor she materialized in front of her, displaying an outline of what Catra could assume to be herself, "you have improved your bond with the sword by at least two percent over the last few weeks."

"Oh boy, almost one percent a week," Catra couldn't have been more sarcastic if she tried, "how exciting. That means in another two months, I'll reach ten percent."

"I am pleased to hear you are satisfied."

"That was sarcasm..." Catra moaned, rubbing her forehead soothingly. "I've been training for over a month, and I haven't gotten any better around here!"

"Indeed. Your performance today was, in fact, worse." The being shifted her eyes away as she noticed Catra's furrowed brow to that. "Please disregard. My human inspiration protocol is still in the beta stage. Should I smile more?" She offered, opening her mouth widely as a normal human custom.

"...N-No thanks... that's... actually, kind of creepy."

"Affirmative."

"Ugh... Look, every day I spend wasting time in here, the Horde is growing stronger. Adora is growing stronger," she shifted her eyes briefly at the statement, "I think. And unless I figure out how to reach She-Ra's true form, I'm never going to be able to master her full power. Do you get what I am getting at?"

"Yes, I understand what you are  _getting at_. But I am afraid I have no control over how the sword perceives you. If you wish to master She-Ra's true form and unlock its power, you must be able to change yourself."

"How am I supposed to change myself anymore to this stupid sword?!" She growled. As if reacting to her sudden flux of emotions, there was a small shine glowing over Catra's bracers. What she at first assumed to be a rather pleasant surprise waiting for her soon turned out to be an annoying revelation as the golden bracers disappeared off of her wrists. Adding on to the train of annoyance, the two looked back to the monitor as the display depicting Catra's progression took a sudden drop by about eight percent. "Grrrrr! Who asked you!" She yelled angrily at the blade.

At the scene playing in front of her, Light Hope came to a sudden thought. "Catra, what is most important to you right now?"

"Huh? What do you think? Getting stronger so I can beat the Horde, duh!"

"But what else do you deem important to you?"

"What... do you mean by that?" The line of questioning was starting to worry the magicat a little as her ears lowered a little.

"Do you wish for me to phrase it differently?"

"No, I mean... why are you asking me about what I think is important?"

"Because it might be the first step into discovering your problem." With this information, a large monitor appeared above Light Hope, all displayed for Catra's eyes. The She-Ra-in-training was rather taken back by the visuals she witnessed as they displayed the day at the Battle of Bright Moon, the very moment before Catra donned the full form of She-Ra. "I believe you are informed enough to know the conditions into becoming She-Ra, correct?"

"Yeah, I already said them a minute ago. So what?"

"Do you remember, then, what you were feeling at the Battle of Bright Moon?"

"What I was... feeling...?" That may have been the first question Light Hope asked so far that brought discomfort to the magicat. Aside from the fact Catra had spent the better part of the last month trying to forget the horrible ordeal, given how it ended in the worst way possible to her, she was barely alive at all when she finally achieved She-Ra's true form. "Mmh... I don't remember..."

The images flashed in Catra's mind in brief glimpses, displaying the various moments she could recall as she closed her eyes. "I guess... I was scared... cold? I barely knew what was happening at the time. I just... I guess I just... wanted to keep my friends safe."

* _shiiiiiiiiim_ *

Reacting again to this little bout of emotion, Catra watched as the wrists along her arm glowed once more. This time, with enough relief to bring a small smile to her face, she watched as the bracers returned to her, giving off a sense of form as they were reformed as good as new. Adding on to this moment of comfort, she saw Light Hope attempting to provide any amount of support with a robotic smile, phasing a hand through Catra's right shoulder.

"You have come a long way in changing yourself since you first began, Catra. Much more than any of the past initiates my memory banks can recall." The surprisingly comforting smile returned to its neutral form as she pulled her hand away. "But there is still much for you to learn. You must learn to master your emotions, or you are destined to repeat the same mistakes of the last She-Ra."

"Mmh..." Catra moaned, scratching the back of her neck as her appearance returned to its original state. "Well, it's not like things can get any worse, am I right?"

"Actually, things can, indeed, get much worse." The being corrected, annoyingly as always to Catra. "Did I not make that clear?"

"No, I mean... Never mind." As much as Catra hated to admit it, she didn't have a choice. If she was going to have any hope of mastering She-Ra's true form, she was going to have to figure out some way of changing her frame of mind and her emotions into something She-Ra should be. That's the ultimate realization she came to as she stared back at her sword, the one thing that determined if and how much of She-Ra's power Catra could obtain. "Can we just get back to hitting things again so I can keep practicing?"

"Very well. You must learn by doing." With a simple command, the ground around Catra ruptured as the floor split apart around her, rising high into the ceiling as another simulation began to take place.

In the mass of entanglement the rising floors gave way to, she found her environment changing into the familiar cave structure she just came out of awhile ago, the mighty cavern outstretched around her as a large creature began to appear. It took the familiar appearance of those massive bug creatures Catra's seen on a few occasions, the very ones she was first greeted with after claiming the sword at the start of the adventure.

Honestly, Catra didn't care how intimidating the creature looked as she took a stand. She didn't know what exactly the future would hold for her, and she wasn't entirely ready to change her entire being just because some holographic lady told her so. As long as she had her trusted ladle at her side, she was ready to face down anyone that came against her, and overcome any challenge with her own two hands!

...Wait a minute...

"...Ladle?" Catra muttered, looking at her weapon again. Apparently she didn't have as well a grasp on her weapon's transformation, which was almost parallel to her own transformation's difficulties. Instead of some giant axe that could've cut this creature down to size like she had hoped for, her weapon took the form of a  **legendary**  soup ladle of all things, one that barely came up to her elbow in size.

* _ **Raaaaaaaoooooooooooo!**_ *

The mighty illusionary creature roared as it towered above her, blowing back Catra's hair and leaving her with a few massive globs of drool from the creature's screaming.

"... Oh boy..."

...

...

The Fright Zone guards greeted Adora with a proud salute as she walked by, just as they always did whenever Adora entered an area. While she wasn't in it for the fame or glory of being one, she couldn't deny it felt a little good to be a newly promoted commander walking through the Fright Zone either.

Ever since Adora was promoted as Lord Hordak's second-in-command, every day felt nice and refreshing! The people who previously had respect for the young Force Captain and signs of caring for their fellow soldier were extremely respectful of Adora's new position, though it was hard to tell if it wasn't entirely without a bit of fear. Everyone usually had a smile on their face when they greeted her, nobody seemed put off or jealous of her new position, and she found people approaching her constantly for assistance, which she never seemed to mind.

On top of it, she later discovered during the night of her promotion that her powers weren't gone! Despite the lack of headband, the shadowy magic Adora had grown used to seemed to have stuck with her completely after the Battle of Bright Moon. The shadows almost seemed to be more lively than they ever were before, sometimes responding to her bouts of emotions occasionally sometimes defending her or doing something to comfort her without her personal sway. It was a constant reminder of her defeat at Catra's hands as well as her victory in her new position.

However, it didn't prove to be entirely without complications as she slowly came to discover, the veins on the right side of her neck blackening as they spread further and further along the side of her face.

* _RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH_ *

"Aaah!" Adora cried out as she caught herself against the right wall, squeezing her forehead with her left hand in agony. It was that dull ringing sound that always entered her mind followed by the mother of all headaches. It felt like something was clawing in and out of her head at the same time, filling her heart with a surge of emotions every second.

_**Sub... t... ools... em pay...** _

"S-Stop it... stop... stop..." Adora cried silently to herself, trying to ignore the voices that filled her mind. She could never get a firm grasp on what they were saying all the time, with what few audible words she could hear always sounding threatening to those around her. All she knew was that anyone who approached her in her current state would find themselves to be an unintended victim of her wrath.

Like one of two guards who noticed the commander's sudden collapse.

"Commander Adora?" The right-sided guard spoke, approaching her slowly from behind. He was unaware as a few of her right bangs of hair started to darken, the commander doing everything she could to wave her arm behind her.

"N-No! Sta...Stay..." She could barely speak as she squeezed her forehead, the pain overwhelming her state of mind. At the same time, the guard was completely unaware at the small pool of shadow starting to form behind him, one that slowly started to grow in mass as shadowy tendrils of teeth and spikes rose from the surface, a sight that didn't go unnoticed by the other guard who was still watching from afar.

"Wha- Hey! Stop!" He shouted to the other guard, running towards him. Turning around, the previous one physically jumped out of fear as he collapsed backwards, pushing himself away from the growing entanglement that began to approach him. And the entire time, the black veins around Adora's face continued to fester, spreading further along her skin as they started to reach her forehead.

"Ngghhhh! S-Stop!" She ordered as assertively as she could, not to the guard that was slowly backing up to her in fright, but the pool of shadows that seemed to draw ever closer. What little it did to keep the shadows at bay only delayed the attack as the pool of shadow slowed continuing to move at a snails pace over to the fearful guard who had no idea what was going on!

Luckily for him, the sound of ruckus didn't go unheard from a certain Force Captain by the name of Scorpia, who casually poked her head out of Entrapta's lab at the sound of the shouting, and freaked at the sight of the recent peril. "Adora!" She yelled worriedly, running over to her. She looked over Adora quickly as the commander gave her a weak look, breathing heavily as Scorpia examined her, brushing a few strands out of her hair. "It's happening again, isn't it?"

"S-Sorry... " Adora huffed, lowering her head as the pain continued to drive on.

"When's the last time you used the machine?"

"I... I don't... three... maybe four days?"

"What!?" The announcement sent warning lights through Scorpia's mind as she lifted Adora off her feet. Thankfully it appeared to be enough to loosen Adora's hold on the shadows as the ones nearing the guard vanished into thin air, just as they were about to swipe at his feet. Taking a brief look to the two, she gave a nervous smile to the guard that was nearly attacked. "Err sorry! Just, uhhh... a training drill!" She sputtered, rushing back to lab without a second thought. The two guards looked to each other in confusion, giving a shrug to the other as they returned to their stations.

"Since when do training drills involve attacking the guards?"

...

"Almost... there..." Entrapta muttered behind her mask as she carefully tilted the vial into the concoction before her. She just needed a tiny, itty bitty, drop to get the last part of her experiment working. After the last three days straight of preparation, clearing up as much of her free time as possible to make sure she would have the exact hours she would need to preform this experiment perfectly, it finally came down to this one drop. She couldn't leave anything up to chance as she watched the tiny droplet being lowered towards the concoction, holding the vial carefully in her hair as she watched the view with her head rested against the table. "Annnnd-!"

"ENTRAPTAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"ACK-!"

* _splash_ *

* **BOOOOOOM!** *

Smoke and haze filled the entire half of the science lab as Entrapta accidentally poured the entire vial into the concoction, resulting in the disastrous explosion that the science nerd somehow managed to survive. When they smoke finally cleared, Entrapta could be seen completely covered in ash and black soot, lifting her mask to reveal the only part of her that was clean from the sudden explosion.

Everything in front of her was a complete mess. There was a blast mark where the explosion went off, all the vials and beakers she had covering the table were completely smashed to pieces, any of her papers that had listed the ingredients and measurements she took were completely burned to dust, and any recording devices she had to monitor her progress were destroyed in the explosion! Just about every little piece of this three day experiment was gone!

"...Woohoo!" Entrapta cheered, pulling out another recorder as she shook off the black soot. "Data Log ML-3-1! My experiment to test the coincidence and timing of the universe seem work without a hitch! So far I've had at least four intentionally failed experiments due to bad timing! If I continue to study the effects of this quantum displacement, I might be able to control the very aspects of Luck and Chance in the universe myself!"

"Entrapta!" Scorpia yelled for a final time, finally finding the girl through the clutter of machines.

"Waaahhh!" The purple-haired geek screeched, dropping the recorder and watching in dismay as it shattered upon impact. "Awww, I wasn't prepared for that one..."

"Entrapta, focus! Adora needs help!" Scorpia pleaded, lowering her arms for the mad scientist to get a view. She didn't need to get any closer as she saw the corruption spreading from where she stood. All around her, Adora's left half was nearly covered in dark veins from head to toe as the Force Captain breathed heavily. Adora barely seemed aware of where she was as she had one eye closed and the other one barely open with the only source of comfort she had was holding herself with her right arm.

"Hmmm..." The scientist hummed as she placed the back of her hand against Adora's forehead, taking it away immediately as it sizzled. "Ow! Yeah, she's definitely burning up."

"I know that! We need to get her to the chamber right away!"

"Awww, but I wanted to watch how my droids were doi-! Ooogh!" Entrapta wasn't given any time to argue as Scorpira through her left claw over the girl, lifting her off her feet as she ran out the door with Adora and Entrapta in each arm respectively. Seeing how there was little choice in the matter, the scientists did what she could as she re-examined Adora's temperature with a strand of hair, still feeling a burning sensation at the tip of her strands as she pulled out a journal. "Ok, Adora, some casual questions. On a scale of one to ten, how much pain are you experiencing right now?"

"Ugh... En... trapta...?" Adora muttered as if she was just becoming aware of her presence.

"Ok, we'll try the next one. Have you been experiencing any sort of side effects?"

"Side... ffects..." She mumbled, drooping her head in her state of misery.

"Mmmh..." How was Entrapta not to frown at the situation unfolding before her?

She was torn between her two greatest compassions; her everlasting love for science, and the state of misery and pain Adora seemed to be in right now. Every second she looked at the girl she felt guilty for something she didn't do, and for one of the few times in her life, she didn't have the energy or excitement to take notes on it. She just stared at Adora with a pained frown on her face, scratching the back of her head with her own hair as she felt bad for the girl.

"...You're really not feeling too good, are you?" Entrapta commented as Scorpia jerked, cutting another corner of the hallways.

"She's not going to die, is she?!" Scorpia panicked, doing what she could to pick up the pace.

"I told you at least twice everyday for the last month." Entrapta reminded, trying to give something close to a comforting smile. "She'll be perfectly fine, she's not going to die." Her assuring tone wasn't as faithful as it appeared as she glanced back to the ailing friend again, resisting the urge to gullp audibly. "...But you might want to hurry, anyway..."

"MMMMMHHHHH!" Scorpia moaned as she screamed on the inside. To her relief, she came across the Black Garnet chamber around the next corner a few seconds later, feeling antsy as she waited for the automatic doors to open themselves before bursting inside. She practically dropped Entrapta to the ground as she rushed Adora over to the machine hooked up to the Black Garnet.

All around the Black Garnet, various wires and machines could be seen protruding from the great crystal, all of which fed into multiple computer monitors on one side, and a pair of shackle-like clamps atop a metallic table on the right of the great crystal. The shackles had nearly a dozen of different colored yellow bulbs feeding into the machine, which allowed the others to know when the device was ready to be turned on.

What confused Scorpia partially about the current predicament was why Adora waited so long to use this thing in the first place. Despite being a good distance between each other, it's not like Adora needed anyone to do this with her. The machine was set up so it worked on a timer, not that it was needed in Adora's case. If the commander had the energy to draw power from the Black Garnet as she normally did, then she could easily place her hands through the shackles and activate the machine automatically that way.

So why did she wait so long?!

Entrapta pulled herself off the ground as she swung over to the control module with her hair as Scorpia hastily got Adora hooked up to the device, gently placing Adora on her knees as comfortable as possible as she placed her hands in the strange device.

"You're going to be okay, sweetie, you're going to be okay..." Scorpia muttered. She needed to assure herself almost as much as she did Adora as the commander slouched a little along the metallic table, seeming more out of it than Scorpia's ever seen her before. "Is it on yet?"

"Yyyyyup! Just about!"

Scorpia sighed in relief as she saw the scientist typing away at top speed with her goggles on. As she said, the machine started to hum with life as the wires and cables connected to the Black Garnet began to glow with an eerie shade of red, the same crimson that filled the Black Garnet with life. She could never understand how the complications of this device worked, and she didn't care. As long as this techno doodad managed to fix her best friend, she would gladly shove Adora into whatever she needed to save her, including an oven!

Every second she had to wait for the machine to start up filled her with even more worry as she looked at her friends condition. From sweat dripping from her forehead to the heavy breathing, and the wave of blackness that started to color her hair a little at a time, there wasn't anything about Adora that didn't seem to be all right. There was no worse feeling in the world than wanting to help your friend and being unable to because you didn't know what was wrong with them!

"You're going to be okay, Adora, it's almost ready." She cooed, softly patting her back. She watched as the wires connected to the two shackles finally began to glow like the rest of the wires did, growing a small smile as the shackles themselves began to give off a faint red glow like the rest of the machine. Adora barely gave notice to this as her head turned, though it was the most physical response she's given within the last five minutes.

"Please... no..." Adora muttered weakly.

"It's for your own good, Adora. I'm sorry." She apologized, just as she saw the bulb around the shackles finally light up. "It's ready!"

"Activating the machine in three... two... one... annnnnd...!" With a cheeky grin, Entrapta pressed the one button she needed let the show begin.

* _click_ *

* _BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT-!_ *

"NNNNNGGGGGHHHH! AAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHH!" Adora cried out in pain. All around her, the energies and light that flowed from the machine nearly doubled in amount as electricity coursed through the machine at an incredible pace.

That was another thing that didn't make any sense to Scorpia. If Adora used the machine regularly as she was supposed to, the machine wouldn't be overcharged as it was now. The electricity and power that ran through it was only as great as the amount that was needed to restore Adora's being. If she used the machine on a daily basis, she wouldn't feel anything more than a meager shock one would get if they zapped somebody with static electricity at the touch of a finger, and that's if she felt anything at all while empowered. But if she waited too long like she clearly did now, there was no telling how severe the shock would feel to her.

It hurt Scorpia on the inside as much as it clearly hurt Adoar on the outside... and inside. The only solace she obtained out of all of this was the sight of her friend slowly returning to normal as she screamed through her teeth, watching as the black hair recede back to their natural shade of blonde, and the black veins disappearing from her skin. In addition, the further she returned to normal, the less pain she felt overall, as proven by the sound of the screams dying down over the last several seconds.

At the same time, Adora struggled. It wasn't just the pain she was feeling or the flux of emotions that she felt whenever she was drawing energy from the machine that bothered her. It was  **that**. The sound. The voices. Every time she used this thing, at least once, she heard the voices screaming in her mind, and it terrified her.

**_They will betray your innocence._ **

She couldn't recognize the voice. It was unlike anything she had ever heard from in her life. It always sounded like it was shouting, whispering, silent, and echoing, all at the same time. She couldn't tell if it was male, she couldn't tell if it was female, she could barely tell if the voice as even humanoid or sounded more robotic in tone. All she knew was that it shouted at her at least once, clearly, every time she used this machine.

And every time it did, it became more frightening and threatening.

Eventually, the machine finally died down as Adora was completely back to normal, the wires and bulbs connecting to the machine dimming until the energies that once filled them were diminished. Adora could be seen slouching to her knees as she began to breathe normally again, breathing heavily as the air returned to her lungs. With the procedure finally over, the shackles released her wrists on their own, freeing the commander from her temporary bonds as she collapsed to her knees.

"Huff... Huff..." She panted as Entrapta typed briefly into the computer, looking over the results of the data from the recent restoration. "Thanks... thanks g-AHHH!"

* _crunch!_ *

"Adora!" In no time at all, the Force Captain closed her eyes as she threw her claws around Adora, lifting her off her feet and pinning her arms to her side. Scorpia cried out as she squeezed the renewed life out of her dear friend, overjoyed that her seemingly-dying friend was filled with life again, unaware that the same life was starting to fade from Adora's person as her face started to turn blue. "Oh, Adora, I was so worried about you!"

"Ack!... elp... e..." She squeaked, the color around her face darkening to a shade of violet as her eyes bugged out.

"Oh, I know, buddy! I'm here to help you!" Scorpia replied, squeezing tighter as she thought of all the horrible things that could've happened to her dear friend.

"Uhh... Scorpia?" Entrapta spoke up, pointing to the friend in question. "I'm not a hundred-percent sure she's supposed to be doing that, buuuuut..." Curious at the comment, Scorpia opened her eyes again, nearly jumping in fear as she saw the purple-colored face of her dying friend.

"Oh my gosh, I killed Adora!" She cried out, dropping her to the ground. The instant she was on the line between panicking and breaking down into tears at the prospect of killing her friend, reality returned to her as she saw Adora gasping for breath, alive, albeit, not well.

"HUUUUFF! Huff... huff..." Adora exhaled loudly, now feeling the life return to her. "I'm... huff... I'm fine..." Scorpia sighed before frowning a little. She was overjoyed that her friend was finally feeling alright, but it didn't get rid of the pressing matter of the issue.

"Adora, don't scare us like that." Scorpia said, squatting in front of her as she rested a claw on her left shoulder. "You had us really worried, you know?"

"I... I'm sorry, Scorpia, I just..." Adora frowned as she lowered her head, curling her knees against her as she hugged her legs. "...I just... I never feel right when I draw in all that power. Something... Something feels off every time I take the Black Garnet's energy."

"And once again, I'd like to remind you you're not technically taking the Black Garnet's energy." Entrapta corrected as she turned the monitor near her to face the two. On the screen, it displayed several different images of an outline of Adora, the Black Garnet, and two arrows between them with an arrow at the bottom pointing from Adora to the runestone, and an arrow above it doing the exact opposite. "You're filtering the energy, remember?"

"How's that any different from what Shadow Weaver used to do with the Black Garnet?" Scorpia asked curiously, still unable to understand for the third time.

"Because when Shadow Weaver was harnessing its power, presumably, she was taking all the energy for herself and giving the Black Garnet nothing in return, forcing it to recharge its own power." Typing away on the module for a few seconds, they watched as the display changed from its previous images to one of the shackles and devices connected by the wires. "After the Battle of Bright Moon, Adora somehow harnessed the headband's powers, and she's in a constant state of the Black Garnet's energies now."

"But why does she keep getting sick if she's constantly empowered by the garnet's energy?"

"i'm still working on that detail," she commented, tapping the pen in her hair against her chin as she analyzed the charts, "but from what I can gather from Adora's brainwaves, her consciousness and subconsciousness seem to be conflicting with each other constantly, and the ensuing struggle is making your body sick."

"My subconscious?" Adora asked. These were the first recordings Adora's heard back from Catra ever since she became sick. She had no idea what was causing all of it, and it finally looked like she was getting some answers! "So... the voices I keep hearing in my head...?"

"I still need to analyze that, but from what I can tell, your amygdala is on overload."

"I didn't know Adora was gaining weight?" Scorpia remarked, earning a brief blush against Adora's face.

"I-I'm not gaining weight!"

"Noooo, the amygdala." Entrapta corrected, displaying the computer screen depicting a rough outline of Adora's head. "It's the part of her brain that deals with self-preservation. You know, by saying what's dangerous and what's safe?"

With the click of a button, the others watched as the screen split into two sections, with the left half displaying a rough outline of Adora's head, the frontal lobe colored with a red smear nearly twice the size of her head, and the right half depicting Scorpia's head, with the red coloring the same size as her frontal lobe. "Look, as you can see here, the brainwaves your frontal lobe are giving off are significantly larger than they're supposed to be. Whereas yours is nearly doubled in size, Scorpia's brainwaves are coming off as normal... although come to think of it, I didn't get much from trying to read Scorpia's brainwaves at all."

"Well of course you didn't," Scorpia smiled back, "there's nothing wrong with my brain!"

"...Yeah, that must be it."

Adora rose to her feet as she walked over to the monitor, the feeling and energy finally returning to her after her intense pain. "So... the voices I've been hearing all this time... is just my subconscious trying to protect me?" She nearly flinched as the monitors flashed for an instant before turning off, the purple-haired scientist pushing them back into place.

"From what I can tell... yeah."

"And... that would mean my shadows are appearing because..."

"Because your body is trying to protect you." She confirmed, gathering all the research data and papers in a bundle. "With all the fighting your conscious and subconscious is doing, it's spreading the actual darkness through your body. That's why your blood is getting infected by the magic and your veins turn black. I'm not really sure what would happen if your veins turned completely black, but I'm pretty sure it won't kill you."

"It doesn't mean your fever won't." While she might not have been as enlightened as Entrapta, Scorpia did know enough about sickness to add to the conversation. "If you keep trying to space out your treatment, you're going to make yourself sick-"

"Or if I use too much of my powers." Adora mentioned, looking at her own two hands.

That was one of the few things she managed to discover personally over the last month. Ever since she was gifted with these powers since the headband's destruction, the one thing that seemed to be keeping these side effects from appearing in the first place, she's noticed that the more she used her powers, the faster the black veins spread across her body, and without her treatment, in this case basically harnessing the runestone's power, she became too weak to fight. It also seemed to flare up just briefly during extreme bouts of emotion, something she was working on controlling again.

In a strange way, she became a lot like the princesses she hated. She needed the runestone to stay healthy and strong, and without it, she became weaker. She would happily declare it as a case of dramatic irony if it wasn't for the fact she hated over half of the other princesses who were a part of the Rebellion.

"It just... scares me sometimes... Like something could happen if I ever gave in." The voices she heard ranged from all manner of things, like how she should be doing something her way, how she shouldn't be showing any signs of backing down to someone, or how she should display her power to instill fear instead of respect. The one thing the voice almost always wanted from her, when she could understand it clearly, was power.

More, and more, power.

She didn't know what that would completely entail. Did it want her to try harnessing the powers from the Black Garnet? Did it want her to acquire more sources of power like the Black Garnet? She couldn't tell. All she knew was that every time she used this machine, for just one line of dialogue, she could hear this voice each and every time.

Luckily, she was surrounded by friends that supported her, such as the one behind her who patted her shoulder with a comforting smile. "You don't have to fear anything as long as we're around, Adora. I promise." It was at the brief look to her welcoming allies that she grew a small smile. Throughout everything she's been through, all that's happened between her and Catra, these were the last two people in the world she could trust. They didn't show any signs of ill intent, and Scorpia was always there to provide moral support whenever she needed it. Touching her claw with her hand, she gave a light nod to her before returning to Entrapta.

"Are you any closer to finding a way to fix this?"

"Unfortunately..." Adora could just tell by the change in Entrapta's expression. She was about to say the three words no scientist should  **ever**  say in their life! "I don't know. Not yet, anyway. I am currently developing a temporary measure in case you're ever needed somewhere for an extended period of time, but it's still under development. Sorry."

"It's okay. Least the machine still works, right?" It's not like she could expect Entrapta to fix all her problems at once as long as she was working for the Horde.

"But, I might have  _something_  to show you that might excite you! Something to make our droids a lot more fuuuuun~!" That was the one thing Entrapta cherished about Adora. Whenever it came to robots, weapons, anything that could be used to decimate an entire army with in a matter of minutes, it always brought a smile to the commander's face. She had just as much of an appreciation for the schematics and uses behind droids almost as much as she did, especially when they involved heavy firepower.

"Show me."

...

...

With a small blue shine of the floor, the entrance to the Beacon activated as the floor lowered from the underground tunnel. From it, an exhausted Catra could be seen stretching her arms out with the same irritated scowl that's haunted her for the last month. No matter what moments of fun she's had during the last month, she always came back to the same look of unease and discomfort as the days events replayed in her mind.

All the training, all the fighting, all the rebelling, and for what? The same thing every day. With each day that passed, there was no telling what sort of things the Horde were doing while she wasted time just trying to turn into She-Ra. Forget the fact she hasn't even mastered transforming her sword into whatever she wanted, she couldn't even turn into She-Ra when she wanted to! How was she supposed to help anyone if she couldn't turn into the person they needed to be.

These thoughts always caused her to squeeze her head when she vacated the Beacon, groaning in silence as she came to terms with what her life had turned into. A routine of fighting, training, angering, and annoying became everyday life for her, and chances were, she was going to experience a new emotion of irritation before the week was over.

* _neeeeeigh_ *

"Ah-!" Oh, right, she almost forgot. The Horse. As much as she hated to say it, even when he nuzzled her against her wishes, Swift Wind was one of the closest thing to get any semblance of a smile out of her. She couldn't really tell why, either. Maybe she caught a sense of his emotions as the two had a bond through the sword, maybe it was something else. All she knew was that she felt a little more comfortable with him than anyone else around here lately.

With a nod to each other, she hopped on her noble steed as he took off to the air, soaring at great speeds through the beautiful day as they made their way over to the still-ruined castle. To think a month ago the castle was in complete ruins. At least a fifth of the outside walls were completely destroyed, the pillar that supported the Moonstone Chamber was nearly blasted apart, and the ravine was littered with the remains of broken droids and tank parts thrown across everywhere.

Now, you would barely recognize the place compared to how it once was. There were still some repairs that were needed to be done, but for the most part, the castle had been restored to its former glory. Most of the necessary walls were rebuilt, with a few small bits here and there that needed touching up, as indicated by the scaffoldings set up along the castle, as well as some blast marks that were noticeable near the waterfall behind the castle. Then everything would finally look good as new!

Even if it didn't feel like it.

...

"You should've seen it. With the Moonstone super-charged, I've been so much more powerful!" Glimmer stated, flexing her arms with pride. It was then that the three friends, Bow, Glimmer, and Catra, found each other again as they walked down the hallways. Through the small trek to the meeting room, Glimmer was still filled with excitement, Bow's expression showed signs of concern and deep thought, and Catra was still focusing on her sword until she heard Glimmer's tone perk up. "I must've taken out, like, at least five bots!"

"Hah, talk to me when you reach nine in five minutes, THEN we'll talk." Catra challenged, smirking.

"Five bots, nine bots, it never ends with the bots!" Bow stammered, pausing in the hallway as the two turned back.

"So? What are we supposed to do? Not fight?"

"The heck we aren'!" Catra grumbled, taking a step forward. "They're just going to keep coming if we ignore them! I say we hit them as soon as they show up, whenever they show up!"

"Exactly!" This was one of those few occasions where Glimmer was more than eager to agree with Catra. "The Horde is going to keep taking ground until the Whispering Woods regrows."

"I know, but how long can we keep this up?" It was the one issue Bow seemed to notice before all the others. No matter how many droids they kept fighting back, there were always more to take their place. "Did you learn anything from Light Hope?"

"Uhh... Not really, just the same garbage as before. You know, like 'I should always be focused', or, 'I have to protect Etheria', and all that... Eh heh..." Either Catra was getting worse at lying or the other two were getting better at telling when she was lying. This is pretty much how Catra's been for nearly the last month, with her always trying to pass off any questions about questions regarding her or Light Hope. They were more than aware she was hiding something from them, they just didn't know what.

"Catra," Glimmer spoke up with a pleading look, "what's going on with you lately?"

"N-Nothing! I'm just... a little stressed from all the training, that's all."

"Yeah, but you've been acting a bit stressed for the last few weeks now." Bow pointed out.

"Well what do you expect? I've been training everyday!" She snarled. "On top of fighting the droids with you guys, I'm working on mastering my powers with Light Hope. Just cut me some slack around here, jeez."

"We get that, Catra, and we're really trying to help you." It made Glimmer wonder if they were starting to lose some form of connection with her, given her recent shifts in mood lately. "We know you've been under a lot of stress since the Battle of Bright Moon. We even tried redecorating your room a little bit to make you feel more at home, but you still seem to be getting angrier."

"And why wouldn't I be? It's been feeling like the same day around here since the battle. I'm always getting called by Light Hope at random times of the day for more training and the droids keep invading our forests. It's just felt like one long day for the last month-"

"And it's making you think yesterday is when you had your big battle against Adora. We heard you before." The Princess of Bright Moon interrupted, shaking her head. "And we also know that's not the only thing bothering you, Catra. What else is going on with you?"

"Nothing, all right? Why do you need to know everything that's wrong with me?"

"So we can figure out how to help you." Bow chipped in. "It doesn't help anybody by keeping secrets to yourself like this, Catra. The sooner you tell us what's wrong, the sooner we can help you."

"You guys..."

How was she supposed to make them understand? This wasn't an issue with the amount of stress that's been tacking on lately or the fact she was still trying to be the best She-Ra she could be. The problem was she couldn't turn  **into**  the She-Ra she needed to be, and without She-Ra's full power, there wouldn't be any use for her if she couldn't help the Rebellion.

And she knew for a fact if she did tell them the truth, things would only get worse. They probably wouldn't let her assist them on their missions for her own safety, they wouldn't be able to use She-Ra's incredible magic to save themselves, and they wouldn't have the supreme strength that She-Ra displayed at the Battle of Bright Moon. This was beyond the issue of being unable to use She-Ra's incredible strength and more of an issue of Catra being needed, much less wanted, at all.

They wouldn't want someone who would put their friends or allies at risk, they wouldn't want someone who couldn't give it everything she had. It bothered her just as much as them that she couldn't explain what was going on, and that went on to the pile of Catra's neverending irritations.

"I... I just need time to sort out some personal issues, okay? I swear things will be back to normal soon."

The two dejected friends looked to each other in their brief moment, sighing in their minds at Catra's brash behavior. She was definitely back to being the same old Catra as before, albeit a little kinder than she's usually been. "Well then... Can you tell us how things have been with your training? Have you gotten any better at transforming your weapon into things?"

Finally, something to change the subject! "Of course I have!" She grinned. Raising her sword in front of them, the two watched as it began to glow with a bright light, transforming before their very eyes. "Behold! A... bowl of... some sort?" Ok... She was hoping for something along the lines of a katana or her favorite giant flail again, but it was better than nothing... presumably.

The strange bowl looked more like a pot of some kind, with the similarly matching colors of bright gold like most of her other weapons maintained, along with the encrusted blue jewel adorned in the middle of the beautiful work of art. Strangely, the part that threw Catra off were the round-shaped handles on the side of it, looking nothing like the pots and pans she's seen in the kitchen during her time in Bright Moon.

"...Pfffft! Hahahahaha!" Without warning, her two friends burst into laughter at the sight, unable to help themselves at the spectacle Catra's displayed.

"W-What?"

"Catra," Glimmer wiped her eyes as she felt a tear forming from the laughter, "that's a chamber pot!"

"Egh-!" If Catra wasn't worried about angering the sword or breaking it, she would've happily dropped it out of disgust. She's heard of the primitive toilets the people used in the past, and has never been so thankful to live in an era where indoor plumbing existed.

"Why didn't you transform it into a dagger or something?" Princess Frosta asked, appearing out of thin air.

"Wah!" The princess with pink hair jumped, startled by her sudden appearance.

"You should transform it into a dagger." Her eyes lit up as she smiled brightly at the Princess of Bright Moon. "Hey Glimmer, did you see me take out that robot with my ice daggers?"

"When did you get here?"

"She's been following us the entire time." Catra replied in her place, her keen sense of smell picking up the girl's scent several minutes ago. "Didn't you notice?"

"And why is Catra holding a chamber pot?" Frosta asked curiously.

"Mmmh I wasn't trying to make a chamber pot, I was going for a weapon!" She blushed.

"Hah hah, yeah, but at least now we don't have to worry about bathroom breaks in the middle of a fight, right?" Bow's attempt at humor was met with a twitching scowl on Catra's face as she turned to him. "Heh heh... heh... ehh... you're not laughing."

* _clunk!_ *

"I am now." Catra clapped her hands in satisfaction after shoving the pot over Bow's head, covering it completely. The poor archer struggled as he tried to pry the golden pot from his head to no avail.

"Catra, can you take it off of him, please?" Glimmer asked as she turned back to the younger princess. "Anyway, we have to go. We have an important meeting to attend."

"The war council?" Frosta chirped with excitement. "I'm heading there, too. Better hurry, you're going to be late!" She winked, taking off down the halls with every intention to beat the princess down there in their glorious race! The very one Glimmer wasn't even aware of, and made her brow twitch all the same.

"...Do we have a new addition to the Best Friend Squad?" Bow asked in an echoey tone as the pot was still stuck over his face. No amount of discomfort could ever derail him from the possibility of new members.

"Shut up. Let's go. And Catra? The pot?" She reminded.

"Yeah, yeah, I heard you." Catra mumbled, taking a few seconds of pulling from Bow's head until she finally pried the pot right off of him. "Besides, I'm going to need to use this later."

"Ewww. Gross."

"I MEANT TO FIGHT WITH!"

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**A/N: Feels like a good stopping point there with the length I have going. Like I said, writing might be a little iffy with what's going on lately, so hopefully its not too distracting.** _

_**With that said, hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review, and hope to see you soon!** _


	57. Season 2 Episode 1: The Frozen Forest Part 3

_**A/N: Hey guys, monokub here! Bit of a shorter chapter today to make way for a grand fight we got going next chapter (and since it's been awhile since my last posting, know you guys wanna know where I'm at XP). Like I said, now school's over, updates will be a little less frequent, but i'll do everything in my power to keep it all in the same writing quality you all know and love! So hopefully, you guys will still be entertained by some shenanigans down below ^^** _

_**With that said, enjoy!** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

The War Room was one of the first places renovated after the Battle of Bright Moon, an event that was still as fresh in their minds as much as everything else. As Glimmer, Bow, and Catra made their way into the meeting room, they could see that most of the gang were already present, including Glimmer's mother, Queen Angella, Swift Wind, standing between Princess Spinnerella and Netossa, the Captain of the Guard, to the right of the Queen, and Princess Mermista of Salineas to the right of her.

It always brought a warm smile to Angella's person whenever she saw the amount of people filling the empty chairs. It reminded her of the better times of her life when the Rebellion was whole, where the kings and queens of the neighboring kingdoms were all working together before the great fall of the first Alliance. Now, the honor of restoring and maintaining that alliance befell her own daughter, Princess Glimmer, and she couldn't be more proud.

Now if half of those present could act a little less like children, including those who actually were children, that'd be a better step in the right direction...

"Sorry, heh, I think you're in my chair." Perfuma said to the lazing Mermista who casually smirked back as she leaned against the chair's arms.

"Yeah, don't you find it helpful to shift perspectives sometimes?" She teased. Maintaining the most composure she could, Perfuma stared at her briefly as her right brow twitched, silently squeezing her fist as she brushed off the annoyance and took a seat right next to her.

"Aunt Casta! You made it!" Glimmer's never been so happy to see her Aunt before, being the first time she's seen her in the Alliance since the original.

"I wouldn't miss it, dearest." She replied, smiling. If there was anyone in this room she was more than happy to see, it was the bright, smiling, face of her dear niece. "The first war room of the new alliance. How exciting."

"It's a shame you couldn't be there at the battle when the alliance was formed." The Queen commented, sounding miffed while maintaining her composure.

"How often do those two bicker?" Catra whispered over to Glimmer as the princess and Bow took their seats.

"Honestly, this is the furthest thing from bickering I've seen." She whispered back. "I'm surprised my mother even said anything to her so far."

"Huh..." If it wasn't for the fact Catra had more respect for the Queen now, especially after getting on her good side, she would've been more than eager to spice up the tension between the two. Not to mention they might have been without a war room if those two ever got into a fight over their past. With that in mind, Catra took her seat right next to the vacant chair on Glimmer's left-

* _schlip_ *

* _thud_ *

"Ow!" Catra yelped, rubbing her backside as Glimmer looked back. Much to her surprise, and to the painful posterior of Catra's bottom, the magicat ended up slipping right out of the chair from the moment she touched it, falling right out of her seat where her forehead collided with the table briefly and her butt was greeted with a harsh landing on the hard ground. Turning back to the traitorous chair in anger, she was met with the sight of a completely frozen seat covered in ice. "What the heck?"

"I call dibs sitting next to Glimmer!" A voice called out, cheerfully hopping their way over to the seat as they stole Catra's spot. Much to Catra's irritation, the supposed culprit of this little icicle trick was none other than the youngest member of the Princess Alliance, Princess Frosta of the Kingdom of Snows, who gave her back a cheeky grin as Catra as she rose back to her feet, still rubbing her painful butt.

"Grrrrr, get out of my spot!"

"Sorry, I already called dibs." Frosta sneered back.

"There's no calling dibs at the meeting table! Besides, I always sit next to Glimmer!"

"Well, you should've called dibs if you wanted to sit next to her beforehand."

"I already said there's no dibs!"

"Well then you should've called dibs on there being no dibs!"

"What part of no dibs don't you understand?!"

As the two continued to argue back and forth, Glimmer leaned against her own chair with a look of boredom and unamusement. Normally, anyone would be thrilled at the prospect of having two good friends fighting over them. After all, not only did it say how much they meant to the person in question when they were willing to fight for them, it also showed how far they were willing to go to do something for that person. In this case, having the  _privilege_  of sitting next to the leader of the Princess Alliance.

In this case, however, there was little to find enjoyable out of this. Here, she was being fought over by, when it came down to it, a young child with the manners of Catra, and a Catra with the manners of a young child. A kid and a cat. Probably the most embarrassing duo to be fought over.

"Would you guys stop fighting already?" Glimmer finally said, breaking up one of the many banters the two were having. "Catra, just sit in the next chair over, the meeting won't take that long."

"Mmmmhhh..." There was no greater shame or annoyance to the magicat than the sight of the shorter, younger, and annoying princess of Snows having her way, especially when she stuck her tongue out at the older girl like she always did when she had her way. Sadly, she knew she couldn't afford to make a scene and risk losing the Princess Alliance, again, because of her anger like last time. She refused to let her have the last laugh, though. "Least my butts not going to be wet when the meeting's over."

"Huh?" At the detail, Frosta noticed a small wetness along her backside, the cooled ice slowly melting as she set against it. As Catra took a seat a chair away from her. Refusing to let the magicat get the upperhand in their little bout, Frosta casually grinned back as she clicked her fingers, a small, audible, crackling noise filling the area around them as she refroze the ice, ensuring it wouldn't melt during the meeting. "Hah!"

"..." Catra said nothing to the girl as smirked back, bringing confusion to Frosta's being as she blinked to her. What few seconds she was about to spend asking her for details were instantly dashed away as she realized something. Along with a dreaded chill now creeping up her spine, she just realized her one mistake, the same one Catra was proud of herself for.

She froze her butt to the chair now, and it was freezing.

"Gheheheheh!" She shivered as her teeth chattered, her nerves tingling with the goosebumps spreading across her body. Ever since Frosta officially joined the Princess Alliance, this had been the same behavior displayed by the two on a daily basis. Frosta would pick on Catra for picking on her, she would fight over being able to hang out with Glimmer or being closer to her, and an endless prank war would erupt between the two until a meeting was called to order, or if they were in the middle of a mission.

If Glimmer facepalmed as much as she did now because of the two on a daily basis, she was sure she was going to have a handprint tattooed across her face. As for Catra, she felt an overwhelming sense of pride after pranking someone half her size again, leaning back in her chair with her feet on the table as always.

"Alright, everyone settle down." The Queen requested, wanting to get the meeting underway before anything else delayed them. "Swift Wind, what news do you bring from the south and the west?"

"The Horde has gained more territory in the west." Swift Wind informed as Spinnerella activated the small projection in front of him. Lighting up, the others watched as a holographic pink projection of the territory rose above the table, displaying which areas were under Rebellion control and which areas were Horde. "But with the help of Netossa and Spinnerella, our forces have manged to re-capture Thaymor. Again." With the announcement, Spinnerella and Netossa fistbumped each other in congratulations for themselves.

"Good." Catra mumbled, resting her eyes as she leaned back. "Bout time we got something back from them."

"I bet I know a different reason you're happy about it,  _Catwa_ ~" Just from the sound of her voice, Catra instantly began to blush as an irritated vein appeared on her forehead, knowing who Glimmer was trying to mimic. "I'm sure a certain  ** _someone_**  will be happy to thank you later."

"W-Would you knock it off!" Catra grumbled, turning away as the blush deepened. "I-I just owe her for being the first friendly person I've met outside the Horde. That's all."

"Hmhmhm..." No matter how selfish or self-centered Catra always displayed herself as, it always warmed Glimmer's heart to know she still cared for other people, like a certain four-and-a-half-year-old girl named Kim.

"Also," Swift Wind continued, "why don't I get a chair? If everyone else wants a chair, I want a chair."

"A-A chair. Of course. I'll see to it." The Queen replied, a little unsure of how someone would pull that off. "Commander Glimmer, how goes the situation in the Whispering Woods?"

"I'm happy to report we are handling the robots, and protecting the woods while it regrows, which it is doing... very... slowly..." Even though it might not have been intentional, Catra gave a soft frown to this as she lowered her head. She couldn't tell if She-Ra had any chance of healing the forest with her powers, which was another things to add to the unending list off irritations festering in her mind.

"Maybe it's time we stop fighting," Perfuma interrupted as she stood, "and start healing. My powers aren't strong enough to regrow the entire woods on my own, but when we princesses worked together in harmony at the Battle of Bright Moon, our powers grew. We should try to recapture that energy!" Without warning, Mermista flinched as she found a hand suddenly clenched around her wrist as she leaned against the table. "Maybe we should hold hands, and think healing thoughts. Hummmmm..."

"Yeah, if thinking it was all that was needed, I would've done it a long while ago." Catra remarked, lowering her feet as she leaned against the table, too. "And even if we did, that wouldn't stop the droids from coming back later on."

"If I may, Your Majesty." Bow spoke up as he stood. "We can't go on like this. We're defeating the bots, but more keep coming. While we're using our resources to hold our borders, the Horde hasn't had to deploy a single soldier. "

"Well what did you expect?"" Just the thought of it irritated Catra as she crossed her arms. "Adora doesn't make rash decisions, she plans things out in every detail, including who or what to send and where. As long as the droids exist, she's going to keep using them to prevent risking their own soldiers,"

"I've only been able to recover pieces, seeing as we have  _never not completely destroyed_  one of these things..." He hinted, glancing to the right.

_Well EXCUSE me for helping..._

"But if we can capture a whole bot, I might be able to program a kill switch. We could wipe them all out without draining our forces." The Queen and Head Sorceress of Mystacor smiled at the prospect as the others looked amongst themselves with excitement, save for the usual moody individual of the group. If they could develop a usable kill switch to disable the robots, it wouldn't just mean stopping the droids here and now, but throughout all of Etheria! No longer would they waste precious resources trying to fight against a never-ending army of droids, ones who felt no emotion for what they destroyed.

In addition, it also paved way to a possible future assault on the Horde itself. With the droids out of their commission, that would severely cut their army's size down by half, rendering them at half strength against whatever forces the Rebellion would have at the time to throw at them.

It was almost perfect in every way!

"An excellent idea, Bow!" The Queen nodded in approval as Bow smiled. "This could turn the tide for us. Glimmer take your patrol out, and capture a bot for Bow to study and carry out his plan."

Nodding, Glimmer rose from her seat as she turned to leave. She didn't know what warmed her heart more these days when it came to the meetings; the fact her and her mother were on better terms as of late, the way her mother spoke so authoritative when addressing Glimmer as a commander, assuring her of her trust in her daughter, or the numerous faces of allies that now filled the table.

To think that within a few months since Catra's defection, they would have gained such an ample amount of allies and friends. With Perfuma's kingdom's power, they had a control over the natural forests, making the woods even more defensible with her help. With Mermista, their naval fleets were in tiptop shape, allowing them to combat any watery threats the Horde had to throw at them. And with the amount of resources and soldiers at Princess Frosta's disposal, there was no end to the advancements their troops and weaponry could get to.

It was just a refreshing detail to go about everyday, to see almost-everyone's bright and shining faces as they sat alongside each other. Glimmer could tell, deep within her heart, that as long as they stood united, like the Princess Alliance was supposed to, that they could overcome any obstacle or challenge looming over their future.

Even if she did have to put up with one or two minor details.

"Commander!" Frosta perked up, having removed herself from the chair finally. She was the first thing Glimmer saw upon turning around. "I have some ideas to improve our efficiency. First, we should all have codenames."

"You already have codenames." Catra snarled, gesturing across the room. "That's Petals, that's Misty, Bowey, Pinky, and Brat." She declared Frosta's nickname with minor glee, enjoying as the shorter princess fumed a little.

"Mmmh! I refuse to be called 'Brat'. I will use the codename, Frostbite!"

"Wait a second, I thought I was Flowey?" Perfuma asked curiously.

"And why do I have to be just  _Misty_?" The Princess of Salineas wondered. "Why can't it be something cooler, like 'Razorshark' or 'The Swimster'?"

"Because too many people around here have a Y at the end of their nickname, so-"

"Well wait, then why is she the only one who gets to have a new nickname?" Mermista complained, standing from her seat.

"Oh! I'm sorry Mermista," Perfuma apologized, "would you like to be Petals? I'll gladly take the name Razorshark then!"

"The heck you will! I want to be Razorshark!"

"Be whoever you want, I'm calling dibs on Frostbite!" Frosta announced before pointing back to Glimmer. "And she'll be Sparklebomb."

"Sparkle-what?"

"Hey, you already stole my seat, you're not taking away my nickname!" Catra growled. Aside from the fact this brat wasn't even a part of the Rebellion for the last month, there was no way she was going to let someone else say how things were run around here. Like who had what sort of nickname!

"Oh yeah? Why don't you stand up and say it to my face?"

"Gladly!" Catra couldn't wait to let this girl have it as she pushed herself firmly from the table. "You're not- Ahhhhh!"

* _schlip_ *

* ** _THUD!_** *

"Owww!"

"Ahahahahaha!" Frosta almost cried in laughter as she held her arms around her sides. In one swift motion, from the very moment the cat girl stood from the table, her entire face filled with surprise before she ended up sliding right under the table, landing squarely on the back of her head with a resounding thud. If it wasn't for the bulk of hair or the fact Catra was used to a daily pounding through her fighting and training, she would've been in serious pain right now.

At least, assuming she wasn't in tremendous pain already. Despite the rather soft blow to her head, it was still enough to daze her for a few seconds as she rubbed the back of her head where she landed. With the temporary loss of balance returning to her by the second, she rolled over to her side as she examined what it was that caused the slippery slide, and wasn't the least bit amused by what she found.

"You little BRAT!" Catra took off like the wild animal she represented as bolted for the younger girl, Frosta laughing all the way as she chased her around the room. Apparently, not that it surprised anyone, Frosta had  _accidentally_  planted a solid sheet of ice right under Catra's feet as soon as she managed to free herself from the frozen throne. As payback for the little prank, she decided to get back at the same feline by encasing the floor under her with ice, then allowing Catra's own stubbornness to distract her from what was right below her.

The Queen watched the young She-Ra chase the younger girl around the room, intending to give her whatever punishment she deemed necessary for the, admittedly devious, prank. Bow was the only one to make the unfortunate decision in trying to help break up the fight, resulting in the younger princess expertly sliding under his legs as she continued running, and the older princess running on all fours after her like an animal, crashing through Bow as he was tossed against the wall.

From here, the Queen could see the predicament everyone was in. Catra was currently chasing after a young Frosta who continued to taunt her, Mermista was arguing with Perfuma about who got to have what cool nickname, Bow was passed out along the wall, Glimmer was sitting atop the table trying to stand clear out of the way as the two continued to chase around the room, and Spinnerella and Netossa, despite being the more mature adults of the room, were childishly placing bets between the two about whether Frosta would get away or if Catra would catch up to her in time.

The Queen sighed as she leaned against her chair.

"At least we managed to finish the meeting for once..."

...

...

"With the Princess Alliance preoccupied with our bots, we've been able to gain significant ground." Adora informed Hordak as Scorpia held up a map depicting the locations of their various victories.

This was almost a dream come true to the Horde Captain,in a way. She rose through the ranks of a mere cadet, showed her might and her worth for the rest of the Horde, and even earned Lord Hordak's gratitude in recognition of her accomplishments, earning her the title of second-in-command within Hordak's army. Adora never thought for once in her life that she would become the second-in-command, much less this early, and be working right alongside Lord Hordak directly!

But even as they spoke, there was still the minor nuisance that was irritating the back of her mind. In her dream world of all this, there was one person missing from the equation, somebody she loathed most of all, who disgusted her with her greed and selfishness, and her total lack of care or concern for the friend she left behind.

That person's name, was Catra.

In this dreamlike setting, she was supposed to be standing at her side too, working together to be the proudest members of the Horde they could possibly be. She was going to show everyone in the Horde how wrong they were about her to call her a freak, to prove to them that Catra was nowhere near as bad as everyone once said. Now those same thoughts were reversed, as Adora held nothing but extreme contempt for the young magicat, and would ensure she did everything within her power to see her brought to justice.

"You have not disappointed me, Force Captain." Lord Hordak replied calmly, the lack of emotion in his tone doing nothing to hamper Adora's satisfaction at the statement. "Clearly, I was wise to promote you"

"You honor me too much, Lord Hordak." Adora thanked, giving a small bow and a nod. It felt strange to be praised this much by her peers and fellow soldiers. To have so much respect around the Horde, even from the people she knew since growing up with, was a rather strange yet satisfying feeling in the back of her mind.

All that gusto and joy quickly dashed away as she lifted her head again, trying her best to refrain from making a noticeable reaction as she saw Entrapta's hair twirling about from behind the chair. "Hmmm hmhm hmhm hmhm hmmmm~" She hummed to herself as she examined the tools and screws she found scattered about the Throne Room.

"Uhhh y-yes!" Adora continued with a semi-worrying tone. "We've made remarkable progress. And thanks to the resources provided by the Kingdom of Snows, we've managed to assemble more than enough droids and equipment to last us the next year alone."

"Excellent. I must admit, I had my doubts about your... methods, when Shadow Weaver first told me about your plan to recruit her. Yet, for one of the few times in my life, I will admit I was proud to be proven wrong about them."

"Thank you, sir."

"But what of the princess herself?" He questioned, rubbing his chin in curiosity. "Can she be trusted enough to carry out her missions?"

"Yes, Lord Hordak. I would not have even considered it if I didn't think she was trustworthy. For the last month she's been aiding us with the resources like I said, and she's helped us keep tabs on the princesses and what they're doing. She checks in with us almost everyday and tells us what's going on."

"Not that we need it anymore." Entrapta added, looking over the throne with excitement in her eyes. "Thanks to the resources Frosta provided plus the technology Adora managed to secure from the FIrst Ones' ruins, I managed to create one of my greatest creations to date!" Before Hordak had the chance to turn around, the purple-haired scientist disappeared from above him, reappearing in front of Adora with stars in her eyes. "Can I show it now? Pleeease? Please! Please! Pleeeeeease!"

"Alright, alright, you can show him."

"Heeeeeh!" Oh boy, she could hardly wait! Without giving any chance for an interruption, the scientist thrust two finger-shaped molds of hair into her mouth, giving off the loudest whistle she possibly could.

* ** _TWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET~!_** *

Hordak waited with anticipation as he awaited the miraculous invention of hers. To think that within just one month, this one princess could increase the firepower of his entire army three times as much. There was a fascinating development through the course of her interactions with the fellow scientists and engineers of the Horde. Sometimes he wondered if this war would have been won by now if he bothered to recruit the young scientist from the very beginning.

Then again, it's her random bouts of curiosity and excitement that he found most annoying. From being constantly distracted to disregarding any protocols or rules around this place, she was a handful in and of herself to deal with. There were numerous reports throughout the Fright Zone he had to listen to, with multiple complaints about random tools or machinery being found torn apart and reused for whatever the scientist had in mind for them.

If it wasn't for her contributions to the Horde, Hordak would've casted her out from day one since joining the Horde.

Following the small rumbling of the ground that was starting to pick up, Hordak rose from his seat as he made his way over to the edge of the stairs where Adora, Scorpia, and Entrapta had gathered. Through the darkness, he saw a round shape making its way towards them, rolling about until it was out in the clearing where the lights could reveal it.

There wasn't much to look at as the figure stopped in the center of the large clearing. All there was to see was a large round metallic ball made of silver, without a line or dent noticeable around the entire creation. From afar, he could see a small glint of light reflecting off the metallic creation, being spotless from top to bottom as it was presented to the leader of the Horde Army. Whatever this scientist decided to waste his time with, he knew it was going to be important, and interesting.

For her sake, it better be.

"Ladies and gents, I present to you my greatest of creations!" Entrapta introduced proudly.

"A... sphere?" Hordak questioned, wondering what he was supposed to be impressed with.

"Not  _ **just**  _a sphere! The Ultimate sphere!" Turning back towards the bottom of the stairs, Entrapta clapped her hands loudly as she signaled for the others to reveal themselves from the same shroud of shadows. Down below, the others saw three regular combat droids rolling into the same opened area, taking position evenly between the larger sphere as they formed a triangle. All of them had their attention and targeting focused on the lone droid between the three of them.

"And this... sphere... is supposed to do what, exactly?"

"Oooooh! Just watch!" Entrapta squealed, pressing her knuckles against her chin as she tried to contain her excitement.

From below, the three droids began to charge their canons simultaneously on the one bot, the very one who had yet to do anything that was worth getting worked up about. The most it did upon hearing the charging robots was transform.

From its flawless carapace, the bot began to unravel itself, taking a more humanoid shape that stretched a good ten feet tall in height. Its appendages were all covered in parts of its original sphere, while the inner bot itself was rather scrawny in comparison. Its limbs were barely a foot thick as it towered over the other droids, staring off into space as it continued to face the stairs with its single monocular-like head, giving off a purple glow where its eye was.

The longer Hordak stared at it, the less amused he was by its appearance. It didn't look any different than a simple robot, save for the shining metallic silver shield-like carapace that protected its limbs, and allowed it to morph back into the same sphere it once was. Standing there, out in the open, it turned its head towards the surrounding droids, the sound of gears shifting filling the surroundings as it gazed at its combatants.

Then, with all three of them fully charged, they fired.

* **BOOM!** *

The entire droid was caught in a massive explosion that filled the lower-half of the staircase in smoke, coating the floors with a blackened soot where the droid once stood. Waiting a few seconds, the others saw the same droid now down on its back, apparently worn out from the three blasts that were supposed to impress Lord Hordak in some way.

"...That's it?" He scoffed.

"Was it supposed to do that?" Scorpia whispered, leaning over to Adora. The Force Captain gave her a small shush as she watched, a bit of anxiety building up in the back of her mind, praying to herself that Entrapta's work wasn't all for nothing.

"That's, the beginning." Entrapta corrected, holding up a braid of hair like a finger in front of him. Turning back to the downed droid, Hordak could see it twitching its fingers, stumbling about as it slowly worked on getting back to its hands and knees. "Let me ask you a question. What is the one thing none of the other droids have managed to do so far without proper input?" Glancing to the irritated leader, Entrapta decided to continue as she saw the minor twitch in his scowl. "Learn from their mistakes."

With another sound of gears following along, she continued, "So, using technology and resources I was generously provided with, I came up with the one robot that nobody has ever created, one that puts all over robots to shame as it does the one thing none of them could ever do." Grinning, she watched as the three droids prepared to fire their canons again, charging for a deadly blast that was sure to take out the newly created droid once and for all.

"It adapts."

Everything that followed after took the time span of five seconds. With a glow in its purple eye-like head, the robot quickly brought its arms to its chest as it began to morph the silver plate-like shieldings around into a refractive surface, bending and angling along its arms and backs just as the droids opened fire. Without missing a beat, the droid prepared itself as it angled both of its arms and its back into position so the protective carapace could take the hits directly. Instead of exploding on impact like it did before, the lasers were harmlessly bounced back at the attackers as they reflected off its silver surface, completely obliterating them.

As if that wasn't impressive enough, its attention was drawn to the sound of several more droids that were marching through the darkness, turning to face the oncoming threats headon. Looking to its arms again, Hordak almost flinched as the silver plates morphed once more, formling blade-like appendages that extended well beyond the robot's arms.

There was no sign of fear in the robot as it charged directly at the incoming droids who fired away at the monstrous creation, only to hit empty air as the robot dodged expertly out of the way. "My creation learns from every move or technique used against it. Using a complex algorithm, it then proceeds to list every possibility in any and all future attacks, allowing it to know what the enemy is going to do, with over a hundred and sixty-eight different ways they could do it!" With a grin, Entrapta felt the goosebumps spreading across her skin as the robot slid expertly away from the blasting droid and over to its side.

The other droid didn't even get the chance to turn around before the robotic droid sliced it cleanly in two, sparks going off as it split down the middle, then exploded. The robotic droid stood in the piling smoke that surrounded it as the second droid continued to fire, missing repeatedly as the advanced droid used the smoke as cover. Grabbing onto the broken remains of the droid, the bot charged towards the firing machine at full force, throwing two handfuls of wreckage as the droid blocked the incoming blasts and blocking its vision as the running droid ran past it.

The rounder droid was powerless to stop its would-be victim as it began to shake, feeling the droid's powerful grips on the side of its body as it lifted the attacker off its feet. "It uses everything in its surroundings to its advantage, and makes the most out of whatever it can find lying around. With enough strength to lift over a thousand pounds, its more than enough to match She-Ra's own power." She winced as she watched the beautiful creation break the former one, crushing it in its bare hands with ease, then casually tossing it to the ground where it kicked the broken droid away. "And that's not even the best part! The best part is-"

* _boooooooosh!_ *

Out of nowhere, the powerful droid shielded its body with its arms as the last remaining droid let loose a blaze of fire from its opened compartments that spread from the side, unleashing a powerful jet of flames that could melt most metal within seconds. While it wasn't enough to destroy the droid for good, it did appear to weaken the droid enough to the point where it dropped to one knee, shakily guarding itself with its silver plates.

There didn't seem to be any way for the droid to stop the other one from blasting at it, not with the powerful flames it jettisoned. If it lowered its stance or tried to approach without a proper plan, the intense fires would melt away at its inner body, the intense heat short circuiting anything still functioning within the mechanical creation, and leaving it powerless to stop the droid from melting every last bit of it.

But fortunately, that's where its greatest ability kicked it.

"It evolves!"

Right on queue, the systems within the droid began to adapt its entire body on a molecular level. Every inch of its metallic steel began to harden as an icy winds blew across the defenseless droids, turning a cool breeze into a frigid tundra as patches of cold and ice began to spread forth from across it. The fires blasting at the empowering droids were beginning to die down as the terrible freeze spread further and further from the droid, eventually allowing it to rise from the ground without protecting itself, watching as the weaker droid's flame continued to diminish.

All of the droids presently used were designed specifically by Entrapta, the princess wanting to make sure her great creation could put on the best performance it could for the person Adora had such high respect and esteem form. "Using the data crystal and technology Adora obtained from the First Ones' ruins, I've created a robot that can change its entire physiology to perfectly counter whatever the princesses have to throw at it. If they try to freeze it, it'll raise its body temperature tenfold. If they try to melt it, well... you see what its doing now, right?"

Hordak could never express his great interest in the girl's technology, not out in the open like this, yet Adora knew with all her heart that he was absolutely impressed! The way he watched with intrigue as the robot began walking over to the helpless fiery droid, the way the robot soon began to freeze into a hardened ice sculpture itself, and how it easily managed to shatter the entire droid with one fist, destroying the frozen sculpture into tiny little bits.

It was the ultimate creation, the likes of which have never been accomplished before! And it was all thanks to Entrapta!

_**You should be the one he praises. After all, you got the materials she needed to begin with.** _

"Ngh..." Adora nearly moaned as she felt a small pang on the left side of her head. There's that stupid voice of hers again, the one that, according to Entrapta, was part of some function of her brain being on overload. She could put up with it taunting her on the occasion, and the way it told her to be better than herself, to make everyone submit to her power out of concern for her own safety. She managed to ignore such thoughts and complications every time.

But why was her "self preservation" acting like she should be jealous of someone else?

Scorpia was the only one who noticed the small twitch in Adora's person, knowing it was another headache or something caused by her condition. She would never forgive Catra for doing whatever she did to make Adora turn out this way, and she was going to be more than satisfied to watch this thing defeat the Rebellion once and for all!

All eyes turned to the robotic humanoid as it pulled its massive fist out of the shattered remains of the previous droid. Finished with its task, the robot folded its arms and legs back into place as it covered itself up again, reforming into the perfect sphere it originally appeared to be. There was nothing about this display that didn't surprise Lord Hordak, or exceed his expectations.

"A fully integrated robot using only the finest resources we could muster." Entrapta said as she finished her demonstration. "It learns, adapts, and most of all, evolve, into whatever is needed to defeat its enemies. It can match all of the princesses powers combined, and is more than enough to take on She-Ra. Maybe even the entire Rebellion with assistance! And I call my marvelous creation... Orbkos!"

"...Orbkos?" Scorpia raised a brow at the title. "Why Orbkos?"

"I dunno. Only thing that came to my mind that sounded catchy."

"Most impressive." Hordak complimented, rubbing his chin. "And you can make more of these?"

"Yes! Er..." The scientist scratched the back of her head as she looked off to the side. "I mean, no. I mean, I could. But I only had enough First Ones tech to make this one. It would take a mountain of resources to make another from scratch, and I mean a literal mountain. The only alternative is to use more First Ones technology, wherever we can find some."

"And I know where we can get more." Adora announced, grinning ear to ear as she gazed at the incredible warmachine.

Nothing that was thrown at it could put it down, its adaptable technology allowed it to overcome any plans or ideas the Rebellion could create, and, according to Entrapta, it could easily match Catra's own power. There was no way someone like her stood a chance against the technological prowess of a weapon like this, and Adora would do everything in her power to make sure of that.

It was time to take this little  _toy_  out for a test run...

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**A/N: Like I said, shorter read, but to make way for some lightheartedness + action in the next 2 chapters. Definitely going to enjoy the action, and pretty sure everyone else will too (least hope you do ^^). Really don't have much to say other than that, been kinda out of it lately, but hope to keep writing more and more as usual and hope to bring you guys some fun and entertainment!** _

_**With that said, hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you all enjoyed and hope to see you soon!** _


	58. Season 2 Episode 1: The Frozen Forest Part 4

_**A/N: HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOFTAH! God, its been forever! What is up people, monokub back with a brand spanking new chapter to boot! Heh heh!...ehhhhh..** _

_**I'm not going to sugarcoat it- this was a really hard chapter to write. Why? I don't know. But for the first half of it I could barely think of what to write, and even what I did write I'm still not 100% sure of. Honestly, the latter half of this i actually managed to finish in under a day, it was the first half that kept giving me a delay, and I don't know why.** _

_**I'm not even 100% satisfied with how this game out in all actuality. The writings a bit choppy here and there and I feel like I skimmed out on some things. Idky, i just wasnt really into this chapter like I was the last three, hard to say.** _

_**Either way, hope you guys can still enjoy the extra long posting here with all of its faults, and with that being said, enjoy!** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

"Ok. We'll split up to cover more ground." Glimmer instructed as she paced back and forth in front of her friends.

Today's mission in the Whispering Woods would be unlike anything they've ever done before. Normally, whenever they charged into the woods, it was to take out the invading Horde army of droids. Every day they spent wasting their time doing this, the Horde managed to acquire more territory across the forest, as well as the rest of Etheria. There was no rest for the heroes if they didn't want to lose one of the few means of protection they had against a Horde assault, the wood's mystical energies having protected them up until a month ago.

Now they were going to do things a little differently. Today, their main priority was not to destroy any droids they came across, but to capture one intact. During the previous Rebellion Meeting, Bow came up with the idea of creating a Kill Switch, a device that could stop the droids in their tracks, and heavily cripple the Horde's robotic army. They just needed to find a droid and capture it without destroying it.

And that, in itself, remained the problem.

Of the half-dozen heroes that currently stood alongside each other, there was one that went by the name of Catra, who was less inclined about keeping the droids intact and more in favor of ripping as many of them as possible to shreds. Everyday her anger's been rising since the Battle of Bright Moon, an event that still scarred her, both physically and emotionally. Not just because she was dealing with her conflicting feelings of Adora being her enemy from now on, but the fact she hasn't been able to turn into her full-fledged She-Ra form as she did during the climactic battle.

Something was keeping her back, placing a handicap on her She-Ra form, and she had no idea what it was. She was stuck with the weaker form of She-Ra that she has donned since her adventures began, the one with plain white outfit, golden tiara and bracers, and a short skirt. She couldn't attain the full power of She-Ra again no matter how many times she tried to during the last month, and it was getting harder for her to keep it a secret from the rest of her friends and allies.

Why should she tell them anyway? How would that make anything better? If she told anybody, there wouldn't be much of a use for her anymore, and that was the least of her reasons. Something about herself was keeping her from attaining the true form of She-Ra, the empowered version they desperately needed to turn the tide of war in their favor. She was holding herself back somehow, she didn't know how to fix it, and the last thing she wanted was for anyone to find out unless she figured out why this was happening in the first place.

Whatever was keeping her from unlocking her full potential was definitely on her, and she couldn't afford to let anyone find out for the time being. According to Light Hope, she has gotten a marginal increase of obtaining She-Ra's true form by a mere percentage, barely over two-percent of her previous form, so she knew she was making progress in some way. She just had to figure out how to obtain the form of She-Ra on her own, the same way she fixed all of her problems in the past.

On her own.

"Catra and I will cover the north and southern side of the woods." Glimmer continued, turning to her friends. "We can move the fastest, so we can cover more ground that way and react if one side has an emergency. Bow, Mermista, you two cover the-"

"Razorshark..." Mermista interrupted, reminding her of the codename she preferred at the moment.

"...Ughhh..." Glimmer rubbed her eyes as she groaned at the irritation. "Fine.  _Razorshark_ , and Bow, you two will cover the western side. Bow and Perfuma have the best chance of capturing a robot without damaging it too badly, which is why I'm sending her and Frosta to the eastern-" Glimmer paused as she looked at the empty space left of Perfuma. "Where's Frosta?"

"She said she had to take care of something for a minute." Perfuma replied casually.

"Oh come on!" Glimmer rolled her eyes as she moaned. "She kept complaining about coming with us after the meeting and now she's not even here?" She set up these teams with the idea that they would all be evened out and they would work well alongside each other. Even though Perfuma and Bow were more capable of capturing a droid alive, especially if she paired them up together, she placed the two on separate teams so they could balance out their partners' massive strength and magic. "She said she wanted to go with us, so why did she disappear all of a sudden?"

"I told you you shouldn't have brought her." Catra let out a bored yawn as she reminded.

"You said that about every mission."

"And your point?"

"It'll be fine, Glimmer." Perfuma spoke before the other princess had the chance to respond. "I can capture a bot just as easily by myself. And Swift Wind can help look for the bots and watch over me in case something goes wrong." Swift Wind let out a proud neigh to this as he lifted his head in agreement, stretching his rainbow-colored wings.

"I don't know... Are you sure you'll be alright on your own?"

"Don't worry, Glimmer," Swift Wind answered in her place, "I'll keep the fair princess safe!" He decreed, earning a satisfying smile from the princess of plants.

"Well... if you're sure then." She submitted, knowing time was of the essence to find a droid, the missing princess, and keep the two from potentially destroying each other. "Alright then, we should head out."

"And remember," Bow continued on, "we need an intact bot. No destroying, no tearing about, and no smashing."

"What if it was just, like, a liiiiiittle waterlogged?" Mermista teased with a grin.

"And also covered in ferns that secret a corrosive poison?" Perfuma added, raising a hand.

"How about if we just  _accidentally_  sliced a droid or two in half?" Catra tried to pitch in quietly, letting out a fake cough to cover up her involvement.

"No, no, and no." Bow retorted directly to the three princesses, Catra mentally scoffing with annoyance. "We have to capture the next bot without any major damage. Otherwise I'm not going to be able to make a kill switch."

"Alright, alright, I got it." The magicat groaned as she walked away from the group. "Let's just go already." The others looked to one another with a sense of unease before they took off in their assigned directions. On top of everything else the group was doing, there was also a particular reason Glimmer chose this order of friends to pair up with each other. Among them, only one of them could keep up with Catra if she ever tried to bolt or run from the scene, as well as someone she was most comfortable with out of the group.

And that person was none other than Glimmer herself.

Waiting for the rest of her friends to leave, Glimmer sped up to the feline girl as she walked along her side. "Hey, so... Catra? Can we talk for a minute?"

"Yeah, what about?" Catra didn't even bother giving her any attention as she leaned her arms behind her head as she walked.

"Well..."

"...It's about me, isn't it?" She could tell within seconds what Glimmer was trailing off to.

"Kind... of..." She's never felt so awkward before when talking to Catra. How was she supposed to approach the person who appeared to be getting angrier throughout the last month without making her any angrier than she was now? "I thought this would be a good chance to catch up on things since... you know..."

"Since I fought against Adora, right?" There wa a surprising lack of disdain in Catra's voice at this, though, Glimmer couldn't tell whether this was a good or bad sign.

"Y-Yeah... I mean..." Taking a deep breath, Glimmer prepared herself for the conversation that was about to follow. "Catra, you've become real distant as of late ever since the big battle."

"Well, yeah. What did you expect, sunshine and rainbows? I felt like I lost a lot on that day, Pinky, and I've been trying to ignore it." Just the fact she reverted to using Glimmer's nickname was more than enough proof to what Glimmer was saying.

"But it's more than that, Catra. You've been quiet about yourself and us more than you used to be, and that's saying a  **lot**. You usually don't speak to us unless it involves fighting the Horde, you never tell us how much your training is progressing unless we ask first..." Glimmer glanced over the cat girl as she continued to look away, her tail's tip twitching with a sense of unease. "And I... I just want to know..."

"Know what?" Catra's hissed was followed by a moment of silence between the two, one that irked the half-human as she turned her head to her friend.

"I... I want to know if... If you're still mad at us about Adora?" The pleading look in her eyes and the question itself was enough to get Catra to stop in her tracks. How could she not know what she was referring to? It was a day that played endlessly within her mind ever since it happened.

It was the day of the big battle, when everything in Catra's life changed for good. After a harrowing struggle between friend and foe, Catra had finally achieved the true form of She-Ra and managed to gain the upper hand. She could match Adora's strength, dexterity, and magic with her own, and she was beginning to turn the tide for the rest of the Rebellion. It was the first time she got a feel for what it was like to be She-Ra, and she couldn't be more thankful for the timing.

But it was also the same day she had to let go of Adora, no matter how much it tore her up inside. She needed to let her go if she wanted to use all the power she had at that moment, to unleash every ounce of strength she needed to push back the intense wave of darkness she shot at her, and she couldn't do it. She couldn't force herself to fight against Adora knowing everything that happened to her was her own fault, not with all the guilt that had followed her up to that point. She risked possible death at the hands of a dear friend from her own guilt, and a part of her was willing to accept the consequences.

That was until her two new recently-assured friends teleported to her side, by the name of Glimmer and Bow. It was thanks to their support and encouragement, literally having her back when she needed it most, that was she willing to press on and stop Adora where she stood. It was a painful endeavor to force herself through, but one that came without a choice. If she failed to stop Adroa's attack, her life would be at risk, as well as the lives of her other friends and allies. They would've suffered just as much as she would if she didn't stop Adora then and there, and knew what she had to do.

She had to let Adora go. Throw away what little remained of their friendship at that moment. She couldn't risk the people she came to care for losing their lives because of one lousy decision she's made, all because she was too weak to push herself through whatever pain was necessary. And while it was thanks to their encouragement she managed to get passed the sadness that came soon after, it was also because of them that she had that pain to begin with.

They put themselves in harm's way by standing right beside her. They practically left her without a choice. They saw her unable to decide for herself, and they had to push her to make a choice against her will. And it was one of the most painful experiences she, or they, had ever experienced.

"I wouldn't blame you if you are." Glimmer continued, distracted by her fidgeting hands as she tried to speak through this sense of unease. "Even if it was to save you, we really didn't give you much of a choice, and I'm sorry for that-"

"I don't blame you." Catra cut off, the response surprising the Princess of Bright Moon. "Yeah, I was pretty mad when I realized it myself, but it's not like I don't understand why you did it either. If you hadn't, I don't know if I would've beaten Adora a month ago, and you couldn't risk anything happening to your other friends. So yeah," Catra continued down the pathway, "don't go thinking I'm mad about you or Bow forcing me to beat Adora. I'm not mad about that."

"You... aren't?" She couldn't tell what to make of the revelation. On one hand, it was good to know she didn't harbor any grudge against Bow and Glimmer, a worry that hadn't left their mind since the day of the battle. On the other hand, that still left one very important question unanswered. "Then why are you getting so mad around here lately?"

Catra's tail wagged aggressively at this as she went on. "That part's personal, so don't bother asking about it."

"Mmmmh..." One step forward, two steps back. That's what the situation felt like to Glimmer. Where she finally had one glorious question answered, she found another one waiting in its place, one that was more crucial to the current mystery surrounding Catra. Without any care of how she would react, Glimmer teleported from her spot as she reappeared right in front of Catra, blocking her path.

"Get out of the way, Pinky.'

"No, Catra!" Glimmer stammered. "I'm tired of you always keeping something from us. I thought after you accepted us as your friends you would be more open with us, but, if anything, you've been closing yourself off more and more!"

"Well what did you expect?!" She snarled back. "It wasn't exactly an easy week to get through a month ago. It was one problem after another, and it was getting worse every day right up to the very end! How can you expect me to accept so much of what's happened in that short amount of time?"

"I'm not asking you to accept anything right now, Catra! I just want to know what's gotten into you lately." Catra's expression softened as she saw the pained look in Glimmer's eye. "We're your friends, Catra, and you should feel comfortable with telling us anything. At least give us some sort of hint so we can figure out what's wrong."

"Pinky, I-!" Catra paused as she stared off to the side, an aspect Glimmer examined in full detail. No matter how far Catra pushed away within the last month, she still held the same kindness she's shown the others since becoming friends, proven by the fact she didn't threaten or growl at the irritating Glimmer. Catra wondered if she told Glimmer anything if she would leave her alone, trying to find any excuse to drop the conversation, even if it meant revealing a little of what happened. "...I messed up..."

"Huh?" Finally, some progress! And yet, it still seemed to be painful for her to bare. "You... messed up?"

"I... I did something I shouldn't have, alright?" While the vague tone in Catra's voice was offsetting, Glimmer could tell by the serious tone in her voice how much it was eating her up. "I thought about something stupid that I shouldn't have a few days after the battle, and I've been trying to fix it ever since."

"What were you thinking about?"

"... It doesn't matter. Just know that... If I ever seem mad at you or Bow about something, it has nothing to do with you two, alright?"

"But Catra, you don't have to worry about the others. Whatever it is that's bothering you, I'm sure they'll understand! You should feel as comfortable with them as you do with us, even if it takes awhile to get used to them, too."

"I don't have a problem with them, Pinky!" Catra stomped with in a gruff as she lead the way. "Yeah, they annoy me, and I'm nowhere near calling them friends anytime soon. Mermista's sassy, and I find her amusing at times, but she's still irritating the rest of the time. Perfuma's too nice for her own good and a love freak when it comes to plants. And don't even get me started on-!" Halting, Catra's head shot to the right as her ears perked up.

"Ca-?"

"Shhh!" Catra shushed, quietly yet firmly. Noticing her trance-like stare into the woods, Glimmer glanced over into the dark woods themselves, trying to see what was distracting her so much. One of the things she could never get over was Catra's keen sense of hearing and everything it entailed. She could hear someone two rooms over half the time, and on a quiet night, she could hear a guard belching from the entrance of the castle while they stood watch.

It was a detail she didn't prefer knowing.

With nary a flinch, lowering her eyes, Catra sprinted down a path of the trees, with nothing following her save for the sound of the rustling of leaves and twigs behind her. The magicat didn't care if Glimmer could keep up with her or not, she had to see what she was hearing for herself. If she was hearing what she thought she did, then it would confirm her recent suspicions about a certain someone that's been pestering her all throughout the last month.

Rounding the corner, she pressed her back against a tree as she came to a clearing, poking her head out just enough to see the person in question. Over in a small patch of clearing, on the other side from where she was, she saw the certain pipsqueak that's been bothering her on multiple levels as of late, who had her back turned to Catra as she examined something in front of her.

One that went by the name of Princess Frosta, the Princess of the Kingdom of Snows.

"Mmmh... come on... Open up..." She heard her mumbling as Catra quietly edged closer to her. Her body was twitching a little as she was hunched over something in her hands. "Why can't I get this stupid thing to work?" Being as quiet as possible, Catra neared the girl an inch at a time, trying to see what she was doing. From the small rattling-like noise she could hear, Frosta was messing with something in her hands, something small enough to conceal on her person at all times

"What are you doing?"

"Ack-!" The almost-twelve-year-old shrieked, startled at the sudden voice. For just a split second, Catra caught a glimpse of the small object as it jumped from Frosta's hand. It was just for an instant, but it was enough to see the rough wooden edges of whatever she was holding. Like any panicking child with something to hide, the young princess quickly hid it behind her back as she gave a stern look back to her recent eavesdropper. "What are you doing here?"

"We're on a mission, remember?" She could see the girl tense up as Catra crossed her arms suspiciously. "Better question is, what's behind your back?"

"N-Nothing!" She stuttered as Catra narrowed her brows. There was no doubt she was hiding something if the physical details behind it weren't enough of a hint for the magicat. Her mannerisms, the nervous twitch in her eyes, the fact she was still keeping both her hands behind her back. She could take any one of these hints and instantly know she was keeping a secret from her.

"Is that so?" Frosta didn't change the stern expression on her face even as Catra squatted closer to the ground so she was at eye-level. "Then what's behind your back?"

"My hands, duh!"

"Aside from that, you little brat."

"Nothing, Princess Pet!" She mocked. "I just froze my hands by accident while I was trying a new trick, so I'm trying to warm them up. That's all." Catra had to admit, for an annoying brat like her, she was pretty good at making up a fake story on the spot.

"Oh, really?" Catra scoffed, raising a hand towards her. "Then you won't mind if I help you warm up your hands then, right?" That little drop in Frosta's eyes didn't go unnoticed to the mentally-grinning cat. "After all, my hands tend to be pretty warm compared to most peoples'. Unless, of course, you really are hiding something..."

"Are you kidding? I'm not going to give you my hands!" Before Catra could call her out on her suspicions, she continued, "I've seen the way you clean yourself. I don't want cat slobber touching me!"

"I DON'T COVER MY HANDS WITH SLOBBER!" It didn't matter how much she cleaned herself on the occasion, mostly along her arms and her hands. There was no way she could snap back like that without the faintest of blushes. She was occasionally dirty when it came to grooming herself, she wasn't a dog that was drooling all the time. "And why is it taking so long to  _warm_  your hands up? Shouldn't you be more than hot enough with that stupid winter coat on?"

"I don't need to subject myself to your primitive ways of keeping your hands warm." She boasted proudly.

 _How the heck is putting your hands in a pocket primitive?_  She couldn't tell what irritated her more; how far this girl was going to keep whatever she was holding secret, or the dumb excuses she was coming up with to keep them hidden. With most of her direct methods of confrontation seeming to fail her, she resorted to the last trick on the tip of her mind. Mentally grinning, she let out a silent gasp as she gazed behind her. "Adora!?"

"Huh-?"

* _swiff_ *

"Wha- HEY!" Frosta yelped as she felt the contents within her hands being swiped away. Within the three seconds she turned around to when she angled her back degree closer in Catra's direction, the magicat managed to swipe the mysterious objects right out of her hands, keeping the shorter princess at bay with her right foot as she pushed against her face. Catra showed little interest or care as she continued to push the childish princess back with ease while examining the object in great detail.

The small object in question appeared to be a small treasure chest-like box, with various symbols and designs based around the Kingdom of Snow's culture. Shaking it within her palms, she could hear a small rattling noise coming from within. Whatever was inside of the mysterious box had to be important if the small princess was so keen on keeping it hidden from the rest of the group, as well as Catra in particular.

The only bit of worry she had behind all of this was what could be so important that the princess refused to show anyone else?

"Get your smelly foot off of my face!" Frosta continued to grumble, trying to pry the small grip of Catra's claw nails had with her hair.

"What's in the chest, brat?" Catra questioned nonchalant.

"Nothing! It's not important, so just give it back!"

"If it's not important then why do you want it back so badly?" Smirking, she tauntingly shook the box around the princess's face as the contents within it rattled. "You seem pretty worked up about something not important..."

"That's because it belongs to me!" She growled back, refusing to use her magic to attack her unless it was absolutely necessary. If she tried to use her powers just to get back a seemingly-harmless box, it would create a great cloud of suspicions from the rest of the allies as well, and that would make her cover even harder to maintain. "It's not going to do anything for you anyway! You need a key only I can make with my magic, otherwise you're just wasting your time."

"Oh, really?" If there was one thing Catra liked, it was a challenge. If there were two things Catra liked, it was a challenge, and one that involved breaking and entering something, or picking the lock to a well-kept secret. Seeing the magicat's face brightened up with a grin, Frosta's eyes narrowed as Catra playfully lifted up her right pinkie, steadily growing a sharpened claw from it, and inserted it into the box without hesitation.

One of the many skills Catra was proud to have was the ability to lockpick anything with a small lock, such as this. Doors, small chests, etc., they were all toys for her amusement as she dug her claws within the locks. There was always a certain process that usually went along with this as she fiddled with her claw inside the small lock. Sometimes she could need to grow a second claw to help with the procedure, provided the lock was big enough to fit two claws in, but thankfully she seemed to be making progress as she slid her nails deeper into Frosta's secret.

As her pinkie twitched and shifted, hearing the small spring going off every couple of seconds, Frosta started to panic. There was no way she could allow anyone to see what was in the box, and she didn't think anyone could pick their way into the box before meeting Catra. With every centimeter she saw her finger slide in, a pound of fear and concern started to fill up in Frosta's heart. She needed to find a way to get her annoying foot out of her face, and to get the box at the same time.

Despite her childish demeanor, there were still some things even she was against doing, knowing it would tarnish her reputation as a princess and future Queen of the Kingdom of Snows. And yet, even she knew there was little choice she had in the matter. Desperate times called for desperate action, and there was only one thing she could do as her pupils shrank after hearing the small click, seeing the lid of the box opening by just a sliver.

There were no other options.

* ** _CHOMP!_** *

"YEOUCH!" Catra yelped like never before as her eyes briefly bugged out, pulling back her injury and tossing the box a little in the air. In that amount of short time, Frosta quickly leapt into the air a good two feet as she grabbed the box right out of the sky, shutting it tightly before the contents could be revealed, then glared back to a jumping Catra as she hopped around on her right foot while holding her other one tightly in her hands.

In many ways, Catra could respect the underhandedness of Frosta's tactic. After all, when someone had something important they needed to accomplish, there were no rules about how far they could go to complete their mission or finish their task. At the same time, if there was one thing she couldn't respect, it was the stubborn eleven-year-old who just did the last thing she ever expected someone like Frosta to do, much less any princess for that matter.

She bit her squarely in the foot. Not enough to make it bleed, but more than enough to leave a noticeable bite mark and an annoying pain in Catra's left foot.

"Ptooey!" Frosta spat as she rubbed her mouth. "Blegh! That was disgusting!"

"YOU BIT MY FOOTY AND YOU'RE COMPLAINING?!" Catra screamed, gritting her teeth to hold in the ongoing screaming in her mind.

"Well I told you to let go of me!" Frosta yelled back. As Catra hopped on her foot, Frosta took the opportunity to freeze a small block of ice over the small chest, ensuring she wouldn't be picking it anytime soon. "When's the last time you washed your foot?"

"YOU DON'T GET TO COMPLAIN TO ME YOU LITTLE BRAT!" Catra's growls began to lessen as she rubbed the pain away. "I didn't bite your hand trying to get the box from you like you did!"

"Who do you think I learned it from in the first place!" Frosta reminded.

"Grrrrrr!" Catra's teeth clenched as she squeezed her fist. This was the final straw. She wasn't going to put up with a brat being annoying, refusing to tell her any of her secrets, and get away with biting her of all things at the same time! Her presence alone was enough to send a small shiver down Frosta's spine as she backed up a step, knowing she may as well have pushed her luck. "You know what? I'm done playing nice around you! You're going to tell me what's in that stupid box, and you're going to tell me right now-!"

* _swish!_ *

"Catra!" With a gust of sparkling magic, Glimmer finally appeared as she teleported in front of the magicat, blocking her way to Frosta who hid right behind . "What is going on out here? I heard screaming for crying out loud!"

"The little brat bit my foot!" Catra yelled, showing her the thin trail of teeth-like bite marks around the edge of her bitten foot.

"She shoved her smelly foot in my face and she wouldn't let me go!" Frosta complained back, pointing to the older girl accusingly. "And she wouldn't leave me alone!"

"You've been acting like a spoiled brat around me wherever we go! At least I didn't go around biting you all the way!"

"You wouldn't let me go no matter how many times I begged you, and I was suffocating under your foot odor!"

"I don't have foot odor, and I washed it three days ago-!"

" _ **Stop it**_ ," Glimmer finally shouted, looking back and forth to them, "both of you!" She moaned, rubbing her head from the migraine building up. Between turning her head back and forth to them screaming in her ears while yelling at each other, there was only so much she could tolerate on a daily basis before everything started to give her a headache. Rubbing her forehead, she turned to the innocent-looking princess behind her. "Now what's the problem, exactly?"

"She won't leave me alone." Frosta replied, frowning a little. "And she keeps bugging me."

"That's because you won't show me what's in your stupid box!" Catra crossed her arms with a grumble.

"Box?" The confused princess repeated, turning to her taller friend. "What box?"

"The pipsqueak has some box thing that she's been hiding from everyone, Pinky. I know she's hiding something from us and she won't tell me what!"

"It's none of your business!"

"Hold on, just wait a minute." Turning, she kneeled down before the Princess of Snows, trying to look as peacefully as she could given the circumstances. "Frosta, please, can I see what she's talking about?" Without moving her head, Frosta shifted her eyes up towards the sneering cat who stood behind Glimmer, then shifted them back to the former. She couldn't risk raising any suspicion from a fellow princess like this, not a real one, and continuing to act defensively as she was would only cause more trouble down the line.

With a sigh, shifting her eyes away, she pulled the small package from behind her back as she revealed it to Glimmer. Through the melting ice that slowly shrank away with Frosta's magic, Glimmer let out a silent "oh" to herself as she saw what was hidden. To Catra's confusion, the Princess of Bright Moon gave Frosta a soft smile as she patted her shoulder.

"I understand."

"Are you kidding me?!" She had to be kidding, right? Frosta annoys her to no end, she gets caught with some strange box she refuses to show Catra, gives that typical  _innocent_  kid look to her, and that somehow makes everything okay all of a sudden. "She shows you some mysterious box and suddenly you're okay with it?!"

"Catra, it's fine." Glimmer replied, rising back to her feet as she turned to her. Like any brat that annoyed Catra, she bared her teeth at the sight of Frosta sticking behind Glimmer again as she stuck her tongue at her.

"No it's not! She's been acting weird around here lately, and she keeps disappearing whenever we're fighting off these bots!"

"How does that make it suspicious?"

"I..." Scratching her head, Catra tried to ponder. "I don't know... exactly... But I swear she's hiding something, and it has to do with that box!"

"There's nothing wrong about the box, it's just a-"

"Then why is she being so defensive about it?" She refused to acknowledge that the box was harmless, or the contents it held within. "If it's not that big of a deal, then she shouldn't have to worry about showing everyone what's inside!"

"I don't want everyone else hounding me about it!" Frosta yelled back.

"Listen you little-!"

"Catra, relax!" Glimmer blocked the way as Catra leaned closer to the small one behind her. "It's nothing you need to worry about. It's just a-"

*- _mble_ *

* _rumble_ *

* _Rumble_ *

The ground started to quake as a small tremble began to spread around them. The three looked around themselves as they felt the violent shaking picking up, watching the trees flutter with the force of wind and a few of the leaves raining from their branches. This was unlike anything the three had ever felt before when it came to quakes. It didn't spread out evenly, it didn't appear to be dying down, and it seemed to be lasting longer than any quake should.

In fact, to Catra's observation, the quake almost felt like it was approaching them. With each second that passed, the trembling began to worsen. Through the woods, along with the sounds of small forest animals flying and running away, she could pick up the bizarre sound of something rolling closer to them. She couldn't pick out exactly where the source was coming from, with the vastness of the woods echoing around them, except that whatever it was, it was heading straight towards them, intentionally.

After another ten seconds had passed, Catra shot a look to her right as the mystery-in-question came to them, growling to herself as she pulled out her sword. Looking in the same direction, Glimmer tightened her expression as she gathered a handful of her magic in the palms of her hands, her readiness to face whatever was approaching them being replaced with curiosity at its unique design. And, as expected, Catra caught the small glimpse of the shorter princess backing away into the woods, mentally shaking her head to her as she ran through the trees, then focusing back on the robot approaching them.

"What is that thing?" Glimmer asked, preparing in case she needed to teleport the two of them out of the way from being steamrolled.

"If it's something I can hit, who cares?" For all the frustrations she had to deal with for the last month, nothing quite relaxed her like bashing away a droid, the bigger being better to break apart into tiny pieces.

Unfortunately, her moment of excitement was taken away as she felt Glimmer grab her arm, lowering it softly. "Catra, no! Remember what Bow said? We have to capture it intact."

"Oh, come on! Just one little bash?" The magicat pleaded, eyeing her weapon and morphing her sword into a mighty... golden golf club with a sapphire jewel encrusted in the hilt? "...Or a dozen or two?"

"Not unless Bow says otherwise." She declared, gazing at the bot as it reached them.

Just five feet from the two, the massive round body taking up nearly the entire path, the two stood and watched as the robot came to an instant halt, the force of its movement pushing a small breeze passed their hair as they stood their ground. Waiting, watching, the two prepared themselves as the robot let out a low-pitched hum, a bit of steam rising from the bot as it began to unfold itself into the large creation Entrapa knew and love.

Their preparation and bravery were put to the test as the robot unfurled its limbs, seeing each of its arms stretch out in full length and its silvery metallic legs planting into the ground beneath it. From the six-foot radius that took up the bots being, the two took a step back as it unraveled its structure, standing at a glorious ten feet by the time it was fully transformed. And while it didn't have anything menacing about it with its design, there was an unsettling air filling the two as the machine towered several feet above them.

"What... What kind of bot is that?" The princess fought back the urge to gulp, trying to maintain a cautiousness in case this thing attacked on a moment's notice.

"I don't know, why don't you go ahead and ask it?" The cruelest of fates Catra had to endure at the present was the inability to smash this thing into a living pulp. She could make an assortment of different devices with her sword if she wanted to capture a droid alive, but, provided she could get it to work in the first place, she doubted there was anything she could make to capture something of this size. Save for its skinny limbs, there was no guarantee she could make anything big enough to pin this thing down.

"..." The droid continued to stand there in silence for a few seconds, gazing ahead of the upcoming path, then lowering its sights towards the two smaller princesses who tensed up.

"...Uh..." Blinking at the new creation, Glimmer relaxed her stance a little as she lowered her arms.

"What the are you doing?"

...

"What is it doing?" Adora asked as she watched along with Scorpia and Entrapta on the couch.

Back at the Horde, in the middle of one of Entrapta's labs sat three of the Horde's finest heroes and symbols of the Horde, from Adora's perspective, Adora, Scorpia, and Entrapta. After the ravishing display they managed to present for Lord Hordak, they were finally granted the honor of taking Entrapta's newest droid for a test run, and what better test could there be than the ability to try it out on the princesses themselves!

From the lab, the group had a front row seat to the large monitor in front of them, one that displayed everything from the robot's point-of-view. Through its eyes, they saw everything it saw around it, including the chance to see their surroundings even while it was morphed into a ball, as it traversed the warming forest. With record speed, the trio bore witness to the robot's grand speed as it traveled in its ball as it reached Catra and Glimmer only seven minutes after leaving the Fright Zone on its own.

It was definitely one of the Horde's, and Entrapta's, proudest of creations, and it had to goals on its mind. First, to test its abilities out on the princesses that defended the woods with their lives, and see how well it stacked up against them. If the robot did well enough against five princesses and an archer, aka Bow, then there was no telling how well these machines could do if they were mass-produced on a grand scale.

Its other objective was to locate, secure, and retrieve as many resources as it could from the First Ones' structure that stood within the Whispering Woods. As great as the robot was, it still took a large amount of resources to put together. In fact, it took nearly everything Adora had collected from the First Ones' Beacon as well as the vast amount of resources they were secretly provided with by the Kingdom of Snows.

With over two-hundred pounds of resources used to make a robot who required less than half of that to make, that was saying a lot.

"Why isn't it attacking them?"

"Well, it is still a prototype." Entrapta reminded, lounging around in a hammock of her own hair from behind the couch. "Right now, it's only designed to react in self-defense, so it won't attack unless they do first."

"So if they don't do anything, it won't attack?" Scorpia raised her brow as she tapped her chin. "Isn't that kind of, I don't know, unuseful, then?"

"Not necessarily." Entrapta replied as she dangled her legs over her makeshift hammock. "As long as they hit it in some way, the robot will react to them immediately."

"Unless they don't mind losing a few hundred pieces of First Ones' technology, anyway." Adora added, grinning. "They won't have any choice but to attack. Besides, I doubt we'll have to wait that long for something to happen."

"Why's that?"

Adora's grin widened as she looked back to the screen. "Because, why else? It's Catra we're talking about."

...

* _twitch_ *

* _twitch_ *

"...So... do we just keep staring at it or what?" Catra continued to stare as the robot's eye-like camera flickered a few times. There was something unsettling about a robot who continued to stare silently at someone instead of one that was bent on your complete and utter destruction. At the same time, Glimmer just walked around it like it was a statue, observing the robot at every angle, failing to find any weapons up close save for the carapace-like shielding it had around its limbs.

"It doesn't seem to have any blasters or weapons on itself. I've never seen the Horde build a robot like this before." There was something strange about the way the bot looked that rubbed her the wrong way. For some reason, it was giving her a sense of familiarity, like she's seen this sort of design in the past. She just couldn't put her finger on where though, as she only considered those she knew to be alive. "...And it almost looks familiar to me..."

"Why does it look familiar to you? It looks like a bucket of bolts like all the other ones do."

"I don't know why, it just... does..." Where were these thoughts coming from? The droid looked familiar to her? Why? How? What was her mind trying to tell her that she was unable to process?

Neither of the two were given much more time to examine the massive robot as it started to move again. With a creak in the gears of its limbs, the robot looked straight ahead down the path as it began to walk forward. The two gave each other a look before seeing the robot continue its casual march, wondering what sort of objectives it had if it didn't seem too interested in Catra or Glimmer instead.

Normally, to most people, they would be overjoyed at the sight of a monstrous killing machine walking away from them. Without any sort of worry that the robot was going to attack them, they could plan carefully. With Glimmer's teleportation, she could find the others, gather them all up, and, together, they could take the robot down without resorting to too much injury and keeping it intact. This was perfect!

Then again, there was also the one person who seemed put off by this action. Catra's brows narrowed as she saw the mechanical giant walk away from them. What was its deal? Did it think they weren't worth any of their time? Did it not see Catra, or anyone else, as a threat? Or was this its own way of insulting her and her inability to transform into She-Ra? Like it knew she was incapable of achieving her full power, and this was its way of mocking her for it?!

"Where do you think you're going?" She grumbled as she was reminded of the sword-turned-golf-club in her hands. Seeing how she never got a chance to try out this confusing game known as "Golf", only hearing about it from the occasional guards she's met in the hallways, she decided now was as good a time as any to give it a try.

From the basics that she knew of, she scanned the greenery around her until she came across a solid, round, stone, a bit lopsided and oval shaped with more than enough weight to it to get the robot's attention in one swing. Glimmer could already tell something was amiss as she saw the wicked glee on Catra's face as she collected the misshapen rock, twirling about the golf club in her right hand. "Catra, what are you doing?"

"Nothing, I'm just going to get its attention." She stated, positioning herself on the left side of the rock as she steadied the club in her hand. Never seeing the magicat play a round of golf, much less minigolf, it was confusing at first as she saw the magicat looking back and forth between her rock and the strolling robot. It was just when she saw the deceitful grin on Catra's face that she realized what was going on, too little, too late.

"Catra, no-!"

* _thwack_ *

* _CLANK!_ *

With the speed of a bullet, the feline struck the rock as hard as she could, launching the projectile straight at the back of the robot's metallic head, leaving a notable dent in the back as it stopped moving altogether with its head down. There was a fulfilling sense of accomplishment in Catra's mind as the robot stopped in its tracks, proud that her golfing skills seemed to be on par (no pun intended) with the average golfer, seeing how she nailed it squarely in the back of its head.

...

At the same time, the monitors displayed a whole system of random graphs as the screen gave off a dim purple hue. All around the screen's sides, Adora, Entrapta, and Scorpia bore witness to the multitude of details and equations being processed within the robots mind, calculating every detail involving Catra, her strength, and, to Adora's pleasure, her weaknesses.

"Orbko's algorithm allows it to pinpoint every precise detail of an enemies power from attacked." Entrapta explained as Scorpia and Adora looked in wonder. "Even if you were to tap it lightly against the back of your hand, it can calculate exactly how powerful you really are, and how much strength you can use. With that, I created a reverse algorithm so it can identify its enemy's weaknesses as well!"

"That's incredible!" It really was a marvel to have such a technological genius, and a princess as that, on their team. To think Entrapta would contribute so much to the Horde in the short amount of time she's been in it. It almost made her wonder how much of a threat she could be, in turn, if she was still working for the Alliance like she used to. "So it knows how strong Catra and the rest of her friends are now?"

"No, just Catra at the moment." She replied, twirling a strand of her hair in her finger. "LIke I said, it can't anything they do unless they attack it first, but it can process and create an entire list of potential team attacks once it registers the other threats."

"Shouldn't we warn Frosta about this?" Scorpia had concern for the young eleven-year-old, like any decent person would. "We've seen what that thing can do up close, and she's going to have to fight it at some point to maintain her cover, right?"

"Not to worry, it's already been programmed not to harm her, just like all the others have. On the off chance Frosta is forced to fight it, it'll follow its emergency orders to retreat to the nearest safe zone, either somewhere deeper in the forest, or back to the Horde for repairs."

"So, she'll be alright?"

"Of course she will, Scorpia." Adora comforted, patting her back with a sincere smile. "I wouldn't dream of Entrapta sending something out there she couldn't handle. Even if she couldn't handle Orbko, there's no way I would let Entrapta send one out that didn't register her as an ally, just in case. She'll be perfectly fine, I promise."

It did bring comfort to Scorpia's person for all the other reasons. Despite everything that Adora's gone through with her ex-best friend, her feelings of neglect and betrayal at Catra's hands, the aftermath of her grand battle with Catra, and the stress of being a commander, she was still the same Adora underneath it. The same one who cared about others and put them before herself, the one who resorted to violence second to almost everything else, and the one who cared deeply for her remaining friends and allies at her side.

Yet, it still didn't get rid of the pain she held for everything Adora continued to suffer through. She refused to talk about her conflicted feelings with Catra since the great battle, most of which had to deal with her overwhelming anger towards the magicat, and she continued to train everyday to harness her shadow powers while knowing the strain it was pushing her body through. She had so much going on and she refused to back down from her duties and take a break.

So, anytime she got a genuine smile out of the blonde second-in-command, seeing the amount of care and effort she put into those around her, it was heartwarming.

"Besides," Entrapta spoke again, "I wouldn't be able to make another one without the excess resources Frosta has to offer. Half of the materials I needed to make the robot came out of her kingdom." They all watched the TV as the robot finished its calculations and readings.

...

"Pffft, the droid doesn't even know what hit it." Catra chuckled, tapping the pole of the club against her shoulder tauntingly.

"Ugh, why didn't you just wait for the others to get here?" Glimmer groaned as she faced the smug cat. "We could've formed a plan to capture it in one piece!"

"Would you relax? Geez!" It was quite sad to Catra that once somebody became a buzzkill like Glimmer, they were always a buzzkill like Glimmer. "The stupid robot's not even movi-Urgh-!"

* ** _WHAM!_** *

There was barely a second for Catra to react in time before a massive silver-coated fist slammed against her entire being, throwing her painfully against one of the sodden trees of the forest, nearly eight feet off the ground. Before she could even release a tiny breath, everything between her neck to her elbows was pinned against the tree, the menacing camera-eyed droid narrowing its lenses as it focused on her.

"Wh-eck..." Catra struggled to breath, lifting her arms weakly as she tried to claw away at the metallic substance. For such a scrawny robot, this thing packed way more of a punch than anything Catra's ever felt. It was like she was slammed with a massive skiff running at full speed, her injured arms being the one piece of resistance she had blocking such a devastating blow. It barely mattered whether she managed to block the attack at all, as the ensuing crushing of the robot's grip made that the least worrying thing right now as she saw the robot lift up its other fist, intending to finish its attacker once and for all.

* _swish!_ *

Almost a second away from delivering the final blow, the robot came to a halt as a ball of purple energy struck it across the head. There didn't seem to be any injury inflicted, as far as Catra could see, as the robot turned its head in the same direction as its attacker, seeing an angry Glimmer glaring as she unleashed a barrage of her magic to save her friend.

"Haaaahhh!" She screamed wildly, throwing bolt after bolt of her empowered magic at the dreaded machinery. What few bolts that did manage to hit passed the robot's protective carapace only seemed to increase its processing power as it examined and calculated every detail about Glimmer's magic, each blow hastening the time it needed to study. Where it took an estimated fifteen seconds to process the magicat's strength, it just took under four seconds to fully process Glimmer's powers and abilities.

And, as it was programmed to do, it adapted.

Upon finishing the last detail, the robot's exterior carapace began to re-materialize around itself, forming a bowl-like shell around its arms that were slanted upwards away from the robot. Glimmer wasn't given a chance to examine this herself as her eyes widened in terror. Following the next bolt to strike against the robot's flimsy carapace, instead of bursting on impact like the rest of her magic did, it instead reflected off the silver surface, redirecting and shooting back at Glimmer at nearly twice the speed. She was helpless as she took the brunt of the attack straight to the chest, knocking her off her feet with a painful push.

"Ngh..." She mumbled, squeezing a hand around the center of her chest as she looked back. The robot simply stared at her as she groveled a little in pain, as if observing for its own sake to see what she could do next, then turned its attention back to the one designated as She-Ra as it applied more pressure to its painful grip. She could see the look in her friend's face as she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to tolerate the pain as she growled through her teeth in pain. "Catra!"

With a solid burst of magic, Glimmer teleported from her spot as she reappeared over the robot's head, its point of view cut off from noticing her as the carapace over its head protected it. Perhaps that's why it was so surprised, wobbling in place, as it felt an increased mass grow over its forehead. From its analytical studies, it knew the Princess of Bright Moon was the one behind this, and it was already contemplating over a hundred different scenarios and simulations in which the princess would use her power again.

It just didn't have the capacity to shake Glimmer off its head, the young girl tightening her grip around the upper carapace, as it continued to analyze her magic.

Gathering as much of her power as she possibly could, Glimmer spent a large fraction of her power as she teleported herself, Orbko, and Catra, who was still trapped in the robot's clutches, away from the environment. When the trio reappeared, Catra was out of the robot's grip, the robot was dropping from its back, and Glimmer was thoroughly exhausted and several feet below her as they were transported over a hundred feet in the air, a drop that would've been more than enough to end the robot's life, or theirs if they were unlucky.

"Ngh," Catra winced as she shrugged off the pain, quickly looking around until she found the other falling princess under her, "Glimmer!"

Shaking the fuzziness from her recent expenditure of magic out of her hand, Glimmer turned back towards her rescued friend as she threw her hand to her, the teleporting princess extending her own as she tried to grab for it so she could teleport them again. Right as her nails brushed against the tips of Catra's fingers, she let out a startled yelp as she felt a powerful clamp against her leg, one that pulled her an arm's length away from her dear friend.

Unsurprisingly, below her she saw the robot staring back at her as it tightened the grip on her leg. With little choice in the matter, Glimmer let out a cry of anger as she attempted to blast the robot's head, at least enough for it to loosen the grip on her leg. Unlike before, however, the robot countered her attacks with ease as it raised one of its bowl-covered arms against each of her blasts, deflecting the attacks back into the air like they were nothing, and actually managing to strike back against Glimmer's hand, the dual spectrum of the assaulting magic and her charging magic shorting out her power in a painful burn.

"Ah!" Glimmer yelped, rubbing the burning sensation in her right hand, and fretting at the sight of the planet's surface they were nearing. With a growl coming from above her, Catra raised her weapon in front of her, praying with all of her might that it could transform into what she needed most right now. Luckily, her prayers were answered as the weapon shined and transform, forming into a massive ball 'n chain with a far enough reach to strike anything within ten feet of her, or below her in this case.

And like all the other times, she was unaware as the robot was scanning the sword's capabilities, computing and planning every course of action within its head on how to adapt to the sword's shapeshifting capabilities. It was thanks to this small delay that the robot failed to react in time as Catra swung her mighty flail, being careful to avoid Glimmer in the process, as she smashed the extended weapon across the robot's face, the sounds of metal scraping together as the spiked edges brushed against the robot's metal.

It was just the boost they needed to get the robot to release its hold on the Princess of Bright Moon, Glimmer releasing another blast of her magic with her other hand for good measure, and striking the robot right in the face. To their delight, this was enough to send the robot hurdling faster towards the woods below them, and gave Glimmer enough time to grab the chain of the long flail, waiting as Catra pulled her up closer to her.

With a large tug, Catra used all of her current strength as she pulled the princess closer to her, close enough so she could wrap an arm around one of Catra's legs. With a final burst of her magic, Glimmer concentrated as she teleported the two of them to safety, avoiding the same grisly end that awaited Orbko not three seconds later.

When they reappeared again, it was back on the solid ground they knew and love, or at least a couple feet above it if the proceeding fall was any indication. The two let out a small yip of pain as they landed on their sides, out of breath, their hearts still racing from the immense strain they were pushed through within the last minute, and panting with sweat as Catra wiped her brow.

But at least they were alive.

"Huff... Huff... " Catra huffed as she sluggishly pulled herself off the watery ground of the forest. "Okay, I'll admit it... for once... huff... I'm sorry... for hitting the stupid... stupid... robot..."

"Mmh..." Glimmer moaned as she felt around her right hand. There were a few sparks of the backed up magic buzzing around it, but she could still fight with it. "Catra, what kind of robot was that? It knew how to fight against us, it..." She was still trying to comprehend the way that robot morphed its carapace around itself. "It changed its body somehow... It threw everything I had back to me."

"Tch, well, you, maybe, but I'm pretty sure I could take him." She commented, about as half-enthusiastic than she actually sounded like. The robot just got the drop on her, that's all. She was pretty sure she could handle the robot again if she came across it anytime soon without her She-Ra powers.

...She hoped she could take that thing without her She-Ra powers...

Their one moment of relief flew away from them as Glimmer's eyes widened, looking through the magicat with a face full of fear. "C-Ca-Catra!" She struggled to say, the terror of the horrifying creation still fresh in her mind.

Catra didn't need any explanation as she felt the ground beginning to tremble around them, springing up to her feet and turning around to face her charger. Like before, as Glimmer was helped off the ground, the familiar bot approached them in its massive ball form, surprisingly carrying itself a good distance from wherever Glimmer dropped it in the middle of the forest. Approaching the two who slowly backed away, the robot unfolded its entirety just three feet from the duo of heroes. Outside of a few scrapes and scratch marks from its landing, it was still in pristine condition, as if it was barely injured.

"Uh... Do you think you could teleport this guy any higher?" Catra asked nervously, transforming her weapon back into the familiar blade. "Like, high enough to guarantee he won't be getting back up anytime soon?"

"I can't. I spent too much energy teleporting the three of us the first time and then the both of us the second time." Glimmer informed, barely getting a small aura of her magic around both of her hands. "I could teleport the both of us at least once before my powers are tapped out."

"Ngh... there's got to be something we can do..." Catra muttered, raising her sword up to her chest. With all of the data its collected and observations its recorded, the robot did something neither they, nor the people viewing through its camera, thought it would be capable of.

Raising both of its hands to its own chests, the others watched as the carapace-like armor around its arms began to morph around its limbs and stretched over to its hands. There, the mysterious robot materialized two incredibly large maces, ones that were half the bot's size in length, and twice the size of its head at the tip, spanning a good five feet diameter, as the spiked clubs became whole.

Like Catra, it had transformed its parts into virtual weapons.

...

"Wow! I didn't know it could do that!" Scorpia exclaimed, sitting on the edge of her seat as she watched the performance. Curiously enough, there was a small silence emanating from the scientist herself, who gave off an aura of uncertainty as she tilted her head.

"That's... interesting..." She commented amidst confusion.

"What you mean by  _interesting_?" Adora asked back, feeling a sense of dread filling upon her.

"Well... A-And it could just be a small variable that I missed, but..." Was she truly seeing this? An actual breakthrough in evolutionary technology? Is it possible that there is something that she, of ALL people, actually didn't account for in her design?! "I... I didn't think it could morph its carapace in such a way."

"You mean it was an accident?" Scorpia suggested casually to the concerned girl.

"I-It wasn't an accident! It was just... surprising!" There was no way she could allow something like this to blemish her scientific reputation! If word got out that she created something accidentally without the intention of doing it accidentally, there was no way the scientific community would let her live it down! "I just made the bot more advanced than I originally thought, that's all!"

"Huh... that's not going to be a problem, is it?" Adora rubbed her chin as she saw the several charts and graphs displayed around the monitor's screen. Even now, there were thousands of coding and information being downloaded into the robot's processors, the robot processing a gigabyte's worth of information every second.

The purple-haired genius gave off a shrug as she descended from her hammock of hair, sitting cross-legged against the couch. "Mmh... there shouldn't be any sort of problems as long as any unexpected variables come up."

"Unexpected like how?"

...

* _Clank!_ *

"Haaaaaah!" A small voice yelled as she jumped atop the robot from above the tree branches. To both, Glimmer's and Catra's surprise, right as the robot was about to lift one of its mighty weapons, the small blue princess of ice known as Frosta jumped into the air, delivering constant pounding against its thick skull as she batted away at the mysterious robot nonstop.

Like all the other droids, and her time within the Rebellion, she was constantly reminded that if push comes to shove, she was supposed to fight against the droids alongside everyone else, even if they weren't attacking her. As long as the rest saw her fighting at their side, whenever she was around, there wouldn't be any room for possible suspicion. While she didn't enjoy the idea of fighting against the creations of her current allies, she still didn't hold anything back when she was forced into the scenario, showing off as much of her power as she could to prove to the Rebellion whose side she was on.

Then again, considering the new droid was supposed to retreat upon seeing Frosta, she knew she didn't have to go all out and destroy the mysterious new creation after meeting it for the first time.

"Frosta?" Glimmer spoke up, almost dumbfounded by her appearance after seeing her unexpected reveal.

"What do you think you're doing, brat?" Catra asked in a mildly aggressive tone compared to Glimmer's. "Get away from that bot before it sees you!"

"Your  **welcome** , by the way!" The shorter princess scoffed at the unwelcomed greeting and lack of gratitude as she continued slamming her ice-covered fists against the massive robot. Taking Catra's own words into advice, the blue princess held back her continued assault as she ran her way to the edge of its head, hanging one hand over the top of the carapace and dangling right in front of the robot's sensors. She gave a short pause at this as she allowed the robot to see her face for a few seconds before pulling back her other fist and slamming it straight across its face.

Naturally, the robot stumbled from the impact against its face as the sensors going off within it were in a temporary state of disarray, allowing Frosta enough time to jump down from the mighty bot as she continued to work her literal magic. Placing both her hands upon the ground, Catra and Glimmer saw a large thick blanket of ice growing around the robots legs, rising all the way up to just below its knees as it struggled to break itself free.

"Hmph," Frosta smirked as she prepared to follow up her last attack, "now I got i-! Hey!"

"What do you think you're trying to do?!" Catra cut her off as she grabbed the princess by the collar of her winter coat. Frosta didn't show any signs of fear as she tried to pull away from the angry girl's grip, directing her anger back to the magicat who had yet to deliver any recognition for her actions. "That thing's gonna destroy you in one stomp!"

"I can handle the robot myself, Catra!" Frosta puffed up her cheeks as she kicked her little feet that were a full two inches off the ground. "I thought you'd be happy to finally  _see_  me fighting a robot for a change!"

"I'll be happier to see you getting out of the way, shrimp!" She knew this was just a part of her plan, it had to be! Sure, go ahead and make Catra look like the delusional bad guy around here, make everyone think she's off her rocker. Then, when anyone else starts to notice something around here, leap in to save the day and make yourself look like a hero in front of the rest! "If you wanna be useful, go find somebody else, got it?"

"I can be useful on my own, princess pet!" It almost felt like Glimmer was being pulled into the conversation she wanted no part in as she was insulted just now.

"Knock it off!" Glimmer instructed as she tried to pull the two away from each other. During this time, the robot lifted its cleared vision up to the petty squabbling away from it as it started to process what the princess had just done.

...

Its primary objective was to defeat the Princesses of the Rebellion and secure resources from the Beacon for the betterment of the Horde army and its creator.

But this child attacked it.

It was not supposed to harm Frosta during this excursion as it followed through on its task.

But this child attacked it.

It was only supposed to fight back upon being attacked directly, save for their dearest ally who went by the name of Frosta.

But this child attacked it.

It was supposed to-

-attacked-

-unable to comply with protocol-

This child-

She was registered as an ally-

-child attacked-

* _bzzzt_ *

* _zzzzzzt!_ *

In the monitors all of their faces lit up as an "Error" message started to appear over the large monitor, the robot's weapons morphing back into the protective carapace as it squeezed its own head in confusion. It wasn't supposed to fail its mission, and it was supposed to protect itself from any dangers as long as it was on its mission. So if the princess attacked it while they were on the same side, was it supposed to register it as an enemy, or let it continue? It couldn't allow itself to be destroyed with its mission at stake, and it couldn't attack a fellow ally either.

All the charts the three had been monitoring since the start of its adventure began to spiral out of control. The algorithm on the bottom right was ascending with a constant flow of numbers and letters falling rapidly across the screen, the bar graphs began to rise and fall in a constant waving motion, causing the bars to dance around one another. The scans and observational records it recorded in the center of the right side was flipping endlessly as hundreds of words blinked across the screen over the last minute.

It was a strange event to see through the eyes of the robot as it calculated everything it needed to know about this paradoxical conundrum it found itself upon. Out of the three curious onlookers, one of them were giving off a show of fear as she nibbled against the ends of her twintails, the fear in her eyes becoming all too evident to anyone around her.

"Uh oh..."

"What's wrong?" Adora never took her eyes off the mysterious sequence as the graphs started to overlap each other, bouncing around the inner workings of the creation.

"Um... remember when I mentioned that unexpected variable about two minutes ago?" She gulped.

"Yeeeeees...?" Adoa almost rolled her eyes to the back of her head as she felt a growing concern rushing through her.

Well... right now, the robot's trying to understand the fact Frosta attacked it while she was still on our side."

"Yeah, and?" Scorpia chipped in, feeling like she was watching a science fiction movie beginning to unravel its stunning plot twist.

"Annnd with its technology, its trying to figure out how to adapt to the given scenario it was presented with. Up till now, I thought all of its adaptions would be on a physical level," Adora and Scorpia's heads turned to her as they could grasp at the basics of what she was implying, "not a mental, or in this case technical, level."

'Why do I feel like there's a "but" coming along?"

"Buuut," Entrapta continued as she proved Scorpia correct, "its incapable of fighting against its primary programming and personal instincts for survival. So, in order to compensate around that, I think its rewriting its original coding, and trying to assess the situation on a personal level."

"And... that's bad becaaause..." Scorpia and Adora weren't prepared for the answer that was given to them as the screen flashed with red.

Instead of telling them up front, they witnessed an incredible feat of the robot's own design as it re-scanned Frosta's entire body with a white-ish outline covering her. With several lines of information protruding from the young girl, the robot re-established its primary protocols as it readjusted its targeting. Before their eyes, they watched as Frosta's outline switched from its designated white outline, to a deep shade of red.

"Because now it sees her as an enemy... But on the bright side, I created the closest thing to artificial free will!"

...

Back with the squabbling trio, none of them were aware as the robot's purple-colored lens started to change to the same shade of red that the others saw through the monitors. It realized now that its targeting system was flawed if it was meant to complete its primary objectives. With a bit of a spark running across the bot's head, it readjusted its parameters as it overwrote its primary programming, and changed the perspective on what was and wasn't deemed an enemy.

It wasn't until the ice started to crack that the three finally noticed the robot breaking free, covering their faces as shards of ice flew passed them with a gust of wind. Looking back, the robot was back to its functioning form, its lenses covering a third of the top half, as if to give the robot an angry glare-like appearance.

"It broke free!" Glimmer panicked, realizing the valuable time they wasted arguing when they should've been more focused on the robot instead.

"I've got this!" She didn't gave anyone a chance to respond as Frosta grew a black of ice over her hands in the shape of two oversized mallets. Before Catra could even grab her, the girl jumped headfirst towards the robot, hoping to beat it back again, or to put on the display that she was trying to, long enough for the robot to turn away or be destroyed by the others. That chance never came to her as she let out a sudden gasp of air, feeling the robot's powerful fist wrap around her neck. "Gaghhhh!" She coked.

Something was wrong. Something was very,  **very** , wrong. The robot wasn't supposed to be attacking her in any circumstances, even to defend itself. If anything, it was supposed to dodge out of the way in a convincing manner, to make it look like it was actually trying to fight back against the wolf in sheep's clothing. The fact she could feel her airways constricting as the robot tightened its grip was enough to prove to her that it wasn't trying to put on a mere performance.

It was defending itself by any means necessary.

"Hey!" No matter how angry she was or suspicious of her, Catra would never let a walking trash can like this harm one of her allies without her say so. "Let her go!" With no signs of fear, the cat lunged towards the massive bot, intending to give it a much-needed scalp removal regardless of the protests, only to find the younger princess being thrown directly at her.

* _wham!_ *

"Agh!" She squeaked as Frosta was chucked directly into her stomach, crashing her back a few feet passed Glimmer and skidding across the rough ground. So, on top of her sense of pride taking a hit, followed by being slammed by what felt like a truck and nearly choked to death, she could now add being shot at with a girl over half her size to her list of injuries for the day. As much as she wanted to yell at the idiot for doing something stupid, her safety came first. "Egh... You okay?" She winced, rubbing her sore head as Frosta rubbed one of her frozen mallets across her own head.

"Mmmh..." The short princess barely spoke a word as she looked back to the robot in a mix of fear and worry.  _It... It attacked me..._  All eyes turned to the robot as it stomped its way over to the three princesses, reforming the giant maces within its hands once again.

Its priority was to defeat the princesses and acquire First Ones' technology from the Beacon and return to the Fright Zone with a handful of equipment.

It wouldn't allow anyone to interfere, and was designed to combat against any and all threats determined to be its enemy.

And right now, it determined  **everybody**  out here to be its enemy...

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**A/N: So, how'd you like it ^^!... no seriously, that was an honest question XP Lol i really don't know why I had so much trouble with this episode. Even though it skims on the episode a bit more than usual, that hasn't stopped me before. Maybe its the fact I skimmed on it at all that kept me from writing so much? Who knows. Either way, I really do hope you guys enjoyed it for its length and apologize for the long wait. Next one HOPEFULLY wont take as long as I have a solid plan for it- an hoping to end the episode next chapter too ^^** _

_**With that said, hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!** _

_**Btw, WE HIT 300 REVIEWS! ALL TIME SHE-RA (2018) RECORD ^^!** _


	59. Season 2 Episode 1: The Frozen Forest Part 5

_**A/N: Oh... my... GOOOOOOOOOOD! I have never been so happy to be done with a chapter, and not in the good way! This thing was an utter nightmare to work through for me, i think the lack of posting can attest to that. Idk why but I have never struggled before with a chapter in ANY of my past fanfics as much as I did with this one.** _

_**Idk what caused such an issue for me in the first place, and personally, I don't really care for once. I'm just glad to finally be done with this for the first time ever (marking how much of a chore this was for me to do T_T). I think my biggest problem was that I differed too heavily from the main show on this and the last chapter, forcing me to come up with stuff on the spot rather than on the occasion all throughout the chapter.** _

_**It felt exhausting, painful, and annoying to bear all throughout the chapter as I tried to come up with something so different, and idky. All I know is that this was almost torturous to write, so I hope you guys can still enjoy the chapter either way. And for once I don't say that optimistically, i mean I really hope you guys enjoy the chapter X/...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

* **Crash!** *

"Agh!" Catra cried out as she was slammed against the mushy floor of the surrounding forest.

Nothing she's fought in the past has ever compared to this. Every swing she attempted to strike the robot with was perfectly countered with ease, blocked off with the robot's protective carapace over its limbs or the newly grown maces in its hands, or sidestepped like one of her previous attempts that resulted in a metallic knee in her gullet. The same counter was followed by getting thrown across the air and slamming into a tree, nearly costing her life as the robot raised the oversized maces above its head to deliver the finishing bow.

If it wasn't for Glimmer and Frosta's attempts to fight back against the robot, coating a sheet of ice over its arms to weigh it down and charging straight at the robot's torso with a magical staff, she might not have lasted as long as she did. With a valiant cry, Glimmer attempted to strike the robot straight through its metallic chassis, only to be batted away at the last second by the robot's increasing strength and added bulk of the frozen pillars around her arms, knocking her a near-two dozen feet away along the ground, disorienting her.

Momentarily taken back by what she had just witnessed, Frosta nearly found herself getting crushed under the robot's frozen arms, backing away from the direct hit, but not enough to resist the sheer force of power that launched her several feet away from the impact. Her head was the first thing met with the rough ground as it dazed her, Frosta doing everything she could to shake the dizziness from her eyes as the robot forced its right arm to bend at the elbow, breaking away the block of ice with ease, and marching its way to the fallen princess.

If it wasn't for Catra's timely intervention, throwing a golden lasso, long enough to stretch over its head and tighten at its neck, Frosta would've found herself stuck under the robot's metallic boots like a piece of chewed gum. Orbko struggled against the bindings for a bit as it pulled at the ropes around its neck, trying to pry the surprisingly sturdy rope from itself as Catra twisted and jerked the rope in one direction at a time, doing everything she could to pull back against the robot one foot at a time as she fought against the robots own strength without the use of her She-Ra form, at least the fourth of it she could achieve.

Like everything else the robot reacted to, it managed to adapt to a new strategy as it spun its head in a one-eighty degree angle, facing the magicat and scanning her within nanoseconds with its glaring-like red eyes. Seeing how pulling at the rope around its neck yielded no results, it did the next best thing it could think of. Grabbing onto the stretch of rope distancing themselves from each other, the robot's hand rotated several times in a perfectly circular motion, catching Catra off guard as the spinning wrapped her own around around both her wrists, pinning them together.

Knowing what was coming next, the feline braced herself as she was pulled off her feet, giving a small yelp as she was flung through the air into a bundle of leaves among the tall trees, losing her grip on the lasso and her strength as she began falling through a tumble of various sized branches, each one thicker than the last as her head and back bumped into each branch until she finally met the ground. It gave the robot enough time to casually slip the rope off over its neck as it approached the young princess.

Catra gritted her teeth to shake off the sores around her body and grab for her mystical weapon, rolling off to the side before the robot's massive mace could meet her directly as it slammed to the ground. She was forced to stick on the defensive as she transformed the lasso into a shield, nearly missing her chance to block the onset barrage of strikes that came from the massive robots weapons as she backed away, pushing against her shield against each of the robot's mighty swings.

It was thanks to their combined efforts that they managed to keep the robot on its toes, less they give it any leeway to finish one of them off. Yet for every moment they gained the upper hand, the robot managed to adapt to its struggles with little effort.

One of the dreaded things they came to realize about this robot was its ability to adapt and evolve to what it was fighting. In the present example, the robot's arms began to overheat with extreme temperatures, melting away the blocks of ice over its other arm within a few short seconds until all that was left was a thick cloud of steam over it. Upon the last drop of water evaporating from its metallic skin, it quickly followed up by dropping one of the heavy maces as it more than doubled its assault against the shielding Catra who had to stand her ground right then and there to keep the robot from pushing her back any further, just as Glimmer got back to her feet.

Having encountered this robot much sooner than Frosta did, she already used up a great deal of her energy as she was forced to teleport herself, Catra, and the bot at least once, and herself and Catra almost immediately after teleporting the massive bot at a height that should've destroyed it upon landing. With all the excess energy she was forced to use up, she had enough energy remaining to pull off one more two-person teleportation and keep on fighting, and she planned to save it for an emergency.

LIke Frosta's ice, her energy blasts were proving ineffective as the three fought the dangerous being. It reconfigured the adaptable carapace around its limbs to turn into a bowl-like surface, one capable of reflecting Glimmer's magic away from itself and back at the caster at almost twice the speed. With nothing else left, she was forced to fight it with all her physical might and staff, realizing that fighting from afar was proving more problematic than it should have been.

The fact it was attacking Frosta at all proved problematic for the young girl. She was working undercover for the Horde since she officially joined the Princess Alliance. While they were out and about taking on the droids within the woods, she was supposed to be keeping tabs on the princesses at all times. She was also supposed to keep her head down and out of sight whenever they were approached by the droids in order to keep her allegiance a secret to the rest. With the droids programmed not to attack her on sight, she could only feign ignorance as to why they didn't attack her for so long until somebody became suspicious.

She had enough suspicions coming out of Catra through the one time she didn't see them attacking her, and that was bad enough!

So why was this droid-like robot attacking her all of a sudden? She knew Adora was trustworthy enough to not betray her out of nowhere, especially since it would mean losing all the valuable resources she had obtained since joining the Horde, and even if she wasn't interested in the resources, she wasn't stupid enough to throw away a powerful ally, one that had one of the strongest kingdoms out of the Princess Alliance.

From what little she knew of the situation, she hoped at least, the robot was acting on its own. Whether she did something to it when she smashed an icy fist in its face, or Catra did something to it earlier, she knew she had to play along for now, and work with the others to either disable the droid without destroying, or find a way to destroy it before it could overpower them anymore than it already had.

And they weren't the only ones struggling either...

...

"TURN IT OFF!" Adora shouted worriedly as she watched the screen.

This was a complete nightmare. Since she's joined, Princess Frosta's allegiance to the Horde has been nothing but beneficial to their side. With resources provided weekly, territory they could set up additional outposts in, as long as they didn't interfere or occupy any space they weren't allowed to, and soldiers geared with the Horde's technology, they were a formidable ally to be had, and one of the worst kingdoms to make enemies with. And, as  _crazy_  as it sounds, something told Adora the Kingdom of Snows wouldn't take it very well if the Horde had to explain why their ten-foot robot was scraping off what remained of Frosta if something happened to her.

"I-I'm trying, I'm trying!" Entrapta squealed, typing madly into one of the large-screened computers of her lab.

Entrapta had no idea how she should feel about this. On the one hand, she created the closest thing to artificial free will! such a feat has never been heard of in the science community, and this was the closest thing to that. To think, the very robot she made, one of her greatest creations, had the capacity to act, think, and behave in the same manner as a human. With a will and desire to preserve its own life, it overwrote its programming to defend itself against Frosta, designating her as an enemy, something it did entirely on its own!

On the other hand, she created near-free will into a giant murder machine that was currently fighting off three powerful princesses at once, one of which happened to be an ally of theirs. It didn't matter what sort of accomplishments she could achieve by creating free will, it would tarnish her reputation if her own creation ended up costing the life of a fellow princess, and a child at that. It would turn her greatest work into her greatest failure, and she would live with that burden for the rest of her years.

Typing away as fast as her fingertips and hair tips could, she realized it was the greatest conundrum she ever had to face; either be renowned as the greatest scientist in human history who ever lived that also cost the life of a young child, or to find a way to shut down, deactivate, or destroy her greatest creation. WHY DID LIFE HAVE TO BE SO CRUEL?!

"What's taking so long?" Scorpia panicked, turning back and forth between the robot's point of view on the monitor and the dreadful scientist. "Can't you just hit the off switch or something?"

"It doesn't have an off switch," Entrapta snipped back, "and it's not responding to any of my codes! It must've thought its own programming was fighting against itself, so it rewrote its own programming to fight against it!"

"It can do that?"

"Apparently...?" How was a scientist supposed to explain herself when she didn't know what was going on to begin with? "The First Ones' tech I used to make it adaptable must've been more powerful than I thought. It didn't show any signs of programming capabilities when I ran it through an initial test run. Then again, I never really tried hacking its own programming before either."

"What about its self-destruct function? Can't you just use it and make a new one later?"

"Don't you think I've thought of that already?!"

"No!"

"Exactly! I can't afford to destroy something this grand of a design!" How can she expect her to understand, or any of them for that matter? This wasn't just some hinky-dinky robot that she put together through wires, metal, and several dozen pieces of alien technology. This was the first ever creation she's made that came close to achieving conscious thought, lines of reasoning. This wasn't just a breakthrough of modern technology, this was an entire new chapter in the laws of reality itself!

Even though she wasn't as  _enlightened_  as Adora and Entrapta were, Scorpia knew it would've been a painful process to force Entrapta through to destroy one of her beloved creations. "Look, Entrapta, I know its kind of a hard thing to do, but-"

"No, I mean I  **literally**  can't afford to destroy it!" She emphasized, wiping a bead of sweat from her brow with her hair. On top of the constant arguing, now she had to deal with the sweat rolling down her forehead and distracting her. "I only had enough of the First Ones' technology to make one droid like Orbko! If I destroyed it now, I'd never be able to make another one without more First Ones' parts."

"Then how do you plan to stop it?" Adora interjected, turning away from the screen for just a moment. "We can't let anything happen to Frosta even if it does mean losing a robot."

"I don't know!" She squeezed her head in frustration. "It keeps locking me out everytime I try to rewrite its programming or order it to stop! It won't respond to anything I say, it keeps adapting to any commands I try to give it, and there's too much pressure going on right now!" She was just a genius scientist with an average 180 I.Q. and hair that she could control like her arms and legs. How was she any different from any other scientist?!

"There's got to be something you can do!" Surely, if anyone could fix this situation, Scorpia knew Entrapta could... right? "I thought getting the parts were more important than fighting the princesses, anyway?"

"It is! It's just..." Blinking, a flash of realization dawned upon Entrapta's trembling mind as a lightbulb mentally went off in her head. "Wait... That's it!" Regrowing the same grin of ingenuity in a single moment, the scientist typed away fastily against the keyboard of the control module, with thousands of codes being displayed in the process.

"What's it?"

"It's priority!" With another click, a smaller display popped up next to the rows of coding, showing an image of Orbko's head with several green arrows pointing around it. "I can't change its programming without it rewriting to protect itself, but I should be able to adjust what it values as a priority, meaning it should ignore the princesses long enough for the princesses to get away!"

"Do you think it'll really work?" Adora tried to pry any of the potential optimism remaining from the situation.

"The robot only acts in self-defense if something tries to interfere with its mission or attacks it. As long as it thinks its priority isn't with the princesses, it shouldn't try to overwrite its programming."

"And how long will this take?"

"Assuming all goes as planned... it shouldn't take anything more than five minutes. Why?" The question was followed by another crash erupting from the display, Adora and Scorpia watching as the robot punched an entire tree off its stump. Like her optimism, the tree came tumbling down, leaving only a small layer of wood in its place.

"Because I don't think they're going to even last two minutes at this rate..."

...

...

* _clang_ *

"Rngh!" Catra grumbled as she pushed against her shield, doing everything she could to stay on her feet as the robot bashed away with its maces.

From behind the terrifying droid, Frosta arose from a wave of ice being channeled under her feet, gathering her magic as she released a solid stream of ice towards the robot's metallic head. As the robot raised its mace again, its entire head was suddenly covered in a block of ice, at least two inches in thickness as it became engulfed in its frozen prison. In addition to its own self-defensive programming distracting it enough to focus on adapting to the thickening ice, the added weight forced it to grab on to its own head, holding it upright as it tried to maintain its balance, and dropping the maces in the process.

At this, the Princess of the Kingdom of Snows quickly jumped over the great machine, landing behind the magicat who picked herself off from the ground. While the robot was too preoccupied with its freezing conundrum, Catra saw the perfect opportunity to get some much needed payback for how long this robot's been bashing away at her and her allies, the way she felt it was insulting her lack of power.

Transforming her great shield into an agile combination of a chain 'n sickle, Catra narrowed her eyes in contempt as she twirled the small ball attached to the other end of her chain, flinging it with great dexterity and precision as it shattered off a small bit of the robot's right-armed carapace, just an inch's worth, which was more than enough for her satisfaction after all the beatings this robot brought to them. The minute she began to pull it back did she lunge for the towering figure, extending the claws in her feet as she tore a small bit into the robot's back and dug the small sickle straight into its abdomen as cleanly as paper.

"Catra, stop!" Her attention was stolen by the sound of the pleading tone coming from behind her, seeing Glimmer stopping just a few feet from her. "We can't destroy the bot, remember? Bow needs it intact!"

"Are you kidding me?" This robot was the worst combination of things rolled into one- something that really annoyed her and something she wasn't allowed to break! "We finally have a shot to smash this thing before it can recover and you don't want me to break it?!"

"Catra, please!" The pained look in Glimmer's eyes as she pleaded gave a small sting to Catra's heart. "If Bow can make a kill switch, we wouldn't have to waste anymore time in these woods. We'll be one step closer to taking the fight to the Horde!"

"Yeah, but-!"

* _Rrrrrnnnnnnnghhhh_ *

"Hu-?"

* _pew_ *

"Ahh!"

"Ahhhh!" The two princesses were unprepared or the massive attack that came back to them as Glimmer was thrown against the ground by a flailing Catra who crashed into her after being blasted at pointblank-range from the droid's eye. Within the two seconds she had, she barely managed to regrow her sword back to its original form, barely having enough time to deflect the powerful burst of energy that shot out of the block of ice from the robot's lone eye, a trail of steam still hissing from the melted hole it had created.

There wasn't any time to so much as blink for Glimmer as she felt Catra's entire body being shot at her, tumbling to the ground with the magicat atop of her as they were blasted away from the terrible droid. With a clear opening from its eye to the edge of the ice, about half a foot in diameter, the robot managed to squeeze the tips of its metallic fingers into the open socket, pulling apart the blocks of ice and tossing them to the ground, leaving a faint residue of cold around its head, one it managed to warm up with its own internal temperatures.

Catra winced as she slowly rose to her hands and knees, shaking her head as she looked over the equally-exhausted friend Glimmer rubbing her own face, pushing herself up from the ground by her elbow. "Are you okay?" She glanced over her friend with worry, knowing the cat took the brunt of the blast directly.

Sneering, Catra gave her a small scoff as she wiped the dirt from the left of her sore chin. "What do you think?" The contempt for the girl was noticeable even as the mechanical deathmachine stomped its way over to the injured friends.

It didn't matter if they could dodge out of the way of this thing's next attack, they needed to think of a plan! Everything they shot at it was thrown back at them or shrugged off in a matter of seconds, every advantage they found over this thing being nothing less than a miracle that was quickly taken from them. And every time they managed to get the drop on the robot, they could never do it in the same process twice.

Maybe that's why Frosta was caught off guard as she attempted to charge the robot from behind again on another wave of ice, morphing two solid hammar-like blocks of ice over both her hands. Sensing the essence of magic creeping from behind them, without so much as a twitch of warning as the younger girl neared it, the robot dodged with the simple turn of its body, leaning itself to the right without moving its feet apart just as the young princess rushed right passed him. Before she could even blink, Orbko rose its powerful right fist through the solid sheet of ice like wet paper, crashing through the thin layer of ice and knocking the princess off her wave.

The helpless girl was sent hurling through the air as the trail of ice shattered behind her, crumbling all along the trail to the dusty pathway she rode over. No sooner did Catra get back to her feet did she feel herself being thrust towards the ground again, now with the added weight of a princess half her size toppled right on top of her. It would've been a rather humorous sight to see for the Princess of Bright Moon was Catra was knocked away two feet beside her if it wasn't for the great trembling of the ground from the robot's massive footsteps.

There was nothing they could do at that second to stop it as it collected the maces along the ground as it approached them. Even if she did roll out of the way, that would still leave the fumbling Catra and Frosta in its wake as the two struggled to pull off from each other with the injuries thus sustained. The robot was too strong, it read their movements perfectly after the first time, and it managed to adapt at every given situation.

All Glimmer could do was channel a small fount of energy around her front as she held her mystic staff, ready to take on the brunt of the robot's monstrous force as it lifted one its maces to land the deadly blow.

* _twigg_ *

Luckily, it was a blow that never came as the robot's wrists were ensnared by a tangle of thick green vines, ones with a familiar scent of flowers which grew along the massive roots. Orbko was rather perplexed by the sudden predicament as it had yet to register the mysterious vines that wrapped around its arms, or the mysterious force that beckoned the plant to do so in the first place. Looking passed the massive bot, Glimmer had never found herself so relieved to see the stern face of one of their precious friends, the Princess of Plumeria, Perfuma, or the massive roots that sprouted from each side of her.

"Get away from my FRIENDS!" She shouted. With a grand roar, shuffling her arms as if she was pulling it directly, she pulled the robot off its feet as she tossed it away behind her a good twenty yards, slamming the incredible new droid into the sturdy ground away from her.

No sooner did it land, its wrists still attached to the magical entanglement, did it already begin to adapt to its newest enemy. Reformatting the carapace-turned-maces in its hands, it rematerialized the great metal into a new kind of weaponry, one that was almost liquid in form as the robot wrapped it around its own arms. Concealing the robot's arms entirely, several dozen rows of spikes behan to jut out from the terrifying droid before rotating at a high velocity all around its arms, cutting away at the hazardous vines like a chainsaw cutting through a thicket of bushes.

Despite not seeing her, it was given enough details from the readings it took from physical contact. The Princess was known as Perfuma, who specialized in plants, and was capable of using nature itself as a weapon. Like it was programmed to, it was already developing over a hundred different means to defend itself against the new princess with its internal systems prepared to adjust to a high temperature capable of burning the plants away on a moment's noti-

* _Splash!_ *

* **Wham!** *

Any such thoughts were swept away like the robot itself as it was blasted with several hundred pounds of force against one of the large trees of the Whispering Woods, drenching the robot in a deluge of water pushing against its entire body. When the water pushed passed it, it gave the great robot a small glimpse of its assailant, spotting a ticked-off Mermista glaring back at it as it brought force the same wave of water, blasting against the robot once again.

This went on once again as the Princess of Salineas summoned forth another wave of water, continuing to cycle a rotation of the great water pushing back the robot with as much force as she could muster, and pulling it back to her side for another blast each time. While it may have looked like she had the advantage at first glance, even she knew this strange new robot wasn't going to stay down for long. Already, it was adapting to the princess's powers as it hardened the carapace around its body, shrugging off the princess's attacks a little more each time it was struck by great blast of water.

She knew she wouldn't be able to keep this up forever. All Mermista was concerned with right now was keeping the robot at bay long enough for the others to recuperate.

With the crisis temporarily adverted, Glimmer let out a sigh of great relief as she steadily rose to her feet, welcoming the sight of Bow as he rode atop of a familiar white horse that went by the name of Swift Wind. "Glimmer!" He called out, earning a smile from the relieved princess as he hopped off the alicorn. "Are you okay?"

"Bow!" She panted a little as she ran up to her friend. The scrapes along her arms and legs, as well as Catra's and Frosta's, was all Bow needed to understand the turmoil they've been pushed through. "Yeah, we're fine, thanks to you guys." The two paused briefly as they heard Catra let out another grunt she pushed the shorter girl off of her, eliciting a small grumble from the icy princess who had to dust herself off. "How did you guys know we were in trouble?"

"We saw you teleporting above the forest earlier," Perfuma answered in his place as she rushed over, "and Swift Wind managed to track your location thanks to his bond with Catra."

"No need to thank me," the horse stated nonchalant with a strut, "just look into getting me that chair at the Meeting Table and we'll call it even."

"Heh, I'll speak to my mom first thing when we get home." Glimmer chuckled, finding a small sustenance of joy from this brief moment of peace.

"With that in mind, what the heck is that thing?" Shifting his head back along with the others, they were greeted with the sight of a struggling Mermista who continued to hold Orbko at bay, using everything she could to keep it pressed against the tree as it gained an inch every second.

"The Horde sent some type of new droid, and its unlike anything we've fought before."

"I'll say," the galiant unicorn tilted his head in fascination, "it's a lot more clunkier than what they usually send."

"No, I mean it's really dangerous!" It was times like these the Princess of Bright Moon wished she had a camera to show footage that could emphasize her point. "That thing's predicting our movements every time we launch an attack, and it keeps changing its body to fight against whatever we throw at it."

"You mean it's learning?" Bow didn't know whether to be impressed by the technical prowess behind the creation, or deeply concerned over what cynical mind could've created such a device. The amount of detail that would've gone into such a highly advanced creation would've taken the most brilliant of minds of Etheria to even comprehend such a creation, let alone build it.

"She means it's annoying!" Turning their attention back, they were approached by an irritated Catra who was still in a huff. "The same move never works on that thing twice, and the longer we keep fighting it, the faster it adapts to anything else we can do."

"Then how do we stop it?" Perfuma was the only one who didn't turn away from Mermista's struggle as she weighed in on the conversation. "We can't let it go on like this, and we can't destroy it if Bow needs it to create his switch thingy."

"We don't have to!" The sound of optimism drew in the small crowd around him as Bow assured them, squeezing his fist with confidence with a satisfying smile of confidence on his lips. "If its as intelligent as you guys said it was, then it has to have some sort of powerful core running its systems in its chest. All we have to do is remove the core and the entire thing should power down."

"Is it really that simple, though?" Glimmer raised a brow with concern. "How are we supposed to get it to hold still long enough to remove its core?"

"Hmm..." The thinker behind the Princess Alliance rubbed his chin in contemplation. "How long did it take to adapt to whatever you guys were doing?"

"I'd say about twelve seconds," Frosta spoke in Catra's and Glimmer's place as she approached, "give or take. Why?"

As the archer went over his plans from the other end of the clearing, Mermista had just reached her limits with this nightmarish contraption. Every wave she pushed against the mighty machine went on to further its own defensives, its metal reshaping and resurfacing with each passing wave to harden and combat against the princess's magic. Unlike the previous attacks it took, it required more time to evaluate its entire structure and reshape it into the now-darkened metal that overtook its entire person, a metal durable enough to withstand the blast of several hundred pounds of water pressure at once.

One that was capable of walking through it like a brisk walk through the rain, the torrent of water pushing through it being nothing more than a breeze in the wind to it.

Mermista's stance stiffened at the sight of the massive bot walking towards her with ease. Even after she attempted to blast the dreaded bot with all of her surrounding water at once, it still shrugged it off like it was nothing. The robot showed no signs of slowing down or backing away from its intended target as the shutters of its camera-like eyes began to narrow. Delivering one massive fist towards her, the princess was forced to jump back from the deadly strike, inadvertently leaving herself wide open as the robot targeted thirty-two centimeters above her right knee, the precise spot that would've left her incapable of defending herself immediately after.

* _ **Boom!**_ *

Thankfully for her, that blast never came to her as the robot's head was suddenly struck from the sudden force of an Explosive Arrow, knocking its sensors in temporary disarray. Mermista was rather surprised by the endeavor as well before Perfuma pulled her away gently with one of her vines. The fellow princess quickly whispered to her dear friend for a few seconds, culminating to a nod of understanding as Mermista ran behind the disoriented bot, standing several yards away and getting into her assigned position as Perfuma did the same on its right.

Like she was told, Mermista saw the youngest princess standing several yards at the front of the robot with her magic at the ready, her hands giving off an icy chill as the magic gathered around the floor near her. To the robot's left, she saw Catra and Swift Wind already in position, the Princess of Power creating a gold tethered whip out of her sword, with the horse standing at the ready behind his master. That just left a certain pair of members waiting to leap into the action, standing off to the side behind a row of trees as they all waited for Mermista's signal.

This massive droid hurt her friends, tossed them aside like they were nothing, and used their powers and weaknesses against them. It could adapt to any one situation that was given to it, and could gauge how strong each of its adversaries were the minute it attacked them. All of it hinged on the fact it took a short amount of time to process and analyze each and every attack, as well as the individual who attacked it. With that in mind, Bow's planning came down to one important detail: if it took a certain amount of time to study each of the princess's attacks individually, then how long did it take to study them all at the same time?

The theory was put to the test as Mermista began the attack. With as much water as she could draw out from the surrounding fields that were still melting, she poured a massive tank of water over the mobile machine, dropping the same amount of water upon its back that it had come accustomed to over her brief fight with it. At first, it was confused. Why was she bothering to use the same attack against it if she knew it wouldn't work? Was she inferior in terms of intelligence compared to the rest? Was she too proud of herself to quit? The answers it required came to it as soon as it processed this confusing line of reasoning as the temperature around its feet began to drop.

With its sensors beginning to return to their proper functionality, the robot assessed the strange coolness surrounding its feet. What started as a small breeze quickly solidified into an icy winds as the princess of Ice gathered a large recess of ice around both its legs, stretching halfway up to its kneecaps. The princess wasn't trying to encompass ice around its entire body, just enough to make it focus on its legs.

With the attack coming from above and the one coming from below, it provided the perfect opportunity for Catra and Perfuma to pull off their line of the work. With Perfuma gathering her massive vines at her side, both girls threw their respective bonds at the incapacitated droid, with Catra wrapping the single whip several times over the robot's right arm, and Perfuma wrapping several vines over its left arm. Both of the princesses pulled with all their might as they pulled the robot's arms away from each other as far as possible, Swift Wind holding on the end of Catra's newly-formed whip in his teeth as he pulled behind her.

Just as Bow anticipated, the robot was hunched over a little as it was forced to process each of these attacks from every direction against its will, calculating and analyzing every detail in order to combat the threat, despite knowing it was being left vulnerable to further attack. With the distraction thrown in front of it, and a knowing nod to Glimmer beside him, the princess channeled the last burst of her magic that she could use to teleport with, holding onto him as they teleported and reappeared behind the robots back.

At their appearance, Mermista lowered the downpour over the robot, directing her stream atop of the robot's head to keep its vision impaired long enough for Bow to access the robot's back. Along with this, with her staff still in hand, Glimmer jammed the butt of the mystical staff straight on the nape of the droid's neck, doing whatever she could to assist in its distraction as Bow attempted to access its systems.

The archer examined the chassis of the thoroughly as he searched for any form of opening, whether a bolt or a panel itself. Seeing little to work with, knowing time was of the essence, the bowman sighed in reluctance as he grabbed one of the arrows still in his quiver, and, with a strong grip, plunged it an inch away from the right edge of the robot's back. Like many of his arrows, this one was specially modified for any sort of occasion. In this case, it was designed to build up with extreme heat at the tip, allowing it to penetrated either thicks blocks of ice, or hardened armor like the robot he was currently riding upon.

It was also proving itself to be a very useful alternative to a welding torch as he slowly traced it around the robot's back, hoping to pry off a layer thin enough to access its core without damaging anything too important. Being careful not to cut too deeply, the archer nibbled on his bottom lip as he turned the edges, being as quick as possible yet careful enough to complete his task without wasting too much time.

This is how the group found themselves for the next minute, each of them struggling on their respective sides as they distracted the robot long enough for Bow to work. With every second that passed, the grip around Catra's hands tightened as she gritted her teeth. For each tug, Perfuma required more excessive magic to maintain her hold with the enchanted vines. And with Frosta and Mermista using their magics above and below it, they had to be careful not to overpower each other while maintaining a constant stream of their magic to suppress the robot's senses.

Unbeknownst to the rest, however, the robot wasn't as distracted or shortsighted as they originally thought. Adapting and Evolving to a given situation wasn't its only means of combat. Naturally, as a being created and complexed as itself, it was capable of advanced thought. Out of the variety of data that ran through its head on an endless basis during the fight, one of the things it made sure to do was to never unleash its full power. Why? Because of situations like this.

So it could gain the upperhand and surprise the rest if it ever needed to turn things around.

With a simple pull against its restraints, the magicat nearly jumped as her feet slid across the ground, forcing her to painfully dig the claws of her exposed toes into the soil as she attempted pull harder without her She-Ra state. The same effect was being felt on the other end as Perfuma nearly lost touch with her own magic, requiring her to gather an extra bundle of the thick green vines to tighten her hold over it. And even though they didn't have to worry about pulling the robot away, Glimmer and Bow found themselves struggling to maintain their grip as the robot shook its back fiercely.

"Whhhoaoaoo!" Glimmer meeped, wrapping an arm around the bot's neck as she tightened an arm around it. She held on to the bot's neck with her fingers holding along her staff and the tip of Bow's shirt, trying her best to maintain her grip despite the torrential rain of Mermista's magic.

"H-Hey! Steady!" Bow called to the surrounding allies, tension filling the air around them as they tried to shrug off the stress getting to them.

"How much longer is this going to take?" Mermista yelled out from behind, her magic starting to wane at the excessive amount she already used from earlier.

"J-Just another minute, at most!"

"We're not going to last another minute, Bow!" Frustrated, Catra wrapped her right hand tightly around the whip, doing whatever she could to maintain her hold on the fearsome creature.

"D'ohn leh yo' 'ard 'own!" Swift Wind's slurred words did nothing for the feline as she turned her head, groaning internally at his lack of sense with talking while his mouth was full.

"I can't understand you..."

Rolling his eyes, the unicorn lifted his head as he tried to reply, "I said, don't let your guard d-"

"Ahhh!"

* _swiff_ *

The horse barely managed to rectify its one mistake as took the whip out of its mouth. The moment he began to talk, Catra was pulled harshly against the ground, nearly dropping to her knees as she was pulled over a foot closer to the droid. In haste, the horse just as quickly stomped against the edge of the whip to hold it in place, scooping it back up in his mouth before Catra could be pulled any further, not that it did anything to prevent the irritated glare she shot back to him for his terrible mistake. "N'orry!"

"We wouldn't have this problem if we had a little more  _power_ , you know." It felt extremely obvious to Frosta what they had to do as she shifted her eyes over to infamous princess. Right away, Catra's eyes narrowed a few inches as she tried to ignore the suggestion, passing it off with a shrug like it was nothing.

"W-We're fine as we are!" She yelled back, trying to put on a brave face as she struggled to maintain her grip. "We don't need She-Ra!"

"Uhh C-Catra, I beg to differ right now!" Glimmer yelled back, the robot's shaking became increasingly violent. "We could really use's She-Ra's help right about now!"

"No we don't! We're doing just fi-"

"She-Ra, please!" The sound of Perfuma's beg-filled voice made it all the more disheartening to Catra as she tried to drown out the noise. "We need you right now! I know you can do it!"

"We just need her for a few seconds, come on!" And with the pained groan of Mermista's insistence, followed by the constant pleas of those around her, that Catra squeezed her eyes shut.

What was she supposed to do right now? She was losing her grip with each passing beat of her heart, and she knew the longer she wasted time trying to think of an excuse or a plan, the closer the robot was going to be to breaking free. She knew what was at stake here and knew the importance of this mission, less everything end in ruin. She couldn't afford to go She-Ra though when she couldn't achieve nothing more than a fourth of the form to begin with!

None of them knew about her recent status, and it was the way she wanted to keep it. How was she supposed to explain to everyone how she suddenly lost her "She-Ra-ness" several weeks ago after all this time and effort she put in trying to get it before a month ago? All that time, all that effort, all those hardships she had to endure since joining the Rebellion and to achieve the form of She-Ra, only to be taken from her after a stupid mistake, a stupid thought.

Something she has been dealing with the consequences of ever since.

It wasn't anything she could explain to them, either. How was she supposed to say "hey guys, hope you don't mind I'm not the same She-Ra that saved our butts a month ago, hope you're okay with that, and not expect any form of backlash? They wouldn't accept her for her mistakes, not after everything they did to try and get Catra to become She-Ra in the first place, and what good would it do otherwise? Even if she did tell them the truth, so what? It wouldn't stand to help any of them. And how would they react to her if they found out the truth?

Glimmer and Bow would be angry over her refusal to tell them, Mermista would berate her endlessly for not telling them the truth, Frosta would continue to poke fun at her and never let her live it down, and Perfuma would be the worst. Out of all of them, her's was the most painful to bear. There was no surprise for her respect or admiration for the holy figure known as She-Ra, or those that took the form of the blessed warrior. Almost twice a day, she would go on to make a fawned comment about the history of the glorious She-Ra and how righteous her tales of woe and adventure were.

Even if they had nothing to do with the current She-Ra.

How was Catra supposed to turn her down of all people? The first princess she's ever met, the one that held She-Ra in high regard. If she shattered her dreams out of everyone, to turn that bright cheerful smile she always had into something of twisted agony and sadness, Catra would never be able to forgive herself.

It didn't matter how much it hurt the others by refusing them when they needed it most. For now, keeping her secret a mystery was the best course of action, and the only way to keep them from being anymore hurt than they had to be.

With a single, solitary word, Catra gave them a solid response, one they were unprepared for. "N-No!" And with that utterance, their fates were sealed. Not because of her refusal to acknowledge them, or her seeming refusal to turn She-Ra when they truly needed it, but because they had finally ran out of time.

Echoing with a mechanical whir and a hum, the robot spotted the very instant their guards were simultaneously lowered enough for it to act. Without warning, the droid's right arm suddenly detached as it was fired directly at the animalistic duo, reaching Catra the very moment she opened her eyes again. Despite being futile, Swift Wind attempted to protect the both of them as he covered themselves with his wings upfront, but was powerless against the mighty fist that pushed the two back into the forest.

In the timespan it took Perfuma's eyes to widen and to let out a gasp, she was already defeated. Grabbing onto the vines that held it at bay, the robot rotated its hand at supersonic speeds, faster than Perfuma could keep up with and with enough force to pry a tree right out of the ground. Maneuvering its hands precisely, the princess of plants was caught off guard as the rotation eventually spun the the opposing ends of the roots on her sides in a timely fashion, encircling and eventually wrapping themselves around both her arms and pinning them to her sides.

All it took from there was one solid swing to thrust the girl in the bundle of twigs and leaves in the trees above. Scraping and tumbling down as she did, the princess found herself entangled in a heap of the vines connecting to her wrists and ankles, tightened around just enough to prevent her from channeling her magic, at least long enough for it to finish off the other princesses.

With both its arms free, there was nothing preventing it from its second rotation. This time, the entire robot spun its upper half with its arms still stretched at the side. All around it the leaves, dirt, and rain that continued to pour above it were blown across the clearing, creating a thin yet suffocating cloud of dust and debris that irritated the eyes of the remaining fighters, causing Frosta and Mermista to shield their eyes with their arms as the stinging combination of nature rushed passed them.

That did nothing to help Glimmer and Bow's predicament.

With the two friends still hanging on from the back, it was only natural that they would find themselves flung into the air. The intense speeds the robot was spinning itself combined with the slippery surface of its body, in small part due to Mermista's involvement, made it a harrowing ride that nobody could hang onto. In opposite directions, from the left to the right, the two friends were ejected from the machine and thrown through the air, being launched several dozen yards in two directions from behind.

Coming down to the last of the remaining princesses, the robot raised its right arm as it came to a halt, aiming it in the same direction of its missing hand as a small rocket blasted it back to its own. Swiftly bursting through the air, following a small click as it returned to its exposed socket, the robot began to channel an electrical charge into both its hands, one capable of disabling any fully-grown adult like a tazer or a stun rod, and thrust them into the ground. While the young princess was safe from where she was, the mounds of dirt resisting the splash of water that swept the field, its intended target wasn't so fortunate as she took on the full blast of the shock.

* _Bzzzzzt!_ *

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!" From behind, Mermista screamed in agony as several thousand volts of electricity ran through her system, paralyzing her senses as a small portion of the droid's power supply ran through her.

With her feet planted in the mushy ground around her, not to mention the vast amount of water that pooled from her to the droid directly, there was nothing she could do to prevent the onslaught of misery that was inflicted upon her. It was only after the droid ended its electrical charge itself, pulling the hands from the ground, that the princess finally collapsed to the ground, conscious but numbed from the electricity that coursed throughout her body.

That just left the last of the princesses, one by the name of Princess Frosta, as the youngest member of the Alliance was finally coming out of her blinded state. While she was incapable of seeing what transpired around her, the sounds of screaming and yells throughout the recent event matched perfectly with what she saw. All around her, her allies were either gone or incapacitated, in no state to fight back or defend themselves from the robot's rampage.

Neither was she as she felt a powerful grip grab her by the scruff of her neck,

"Agghhhh!" The young princess squealed as the robot pushed her against the ground, slightly choking her throat pinned against the ground.

Orbko had finished what it was designed to do- be the perfect combat unit that could take on the evil princesses of Etheria and traitors to the Horde. All of the princesses and members of the Rebellion lied across the field, in the trees, against the ground, and in one particular case, tangled up in the trees. It adapted to each of their strengths when the situation called for it, and evolved when it needed to take them all out at the same time.

It proved its superiority.

The princesses lied around it defeated.

And it felt no remorse or sympathy as it materialized the titicular spiked mace that it once wielded in its other hand from the carapace around its arm. Raising it into the sky, Frosta's struggles were put on hold as every ounce of her body was filled with fear, seeing the light gleaming off of the raised spike looking down on her. With the lack of air she was inhaling, it was impossible to gather the concentration she needed to defend herself via magic. Grunting at the hopelessness of the situation, the young princess squeezed her eyes shut as she saw the mace slamming down on her, unable to watch as her end fell upon her.

"..." With a small breeze falling over her, the Princess of the Kingdom of Snows waited for the horrible fate that was literally falling atop of her. She could feel the shadow of the mace as it fell over her eyes, the grip of the robot's hand clenched around her throat remaining constant in strength, never showing any sign of slack or possibility for her to escape through. She still couldn't believe after all her hard work and dedication to the Horde, offering them resources from her kingdom and keeping tabs on the princesses like she was tasked with. And a part of her still wondered if this was them betraying her, or if her theory about the robot malfunctioning was accurate.

"..." That same line of wonder proved validated as the silence continued to surmount. For a supposed death that was coming towards her, it was taking its sweet time. It almost felt like... "...?" She couldn't help it. With the curiosity building over her mind, she just had to see. Cracking one eye open, she took a small peek at the round figure hovering over her, pupils dilating at the mace's spikes that were less than an inch from the bangs of her hair. They were standing above her, ready to deliver the swift justice that was her end, waiting for the perfect moment to crush the young girl in one fell swoop.

But that moment never came.

* _zzzt_ *

"Huh?" At the sound of the mysterious static that just went off, Frosta finally opened her eyes in full. Despite everything that had lead up to this point, the tension still hanging in the atmosphere with uncertainty, the mace never came closer to her. Tilting her head up as best she could, she could see a small twitch going off from the robot's head, its neck slightly crooked from her point of view.

The robot had yet to bring the mace any closer. In fact, much to her surprise, the mace actually began to nudge a little away from her, the constricting grip over her throat loosening with each passing breath. Orbko had started to recede from its previous objected as the red coloring in its eye reverted to its original shade of blue.

It was sparing her.

...

...

"Got it!" Entrapta finally announced before collapsing against the control console. "HUUUUUUFF!" She couldn't remember the last time she gasped so loudly, panting fervently with her tongue sticking out. "Huff... huff... huff..." Every strand of hair looked more exhausted than she was, hanging lifelessly from her head all around her as the scientist had to wipe her own sweat with the palms of her hand.

She had never encountered such an exhausting experience before such as this. Oh, sure, she's hacked numerous things in the past. Most of them were her own inventions in order to hone her skills, and they were always entertaining. She used complexed factorizations to make her test runs unpredictable and challenging, forcing her to work tooth and nail, or in this case finger and hair, as she attempted to bypass the various designs and programs she used to make the tests more challenging.

From complexed algorithms forcing her to use prime factorization to debugging highly encrypted data locks that gave her access to her server's mainframes, there was never a dull moment or an unenjoyable experience she had whenever she had to hack her own inventions. But MAN was this thing a nightmare!

It was unlike anything she had ever experienced before. Whenever she bypassed one security detail, two more popped up immediately after like a hydra losing its head. Every code and encrypted piece of dialogue she had to fight through came behind several firewalls, all of which had their own security measures that she had to bypass, too. And every time she came close to finishing one detail that was preventing her from accessing Orbko's mainframe, it completely flushed her out of its systems by deploying another level of security that she had to fight through.

Ironically, her most opportune moment came during the brief scuffle the droid had against all members of the Princess Alliance. With all of them distracting the droid with an admittedly-creative means of restraint, its processing unit slowed down tremendously as it worked to adapt to the princesses' forms of magic and strength, providing an ample amount of time to hack into its systems even faster as it was too distracted by the various attacks to build any more firewalls.

From there, it was just a short matter of accessing its internal systems and compromising its Priority Database, filling it with a never-ending desire to ignore the princesses and continue on with the rest of its mission. As expected, the droid refused to counteract this new thought that suddenly infiltrated its systems, thinking it was its own doing as it had yet to do anything to hamper its combat capabilities. It took nearly a full minute for the droid to be fully integrated with the line of reasoning, ending off right around the same time it brought its mace down near Frosta's head.

It was the most mind-numbing experience she had ever gone through. Perhaps some part of it was to be expected since she was hacking the creation of a long lost civilization. Then again, considering the same civilization existed nearly a thousand years ago, it was a wonder such an old race could create something so advanced and ingenious like this in the first place.

It was brutal. It was stressful. And as fun and exciting as the challenge was for her, there was no way she would ever want to go through the same experience ever again within the next two hours!

...

...

"Agh-!" The small princess let out a small yip as she cried out, breathing heavily as the air finally returned to her lungs in full.

With Orbko's prioritize reorganized, it no longer sought reason to continue fighting the evil princesses and warriors around it, believing them to be of no consequence to its mission. Even if they were, they didn't stand a chance. It overpowered them like it was designed to do, and it was capable of finishing them off if they ever tried to fight it ever again. With its own two metallic hands, it struck down each of the princesses, and ensured they knew what little they had to hope for in terms of victory.

Taking a quick reading of its surroundings, knowing the princesses would regather in just a few minutes, it restructured the mace back to its original carapace-like form as the robot itself backed away from the perplexed Frosta. With nothing more to gain by wasting time here, it returned to its original ball-like form, turning around from the princess of ice, and sped off at remarkable speeds down the pathway of the forest to its targeted destination.

And at this, Frosta let out a sigh, collapsing her head back to the ground again.

The battle had been a grueling experience for each member of the Princess Alliance. They had just contended with a terrifying creature of power, one crafted by the Horde's best and brightest, and they had lost. They needed to capture the bot alive, to create a kill switch that could finally disable all of the droids within the surrounding forest and provide them a means to combat the Evil Horde army. And considering what the droid's intended target was, fate wouldn't provide them with a choice...

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**A/N: Ugh, that was grueling. Like I said, idk why it was so hard for me to write this chapter- yes i've differed a lot of the past chapters, but those still kept with the main flow of the show and whatnot. Here idk what exactly happened. I contemplated at least a dozen times in the past chapters whether or not I wanted to rewrite the entire previous chapter to be more fitting, and even now I'm contemplating it X/** _

_**Phew... At least on a positive side, with this chapter over, its right back to FINALLY reaching the main plot again, and i pray the update wont take as long now, or at least make the writing better overall ^^** _

_**With that said, apologies again, and I hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!** _


	60. Season 2 Episode 1: The Frozen Forest Part 6

_**A/N: Ok i had a really long and winded explanation (i.e. nothing) about the delay and whatnot but stupidly in the midst of trying to upload the new image, backed out of my explanation and lost all that writing, so instead i'm just going to cut to the short and simples of it.** _

_**Sorry for the massive delay folks, not sure what to say that'll make up for it. I want to give a majorly huge shoutout for my 2 newest and biggest fans, Peterson Muldoon from instagram (idk what it is on his web page exactly, just type in what I wrote and it should still bring you to him) and Heitomos from Ao3. Why am I applauding them the most out of all of this? Oh, not much except for their AMAZING contributions!** _

_**Thanks to Heitomos for his commission picture- you guys ever wanted to know what a full-fledged Catra-She-Ra looks like? Well now you can by going to my Ao3 site and looking at the latest comment. Idk who did it or how but they made a full scale model of what Catra looks like in this, and, while i think she should be a bit darker, it was freaking beautiful to look at.** _

_**Perhaps more amazing than that is Peterson Muldoon's work, though. Why is that? Oh, not much, just that instead of doing one pic, or two, or a DOZEN, this guy has so many freaking pictures of fanart of MY FANFIC that i don't even know what to do. I highly recommend everyone looking up his artwork because its freaking sweet, and he's still doing it to date. For example, you guys ever wanted to know what a full-powered darkness-empowered adora looks like? well now you can by looking at his instagram because holy heck is it awesome!** _

_**Edit: i also forgot to add the sources when I redid this stupid author's notes XP For Heitomos's picture, look under the comment section in my Ao3 posting, it'll be along the more recent comments with a direct link in his comment. And for Peterson's, go on instagram and type in Peterson Muldoon and you should find his account, should be like or something. I HIGHLY recommend checking them out people, the art is amazing!** _

_**I'd also like to thank the others who've kept in touch with me like Star Saber and Peyton Helix who've kept in touch with me as well as a handful of others just to make sure i was fine. Its so touching to find kind and moral support through all of this. I'm hoping to come back into things and get started in writing this again cause i haven't even seen season 3 yet XD!** _

**_Which reminds me, plz refrain from spoiling anything from it- not seeing it is the only motivation i have atm to keep working on this as not seeing it is giving me a reason to finish this season up. The sooner i do, the sooner i can see it, so please refrain from spoils. The less motivation i get the less writing i get done or the longer it takes (though hopefully not as long as 2 freaking months XP)._ **

**_Once again, glad to be back guys! Thanks to those who've supported me up to this date and I hope you all enjoy!_ **

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

"Huff... Let's never go through that again..." Adora groaned, rubbing her forehead as she leaned against the wall.

The last several minutes may have been the most nerve wracking experience she had ever faced, and given all of her adventures and time within the Horde, that was saying a  **lot**. What could make the second-in-command of an entire army of the Horde so nervous compared to the usual? Oh, not much. Just the fact that Entrapta's robot went on an indestructible rampage and nearly finished off all of the princesses, including Frosta!

With the monitors in front of them, they were witnessing everything that Orbko, Entrapta's newest and greatest of creations, was doing. Through its eyes, they saw as the robot managed to defeat each and every one of the princesses and allies of the Rebellion single handedly, With its adaptive capabilities, it managed to predict and expose each of their fighting styles and weaknesses. With its evolutionary capabilities, it could alter its own body into a living weapon, creating maces out of the shield-like carapaces around its limbs, or creating a means to fire a fist like a rocket at one of his enemies.

It was the greatest weapon the Horde had ever created, and it proved to be troubling.

Because of its adaptive capabilities, it could alter its own programming in the event it worked against itself. For example, as Adora, Scorpia, and Entrapta came to learn, it could rewrite its own targeting system to identify someone as either an ally or an enemy, such as it did when Frosta started to attack it. Confused by the fact a fellow ally was attacking it, it rewrote its own functionality to determine that Frosta was a fellow enemy, and attacked her immediately like it had all the others.

Needless to say, it proved to be the most capable weapon Entrapta had ever built. It grew stronger the longer Mermista bashed it with her mystical waters, it created weaponry and components to defend itself against Glimmer's magic. Even when they worked together to combine their strengths into a single, unified, course of attack, it still managed to overpower them with ease, removing them or disabling them from the battle, and allowing it to charge the youngest princess when she was most vulnerable.

It was only thanks to Entrapta's speedy hacking that they managed to stop the robot at all. She had to rewrite its priority settings so it would ignore Frosta long enough to carry on with the rest of its mission, prioritizing the recovery of the First Ones' technology over fighting the princesses. There was no closer call that Adora had ever experienced than the sight of the robot nearly flattening Frosta's head like a pancake with one of its maces just inches away from her face.

Saving her life was the easy part out of all this. The challenging part would be trying to figure out how to apologize to her after this.

"Will the robot ignore her now?" Scorpia asked, taking the brief moment of peace to look away from the screen.

"Not entirely," Entrapta spoke as she twisted her exhausted hair in her hands, "just long enough to complete the rest of its mission. With its priority focused on the Beacon, it should provide enough of a distraction to leave the rest of the princesses alone, at least until they attack it again."

"Can't you just command it to stop completely or something?" It seemed like a no brainer to someone like Scorpia. Why bother allowing the robot to continue its mission if she had no control over it? "Just command it to come back to base so we can dismantle it."

"And destroy one of my greatest creations?!" The scientist stammered, pulling at the side of her own cheeks as her hands slid across her face. "I could never do something so cruel! Besides, I couldn't do it even if I tried. Orbko completely locked me out of its systems, so even if I attempted to, it would just create another firewall."

"So?" Adora failed to find her reasoning as she stepped forth. "Why don't you just hack your way through it now like you did before? You wouldn't have to do it in a rush like last time, you know."

"Normally I would if the situation wasn't as dire as they were now. The problem is I don't know if attempting to hack its system could trigger a glitch that could overwrite its priority settings. If I do something wrong or if it does something I'm not expecting, it could overwrite its priority settings again, and this time I doubt I could hack it as easily as I did before, if I can at all!"

"Nghhh..." Adora looked off to the side as she tried to think. What were they supposed to do in a situation like this? If she backed out of the mission now, she would have to explain her failure to Lord Hordak. If she allowed the mission to continue as it was, they could risk jeopardizing a great alliance they had with the Kingdom of Snows. There was no safe end to either of these situations!

**_Trai... tor..._ **

"Ghh..." And there's that stupid voice that always made her gnarl her teeth in frustration.  _She's not a traitor!_  She told herself.  _She didn't know what to expect!_

"Adora?" The blond nearly jumped at the mention of her name, turning to Scorpia with surprise as if she never realized she was there. Instead of continuing on with any verbal response, she trailed Scorpia's gaze down to her right hand, seeing what caught her attention with concern.

Her right hand was shaking. She didn't even feel her right hand shaking, however little, as the veins within blackened with a thick darkness. She wasn't the least bit aware that her hand was moving until Scorpia pointed it out to her, never realizing as the thin black lines were starting to trail up her fingertips. She focused on her breathing as she inhaled deeply, grabbing onto her hand as she tried to relax her nerves.

These were the times that worried Scorpia the most. To watch one of her dear friends struggling so much with themselves, just to calm themselves down, was painful to watch. How was she supposed to understand Adora's situation, to be supportive of it, when she didn't understand what it was like to have a mind working against your own body in the first place? She might as well be a robot herself and give someone else control to her movements just to get an idea.

"I... I'm okay..." She exhaled when she saw the blackness coming to a halt. "Are you sure we don't have to worry the droid?"

"Not for the time being anyway, no." Her enthusiasm was a little less than inspirational considering the first surprise they came upon when Orbko managed to overwrite its own targeting systems. "It'll ignore the princesses as long as they don't attack it again, which I'm leaning towards a fifty-fifty chance of happening." At this, the purpleness that was her hair finally sprang back to life after their brief rest. Smiling, the geeky scientist let out a small chuckle as she pet her hair, awing at it as it carried her back to the couch.

With this, Adora made her way over to the couch as she sighed. She couldn't communicate with Frosta for the time being, and there was no way for them to control Orbko from wherever it was for now. If she wanted to accomplish anything, she needed to remain calm and watch everything play out in front of her and have Entrapta act when the situation truly called for it.

She couldn't mess with the robot or have Entrapta hack it, and she couldn't fathom destroying one of the greatest robots the Horde has ever known, not when it was within Lord Hordak's sight. The most she could do for now was sit back and pray to herself that the princesses weren't foolish enough to attack the robot after losing so pitifully to it.

And somehow she knew that with someone like Catra on their team, that was nothing more than wishful thinking...

...

...

"Ugh... You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Catra rubbed her head in response as she walked through the trees with Swift Wind's head over her shoulder. "What about your wings? Are they okay?" She asked with a twinge of guilt on her mind, remembering how he shielded the both of them when they were struck by the robot's rocket fist.

"Eh, more or less." The scrapes and bruises around his wings did little to deter the brace facade he was putting on. After all, what kind of noble stallion would he be if he couldn't measure up to the limitations of the great She-Ra! "I'm pretty sure I'm well enough to fly-"

* _crick_ *

"Eek-!" Almost immediately upon stretching out his wings as a sign of showmanship did the magical beast come to regret it. The second his wings were spread out in full, they were struck by an intense pain along the further half of his wingspan, feeling a sharp crack within his bones, before dangling helplessly over his sides, the look of discomfort spreading across his long face. "Ehh... in about an hour... maybe nine..."

"Mmmh..." The horse's ears drooped at the sound of her moan. The last thing Catra needed right now was any more guilt adding on to her already-tormented mind.

And coming back into the clearing of their previous battle didn't help in those matters.

All around her, her fellow allies and friends were pulling themselves to their feet, some of them from the trees. Over to the left she saw a slightly bruised Glimmer helping a numbed Mermista off the ground, throwing her arm around her own shoulder as she helped the mermaid princess up to her feet.

Over a few yards away, she could see Frosta standing nearby as Bow was working to cut down a tangled up Perfuma with a knife who was still stuck in the trees. Out of all of them, she seemed to be the least injured. There were a few stray leaves sticking out of her hair and a small twig, but other than that, pride withholding, she seemed to be perfectly fine between the rest of them.

"Is everybody okay?" Glimmer asked around as Catra came into the clearing.

"Aside from the fact I can't feel my legs?" Mermista huffed, blowing a bang of her hair out of her face with a nonchalant tone. "Super."

* _snap_ *

"Careful, Bow..." Perfuma warned quietly as Bow cut away another vine from the tree with his knife. If she could get any sense of feeling in her hands after having them restrained by the thick green vines from the tree in the last ten minutes, she would've easily manipulated the plants to lower herself to the ground.

* _snap_ *

"Don't worry, I'll get you down soon." Bow assured following another snap of the twisted vines.

"It's not that. I'm just saying you should be careful for when I-"

* _snap_ *

"Wahhhh-!"

* _Thud_ *

"...Fall..." Being so preoccupied with the princess's entanglement, Bow had neglected to consider where, or in this case, who she'd be landing on the moment she was free. Perhaps it was something he would be able to consider it next time once he pulled his face up from out of the wet blades of grass that he was weighed upon.

"Noted..." Mumbling from under her, the princess of plants quickly hopped off of her saviors back, helping him back up to his feet as the others drew closer to the clearing.

All of them had an uneasy look in their eyes as they gazed at one another. What were they supposed to say about the recent loss they suffered? Despite their best efforts, they were all tossed aside like ragdolls before the might of the superior droid that was Orbko. It was stronger, it was smarter, it was more agile than any other robot they had ever faced. Even if they were to combine the strength of all the past droids they ever fought, none of them would be able to compare to the monstrosity they had all just faced.

Breaking the silence surrounding the group, Mermista finally spoke, "Would someone mind telling me why we just lost to the walking trash can back there?" Out of all of them, Mermista was still the only one without prior knowledge to the droid's capabilities.

"That thing learns from every attack we throw at it." It was hard for Glimmer to repress the memory of how it countered her own magic, the way it threw her energy back at her with the moldable carapace around its limbs. "Every time we hit it with something new, it learns how to defend itself against that and anything we throw at it."

"And I'm pretty sure we just made it invincible after we all hit it all at once." The weight of the situation continued to pile upon Bow's mind as he pinched the bridge between his eyes. "What was I thinking having us all attack it at once? It probably knows a hundred different ways to defeat all of us by now."

"Bow, its all right. I'm sure we can beat it if we come up with another plan."

"Or if one of us actually  _try_  harder next time..." Frosta's snide comment didn't go unnoticed by the magicat who scowled back at her.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"What do you think it means? Everyone was giving it everything they had except for you!" Frosta felt little to no concern over her minor rant as she argued, with Catra being the focus of only half her anger. "Out of everyone who fought against that bot, you're the only one who held back!"

"What makes you think I held-?"

"Don't play dumb with me, you know what I mean! We all do!" Glancing around, Catra's nerves tensed a little as her ears drooped, seeing the uneasy expressions of her fellow friends and allies meeting her gaze indirectly. "We practically begged you to turn into She-Ra when we needed it the most, and instead you ignored everybody and lost us our chance of making a kill switch!"

"That-!" Catra tensed a little as she shifted her eyes away in quick thought. She needed to be careful in how she worded the rest of her conversation, less she give away the dreaded secret she's been struggling to keep. "T-That wasn't anything, alright? I just thought we didn't need it, that's all." Her dreadful gaze quickly shot back with a look of contempt at the younger princess, crossing her arms in personal disgust.

"Yeah, right! Like that's the only reason." A sense of fear started to tug at Catra's chest as the fellow eyes of her friends were drawn to the young princess, a pique of curiosity and confusion crossing their faces.

"What do you mean by that?" Glimmer wondered.

"Think about it for a minute. Why she's been so stubborn lately? The reason we haven't' seen her transform into She-Ra for the last month? It all makes sense now." All of Catra's senses were put on high alert as her heart began to race, noticing the increasingly curious expressions of those surrounding her.

Did Princess Frosta actually find out about her little secret? About her inability to transform into the true form of She-Ra that they desperately needed? What was she going to tell them if Frosta came out and revealed it? She couldn't turn into She-Ra's true form, that was something she could handle. What she couldn't handle was explaining  _why_  she couldn't transform into She-Ra, provided it truly was her fault as she thought.

If the rest found out the truth, what would they say to her? The nerves were getting as her tail gave off a slight twitch, already picturing the number of things they would shout at her, all the reasons they could blame her for her mistake. It's not like she didn't want to tell anybody about it, she just wished it wouldn't come to that. And now, here she was, with Frosta preparing to reveal the big secret-

"She doesn't want to transform into She-Ra anymore!"

...Or not.

Still, the line of questioning proved troublesome as the rest of the group's curiosity only continued to grow. "What do you mean she doesn't want to turn into She-Ra?"

"Think about it. Every time we come out to these woods, Catra's only ever fought them normally. She's never tried to use her sword, she never tries to turn into She-Ra, and she hasn't done anything since the battle of Brightmoon other than getting angrier all the time!" The She-Ra-in-question turned her head away and crossed her arms as the young princess pointed accusingly at her. "She hasn't turned into She-Ra because she either can't, or, more likely, she doesn't want to."

Without seeing, Catra could feel the gaze of her allies falling on her one by one, practically telling from first look who was feeling what. She could feel Mermista's perplexity as she wrapped her head around this, Perfuma's concern and worry if something was actually wrong with She-Ra, Bow's and Glimmer's combined expression of confusion and surprise as to whether or not this was the reason she was so irritated recently, and Catra herself gritted her teeth as she felt Frosta's smugness coming off on her, even if she didn't show it.

"She... doesn't want to?" Perfuma repeated with the tilt of her head.

"Catra, is... is that true?" Of all the people who had to ask her that, why did it have to be Bow? She could easily ignore the others as she never felt much of a connection between them, but it was harder to remain silent whenever she found Bow or Glimmer talking to her.

"Tch, o-of course not!" The feline growled back, trying to maintain her composure and usual persona as she spoke. "I can turn into She-Ra at any time! I... I just don't do it unless its an emergency or if I'm training."

"What sense does that make?" Mermista questioned with a raised brow. "Wouldn't it make more sense to use She-Ra as much as possible to get more experience out of it?"

"B-Because... Because it's what Light Hope told me. She said until I get stronger personally then I'll never be able to master She-Ra's power, even with all the strength it grants me." With every beat of Catra's racing heart, her anxiety grew as she watched the others turn to one another. "Look, I really can't explain it all right now, it's a long story," Catra replied pushing her way through the crowd in an attempt to dissuade any further conversation, "let's just find that stupid robot and take care of it before we have to worry about more bots showing up along with it."

"We can take of it after you tell them the truth!" Frosta practically demanded, unaware of the rising tension building within Catra that her friends were accustomed to. "We can't take any chances with you if you keep letting your anger in the way!"

"I am telling you the truth, and I don't have any problems controlling my anger. Now let's go!"

"No you're not and no you can't! You keep getting angry all the time and you're taking it out on everybody else! You choose to take your anger out on the rest of us because you can't get over the fact that what happened with Adora was your fault in the first place!"

All at once, the remaining members of the Princess Alliance turned to the Princess of Snows as Catra stopped in her tracks. Nobody else could believe the very words that came out of Frosta's mouth, the forbidden name that was uttered. It was one the rest of the alliance had all agreed upon to never mention, all of them being all too well aware of the plausible consequence and reaction that would come out of a certain magicat in the process.

Frosta just used the A-word. And it wasn't until she noticed the returning looks of her fellow allies that she became nervous of her predicament.

"...What?" Frosta wasn't naive, but she was young. She was at the borderline of turning into a teenager and still a child, and it was only natural for a kid to make the occasional mistake.

She was tired of Catra's bossy attitude since meeting her, always shouting, always demanding. It would be one thing if she directed it at the princess herself, given all the times she teased or pranked her, but she was tired of putting up with it whenever it came to shouting at anyone else. To her, there was no reason or excuse that she should be above the other princesses, She-Ra or otherwise.

All the same, Glimmer almost prayed silently to herself as she wished those words never came out of the young princess's mouth, much less anyone's. Those prayers went unanswered as she could practically feel the tension rising from Catra's person, the aura of hatred and anger practically glowing around the girl as she squeezed her clawed-hand into a fist.

"You know what?" Everyone was caught off guard at the sight ferocity gleaming from Catra's eyes, the girl grinding her teeth as she turned around. "Let's take a moment to make something clear around here..."

"Catra, don't-" Glimmer's attempts at calming the situation were literally pushed aside as Catra shoved passed her. With the fire burning in Catra's eyes, the Princess of the Kingdom of Snows shuttered slightly as she backed up, feeling the menacing aura engulfing her as Catra stomped closer.

"I don't care about Adora anymore, got it? I don't care about that stupid fight we had a month ago. I don't care if we have to fight these stupid bots for the rest of our lives, I don't care if I can turn into She-Ra or not, and I don't care if we never beat the Horde at this point in my lifetime." The magicat continued to rant even after Frosta fell backwards, her ankle getting snagged on an exposed root and falling to the slushy grass. Without missing a moment, the young princess continued to push herself backwards as she attempted to escape the snarling cat's rage.

"You know what I  ** _do_  **care about these days? Nothing! But it doesn't mean I need a constant reminder about my life or my problems on a daily basis. I need people to mind their own business, I need people to focus more on robots than me, and I need little shrimps like you to stop acting like a stupid BRAT!" And it was with that final rant that Catra finally exhaled, panting with a face full of rage, not an ounce of care in her eyes as she stood over the younger princess who had been backed up to a tree by now.

She needed this vent. She needed it more than anything given everything she unloaded before the group. She was tired of always trying to be the patient one around the group, especially whenever Frosta was involved in their meetings. She always got away with whatever prank she pulled on Catra without a second thought, always got to speak her mind because, as Catra assumed, she was a child. The kid never got yelled at as much at the meetings, got to pester Catra to no end, and never had any repercussions because of it.

Catra NEEDED this right now.

And for a change, she didn't care about the fact she just yelled at a child, and she refused to care about it! Just looking back at her, the young princess was throwing her own glare at her. Catra was sure she was going to comeback with some witty retort, something smart to say to continue this aggravating charade. She was going to say something back at her, proving herself to be the spoiled, irritating, brat, that Catra has come to know her to be since joining the Rebellion, the stubborn prankster that she's known her to be. The minute she started to yell back, Catra was REALLY going to let her have it!

 _...Why are her eyes watering?_ Catra blinked at her own abrupt thought. There wasn't a shred of anger within the young princess's eyes, any hint of the anger that Catra expected to be brought back to her. It was with the sniffling that emanated from the younger princess that Catra continued to realize the reality of the situation, blinking to herself as she started to rub her head in confusion.

"W...Wait... what-?" Anything Catra had to say thereafter fell on deaf ears as the young princess took off. Catra didn't even have the time to raise a hand towards the young princess as she ran from the scene, the tears draining from her face and her sniffling ringing in Catra's ears until she was out of sight. Her ears rose twitchily as her tail came to a halt, the situation at hand finally dawning on Catra after all this time.

She just screamed her anger out on a young princess no older than eleven-years-old, right in front of the remainder of the Princess Alliance, no less. Turning back to the very allies she's came to know, she could tell they were unhappy at first glance. Not glaring or annoyed, mind you, but simply put off by the sudden performance.

"...Ouch..." Mermista's voice was the first to break the silence of the group as she turned her head away with unease. The reality of her recent outburst slowly rushed back to Catra as the unnecessary guilt weighed upon her heart, groaning internally as she pushed her forehead against the tree she backed Frosta up to.

"Oh, gimme a break..." She was tempted to challenge fate. She was tempted to ask herself and those around her how things could possibly get worse around here. But she's been stumped by fate since joining the Rebellion one too many times to know the sad reality of her situation: It can  **always**  get worse than it was now. Even though they currently had to contend with a robot that could learn, predict, and counter all of their attacks accordingly, and they were now down one princess, it could always get worse.

"The Horde's new bot is way too strong, and way too smart!" The archer broke the tension in the air as he finally spoke. He bore himself a weight of the responsibility after everything that they had witnessed till now. "We'll never be able to catch it. I thought I could help, and be the Rebellion's tech master. But that was obviously a dumb idea." The other princesses and Swift Wind looked to one another at this. Even Catra couldn't help but turn her solemn expression in his direction for a moment.

Everything since the start of this day had gone down hill. The group prioritized taking a bot intact instead of destroying one, lost to an overpowered robot that had studied all of their strengths and weaknesses and used it against them, and caused several arguments and issues between several members of the team. Everything from this day was the result of everyone trying to go with Bow's plan, and now he felt the weight of that idea crumbling before him.

Still, it didn't mean he should feel the most responsible out of this. Glimmer knew that, and she made her way over to him, patting him on the shoulder, to ensure that he knew. "Bow, it's not your fault, none of this is. You're the only one who came up with a real plan. Without it, we'd still be fighting the bots without end, and wasting more time while the rest of Etheria is in danger."

"Glimmer's right." Smiling, Perfuma nodded in agreement as she stepped forward, raising a small fist to her chest with conviction. "You're the only one who knows the most about all this tech stuff, and if anyone's going to have a chance of stopping them, it's you."

"It would be nice if we could stop doing the same thing every day..." Mermista insisted, giving a small smirk as she added a little humor to the conversation. To Glimmer's satisfaction, it seemed to be just the boost of morale that Bow needed as a small smile inched over his face.

"...That thing wasn't interested in exterminating us." Bow commented, rubbing his chin in thought. "It had a chance to eliminate us and instead it left us alone, like it was searching for something else."

"Did anyone else notice any other bots like it around here?" Swift Wind added curiously. "I flew all over the forest, and I didn't see any other bot on the way here."

"Maybe the Horde could only afford to make one like it?" While she might not have been the tech expert like Bow was, Mermista was still knowledgeable enough to know the principles of resources and management. "I mean, anything that advance couldn't have been cheap." With all of this in mind, Bow came up with a possible conclusion.

"Which means it was probably sent to acquire more resources. Anything with that much power had to have been made with First Ones' Technology."

"Pffft! Is that all?" Swift Wind nearly chuckled with a snort. "Well good luck getting any of that around here! The only place I know with any sort of First Ones tech is-"

"The Beacon!" Raising her head from the bark, all eyes turned back to the magicat at the grand announcement. "That place is loaded with First Ones tech. I don't even know how far down it goes, there's no telling how much they could salvage from it."

"If the Horde gets their hands on it, they could build an army of those robots. We'd never be able to stop them!" The weight of the situation collapsed on everyone simultaneously. One robot was more than enough for their match. It studied their strengths, threw their own powers against them, and evolved over the course of practically one-sided battle. If the Horde ever managed to mass produce them as expected, all of Etheria would be brought under their rule within a month's time.

"Well what are we waiting for then? Let's track that thing down before it-" The impatient She-Ra was brought to a halt as she felt a familiar tugging on her tail. To no surprise of her, she turned back to see Glimmer holding onto the end of her tail, her facial expression giving no sense of joy or remorse for what she was doing, just an uncertain firmness to it.

"Catra..."

"...What?" Shifting her eyes around, she noticed the others giving her the same look, including Swift Wind, and groaned knowingly. There was only one thing they wanted from her before she fought again. "Ok, no."

"Catra, come on."

"Why do I have to do it?"

"Well for one thing, you'll have an easier time tracking her down with your sense of smell." Mermista pointed out crossing her arms.

"And you're the one who made her cry in the first place." Swift Wind almost regretted his addition to the conversation as he watched Catra furrow her brow in irritation.

"Whose side are you on?!"

"Look, Catra, we don't have a choice. We barely survived our first encounter with that thing, and that was with all of us working together. If we're going to have any chance of defeating that thing, we need everybody's strength." As much as Catra wanted to argue against Bow's line of reasoning, she couldn't deny he had a point.

Within the first few minutes of fighting that thing, Catra and Glimmer barely survived alone. That robot managed to overpower the two with ease, even with Catra's morphable weapon, disabled Glimmer's energy blasts, and managed to make her waste a vast amount of her energy without putting a dent into it.

On top of it, it also would've been a good way to gauge whether or not Catra could control her emotions. They couldn't allow any more slip ups to what could be a potentially deadly fight, and that included getting Catra's anger under control. Considering it was her anger that practically started off the robot's berserk rampage in the first place, added to the fact that they barely survived for as long as they did only because of Frosta's timely intervention, and there was no room for argument.

She hated to admit it, but if they wanted to defeat the Horde's newest superweapon, they needed to have Princess Frosta at their side again.

"Ugggh... fine, I'll find her." She finally agreed. "But if she ends up being worse after I apologize, it's on you."

"Heh, deal." Glimmer replied with a small smile as Catra trudged her way through the woods. It was comforting at times to see Catra trying to be a bit more selfless when it came to the others, even when she didn't want to put up with it. She waited until Catra was fully out of sight before turning her attention back to the rest of the group. "Please tell me I'm not going to regret that..."

...

...

"Ugh... dumb... brat... I can yell as much as I want, but no one can yell at me..." These were the kinds of obscenities that Catra had been mumbling to herself for the last ten minutes, often mocking Frosta's childish behavior or the annoyance of everything she had to put up with till now. The entire trek through the woods was nothing short of annoying.

First off, her feet were freezing. Maybe it was a sign that she should start wearing her combat boots more often, even when she was walking through the woods. She could still feel the fresh cold water squishing between her feet against the moist grass, the sound of water dripping from icicles along the surrounding branches she passed as she made her way through the forest. It was almost as if her extra senses were adding onto the cold around her, reminding her of her shoeless state.

The second annoyance was trying to figure out what she would say when she finally ran into Frosta again. How was she expected to apologize to someone like her when she was still mad at her to begin with? She was obnoxious, loud, seemingly did everything in her power just to annoy Catra, and now Catra herself was expected to apologize to her? She might as well be yelling at a lit stick of dynamite and telling it to stop!

The third and most troubling part ouf of all of this, though, was what she was going to say. If her experiences with Adora taught her one thing, simply saying sorry wasn't going to cut it. From her personal experience, just saying sorry was almost as bad as never apologizing at all, if not worse given what her life has lead up to till this point. She was going to need to say something that actually meant something to Frosta if she wanted it to be effective in any sense of the word, or at least enough to get her to help them fight off the robot again.

But how the heck was she supposed to apologize in a way that meant something to someone she disliked the most out of the group?!

* _sniff_ *

Her ears twitched as she picked up the familiar sniffle of a young girl, her tail wagging a little tensely as she prepared herself for what was to come.  _Ok, just go in, say you're sorry, then drag her back._  She told herself as she pushed her way through the foliage. As expected, sitting atop an overgrown boulder stretching a near twenty feet into the air, she saw the young Frosta with her back turned to her.

The girl didn't seem the least bit interested as Catra approached, nor oblivious to her surroundings as she spoke, knowing there was only one person who would've followed her at a time like this, whether or not she wanted to. "Come to yell at me some more?" She grumbled as Catra crossed her arms, never giving the She-Ra her full attention. "Why don't you just leave me alone and tell them you apologized, I know it's what you want to do anyway."

"You know if you didn't act like a little brat all the time, we wouldn't even be having this conversation in the first place." Catra spat back. Even if she didn't want to push through this conversation that didn't mean she didn't want to put this all behind them, at least long enough for them fight alongside each other again. "If you just knocked it off with all the sass and backtalk, we wouldn't be in this mess."

"Well excuse me for not knowing how to act around you guys," she snapped back, glaring at her briefly with her tear-filled eyes, "I never had any friends before!"

A blink.

That's how long it lasted.

For that one split-second that Frosta looked at her and turned away again, Catra saw a brief flash of a familiar person in Frosta's place, the last person she expected to see in this situation; herself. More specifically, the young child version of her that lead her to this sort of life.

That same little kid who was always angry, the one who had just as hard of a time making friends, and the one person Catra never wished to remember. She was the one person who was always angry with the world, the one who thought she could handle everything on her own, and the one who never wanted to make anymore friends unless it benefitted her in some way. And of all the people who needed to remind her of it, it just  **had**  to be Frosta right now.

The look of surprise on Catra's face said it all as she lowered her head. She still didn't know what to say to her, but she knew enough to know she couldn't leave this alone, no matter how much she wanted to. With a small groan to herself, she leapt her way along the boulder until she reached the top, sitting with her knees curled up like Frosta and staring straight ahead in thought as she tried to think of what to say.

"I don't want to talk to you, so just leave me alone." The young princess continued, turning her head away as she rested her chin upon her knees.

"Yeah, well... I can't exactly go back without you." Catra replied, the tip of her tail bobbing a little behind her. "We need your help to stop that robot thing. We don't have to like each other, but it doesn't mean we can't fight together either."

"Oh, yeah, I get it. You're not even here to apologize, you just want me to help you take down that killer robot."

"So?" There was an awkward silence during the next several seconds as Frosta glared back at her, Catra eventually realizing what she said as she chuckled nervously, Frosta turning her head away in disgust. "Eh heh, I mean... t-that's not true or anything. We just-"

* _swiff_ *

"Huh?" The next response she received was the furthest from the list of things she expected. Instead of just pushing her away, using her magic to shove her, or anything else to get the magicat away from her, she instead offered her a very familiar item, one that caused untold paranoia and stress to the honorary princess half an hour ago.

The small box she's been hiding from Catra, one she offered to her as she held her hand out in front of her.

"Just take it and go. I know it's the only thing you're interested in right now." Frosta practically ordered, dropping it in the feline's hands before she even had a chance to accept or decline it. "I don't even care anymore."

There was a small twinge of uncertainty in Catra's chest as she looked over the unfrozen treasure box she had been trying to get her hands on. While she was more than eager to accept the mysterious container and unravel its mysteries, another, very small, part of her wasn't as thrilled about receiving the item as she had hoped to be. The young princess was doing everything she could to push this conversation away if it meant getting Catra away from her. Even if it meant giving Catra something she wanted to keep from her, she'd much rather deal with that than Catra's vain attempt at apologizing.

Still, the curiosity never left Catra as she examined the container from every angle, from its sturdiness to the elegant snowflake symbol over its top. Extending the small claw at the tip of her pinky, she quickly went to work as she dug into the small opening of the container, listening closely to the small clicks of locks and springs being undone as she picked around the interior.

What was going to be inside once she opened it? Her mind was reeling in from everything within the last half-hour, so much so that she didn't know what she should be feeling right now. Pride that she finally got something that resulted in her foot getting bitten over? Regret about how she yelled at her not too long ago because she found Frosta, the child, annoying? Curiosity over what was inside of the mysterious box? So much was rushing through her mind with so little time to ponder!

With a solid, last, click, the magicat's eyes widened as the trunk of the chest popped open, a small sliver of an opening greeting her as she finally unlocked the contraption. What secrets did the mysterious container contain? Answers to why Frosta was being so shady recently? Some useless item that would've pinched on Catra's nerves out of regret? An explanation for all the strange things that have been going on as of-

A pendant? No... a locket, with a familiar snowflake-like design.

Catra blinked to herself as she grabbed the small golden chain that was attached to the small glittery object, watching it glisten in the sunlight with a bright shine. Watching it twirl around in place, she noticed the small button atop of it, giving it a click to reveal a pair of people she's never met before. And while she might not know of them on a personal basis, given their arctic-like clothing and the fact they were kept in a locket of all things, it wasn't really hard to put two and two together as to who they were.

"I inherited the throne when I was eight." Frosta stated as she continued to turn away from the cat. "It's kind of hard to make friends when everyone you know is your sworn subject."

"...Ugh... kid..." Catra groaned as she pinched between her own eyes.

Great. Just great! This is what she needed. Give her something else to feel guilty about, like how she took her anger out on a kid who practically had the same lifestyle as her growing up, if not possibly worse given all the responsibilities she must've had to deal with. "Look, if you had something as pointle-... as simple as this, then why didn't you just tell anyone?"

"Because it's none of their business!" She retorted. "I don't want or need anyone worrying about my personal feelings or anything in the middle of a mission. It would get too distracting and embarrassing."

"Well yeah, but at least then you aren't acting weirdly around anyone and everyone knows things are fine." Catra started to feel a bit of her aggressive tension rising up again as she stood.

"Who cares if they think I'm being weird?" Even at this, Frosta refused to give her any attention as she remained in her spot. "It's none of their business anyway, and it's not like it's hurting anyone!"

"But that's not the point! It doesn't matter if you're not hurting anyone with your secrets or not. Everyone else is going to get worried and distracted if you keep things to yourself. You're not helping anyone by keeping secrets to yourself, you're just-!" She froze. Her mind processed what she was about to say before she even said it as her eyes widened a bit in surprise.

Everything seemed to be still around her as she realized what she was about to say. Taking her sword out of her sheathe, she examined it closely, watching it shine with the familiar light of the sun as she was greeted back with her own reflection, speaking softly to herself. "...You're just making things worse by not telling them..."

Was... Was this her? Was this really what she was doing to everyone else around her? She didn't want them to know about her She-Ra issue for a number of reasons, the most prominent being that it was none of their business. She made her own foolish mistake to begin with, and as such, it should've been up to her to fix her own She-Ra problem, no matter how much the others would insist that they help. That should've been the end of it, and everyone would move on with their own lives.

But this? Was this... actually what she was doing to everyone else? Was she actually making the same mistake as Frosta was at this very moment? Looking back on it, just trying to keep it a secret was dragging on her nerves, getting her tense more easily throughout the last month as she tried everything to make sure no one found out the truth. She didn't want the others pestering her for something that wasn't their business, especially something that Catra felt responsible for to begin with. If she made a mistake, then it should be her own responsibility to clean it up, right?

... Wrong... As much as she hated to admit it, after all this time, she was wrong. She had no idea if her friends were continuing to worry over Catra or if their worries were just a spur of the moment. She couldn't tell if they were still bothered by Catra's strange behavior or if they were willing to just let it be. Knowing these people as she does now, she highly doubted it. They were probably confused and concerned, even now, for her strange behavior, for her unexplained aggression. And its a realization Catra would never come to if it hadn't been for one person that reminded her the most of herself.

Frosta. The same girl that continued to sniffle as she wiped away a tear with the edge of her coat's sleeve.

With a sigh, Catra sheathed her sword again as she sat atop the boulder once more, placing the mystery box with the locket inside against her as she curled up her legs and hugged herself gently.

* _flick_ *

Frosta nearly jumped as she was caught by surprise, opening her eyes a little in astonishment. Catra had actually brushed away some of the tears in her eyes with the tip of her tail, catching a small bit of her attention as the girl looked out into the distance.

"You know... I really, really...  **really**... can't believe I'm about to say this, but... You really remind me a lot of... well... me." Her statement was met with nothing short of surprise from the ice princess as she wiped away the rest of her tears with her own two hands.

"I... remind you of you?" She asked to make sure her hearing was still working. The small grin on Catra's own face as she lowered her ears and head said it all.

"Yeah, you kind of do at this rate. The whole "loner lifestyle", "trying to take on everything yourself", "doing whatever you can to prove useful to everyone else", all of it. You want to show everyone you're capable of taking care of yourself, that you're stronger than you look."

"W-Wow..." Frosta didn't know what to say as her tears finally dried. "Thank y-"

"That's not a good thing." Instantly, the small grin present on Catra's face suddenly flipped as it was replaced with a regretful frown. "Look, Frosta... After everything I've been through, everything I've done to get to where I am now... I hate it. I hate being on the opposite side of one of my friends, I hate what I did in my past to turn them away, and, honestly, I hate the fact I found the Sword of Protection."

"You... actually regret becoming She-Ra?" Was this the same magicat Frosta knew or did she just cry herself to sleep and this was all some hallucinogenic sleep that she was suffering from?

"Don't get me wrong or anything, it's not like I would trade it all back." She clarified. "I still care enough about the Rebellion at this point to keep away from switching sides, and it's not like I've never been happy since I joined. But," at long last, she finally gave the ice princess her direct attention, the sincerity in her eyes leaving little room for doubt, "after all the pain I've been through to get to where I am today, I wouldn't wish it on my most hated enemy, or allies for that matter."

"So... why are you telling me this?" Frosta asked as a small blush grew over Catra's cheeks, temporarily.

"Because no amount of pleading or wishing is going to fix the mistakes I've made in the past. But you still have chance to fix everything, or at least stop yourself from going down the same path I did. You're plenty strong as it is, Frosta, just... just don't make the same mistakes I did, alright?"

"R... Right..." There was an unusual awkwardness in the air as the two looked away from each other again, this time with Frosta's body pointing in the same direction as she sat alongside her.

Both girls were relatable in ways Catra never saw coming. They both have a troubled history and a path, yet trying to do everything themselves in turn. They didn't care if it came off aggressive to anyone else in their eyes, not as long as they could see just how strong they were on their own to begin with.

Yet, even with that, it didn't separate the path both girls had took to get this far. Who knows how they looked in everyone else's eyes, what they thought about them when they were behind their backs. Both girls closed off themselves to get through their troubles, and to prove themselves reliable to the rest of the world. There was only one big difference that it came down to when the details were stacked next to each other.

Frosta still had time to make a change. And an apology.

"...I'm sorry I bit your foot earlier."

"Heh, don't sweat it. I'm just sorry I haven't washed it in a week."

"I thought you said you washed it three days ago?"

"Yeah, well, actually, that's the last day I remembered not cleaning it. I stopped counting after that." The lack of disgust on Frosta's face assured her she understood the joke. In fact, to Catra's relief, she saw a small smile growing around her lips as she chuckled softly. "Oh, by the way," she paused growing her claws out, "if you tell anyone I was this sappy, I'll shave your head and give you a swirly."

"What's a swirly?"

It was almost sadder to Catra that she didn't know what a swirly was compared to the realization of similarities the two had.

* _boom_ *

Catra jumped to her feet in an instant as her ears picked up the distant sound of a small explosion going off. Looking over the distance past the bundle of trees and leaves, she could see a small stack of smoke over a mile away from wherever she was. The younger princess remained in her spot as she barely caught the sound in her own ears, though knew if anything caught Catra's attention, it had to be bad.

"It sounds like they found the walking trashcan."

"Well what do you want us to do about it?" Turning back to her, Catra saw the guilty frown she had over her expression as she turned her head away. "That thing keeps learning the longer we fight it, and we barely put a dent in that thing to begin with. We've spent so much time arguing that we might as well be fighting each other at this rate." As much as Catra hated to admit it, she had a point.

How the heck were they supposed to stop that thing? It grew stronger every time they hit it, it learned from their moves and figured out the best strategies to take each of them down. It even managed to take them down at the same time for crying out loud, and they probably lost their only chance of ever beating it after Catra refused to become She-Ra earlier. And with tensions still surrounding most of the group, it was just as Frosta said.

They really should just keep fighting each other by now, it would prove just as effective.

It also proved to give Catra one of her most reckless ideas to date.

"...Actually... That's exactly what we should do!"

"Huh?"

_**...** _

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_**A/N: Hooftah, it felt so good to finally post after so long ^^! Once again, huge shoutout to Peterson Muldoon and Heitomos for their amazing art contributions and whatnot, as well as the people who've kept in touch with me till now!** _

_**As always, hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!** _


	61. Season 2 Episode 1: The Frozen Forest End

_**A/N: No people, you are not imagining things, you are in for a verily fun and length read X)! Honestly, I wanted to be done with this freaking episode since i was on it for over 2 freaking months, wouldn't anyone XD? So I just typed away until I got it covered. I think I can safely say my writing is more than back if I managed to write out almost double what I normally do and within a week or so's time ^^ Huge shout out to all the fans that kept this series going. Will remind its been two months since my usual writing, so if some parts are choppy and whatnot, you'll know why.** _

 

_**Also to those who didn't get the message update last time, I owe the great fan art for this series to a guy named Petie.doon on instagram. I swear you guys have GOT to see his artwork, it is amazing, especially for someone who does it for free. The best way to flatter a fan writers work is to make fan work of the fan work..... or least that's my opinion XP** _

 

_**So with that said, thanks to him and all of you guys for keeping up to date with me and staying by my side no matter what! With that said, hope you enjoy the thrilling conclusion of the First episode of Season 2!** _

 

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"Whoooa!" Bow yelped as he was hurled through the air by the robot's incredible strength. So much for his plan of a sneak attack.

After the first round with the dreaded Orbko awhile ago, the Princess Alliance found itself in a mess. Following their loss, there was a great amount of anger and discord between Catra and Princess Frosta, the latter of which blamed the former for not turning into She-Ra when they really needed it. The argument resulted in a tearful Frosta running away through the woods and forcing Catra to chase after her, knowing they needed everyone's strength if they were to stand a chance against this thing.

That left the remainder of the Princess Alliance in search of the mighty machine, as well as putting a stop to its wicked scheme. During a small discussion before the magicat took olf, they realized the robot was actually in search of the Beacon, one of the great remnants of First Ones. It housed an abundance of technology that no other site had yet to compare to, one that could bring about salvation if used in the proper hands, or, as the Horde intended, create an unstoppable army of these terrible robots that could learn and adapt to any situation during combat.

Thanks to Swift Winds connection with She-Ra and the sword, he was able to help the current princesses and Bow track down the Beacon, coming across Orbko just as it found the First Ones ruins. They couldn't help but imagine what terrible power the Horde would be capable of if their plans succeeded, if they actually managed to create such an unstoppable army. Their primary mission was to stop the advanced machine, which presented another problem the group had to deal with in itself.

They needed to figure out a way to beat it without destroying it.

Throughout all the fighting, the one detail that kept everyone from giving it everything they had was their own mission. They needed one of the Horde robots to be captured alive in order for Bow to develop a Kill-Switch, a device that could easily disable any and all the droids the Horde had been sending to the Whispering Woods for the last month to keep them occupied. The sooner they completed their task, the sooner they could turn their attention to the rest of Etheria and take back any of the regions that were captured by the Horde during their absence.

They were dealing with one of the strongest creations the Horde had ever unleashed upon the Whispering Woods, and it was taking everything they had just to stay alive. The robot learned throughout all the fighting their strengths and weaknesses, managed to shape and construct shields and weapons out of the defensive carapace that covered its limbs.

As if that wasn't enough, the robot was capable of adapting its internal structure, allowing it to raise its temperatures to burn anything around it, like the many vines Perfuma attempted to ensnare it with, or lower it to freeze the air around it, turning several massive blasts of Mermista's water power into solid, unuseable, chunks of ice. It forced the the princesses to adapt in turn at a rate that was abysmal in comparison to the robot's own.

Not to mention Glimmer's own disadvantage over the robot. Having previously fought the robot alongside Catra before their friends arrived to help, she had exhausted a great amount of her energy teleporting herself, Catra, and the robot on half a dozen occasions. With just enough magic to conjure up one more teleportation or several blasts of her magic, she was fighting with a severe handicap, one she wouldn't even have if her magic staff didn't amplify what little of her power she had left.

The one advantage the robot couldn't adapt to, hopefully at least, was how many enemies it was facing at the same time. With such a varied mix of abilities from sheer strength and technicality like Bow's trick arrows and the princess' magics, the robot was forced to adapt to each situation accordingly, reverting to its neutral state each time it had to contend with another attack.

Unfortunately, this only proved to delay the inevitable loss they were facing. No matter what advantage the group had over the robot in numbers, the robot was continuing to adapt. Learning as it fought, it was starting to counter everything they threw at it before they could even land their attacks.

And it was providing more than an entertaining display for particular members of the Horde as they spied on them through the small drones circling around the action.

...

From the other side of the cameras, Adora, Entrapta, and Scorpia could be seen watching through the monitors from the comfort of their couch. Through the various monitors, they could see all the angles of the fight from the several smaller monitors surrounding the one large monitor in the middle that displayed everything the robot was seeing. It felt like a good way to unwind after the fiasco awhile ago.

The robot was one of Entrapta's greatest creations without comparison. Its strength was unmatched by any of the droids, its capacity to learn proved an advancement beyond anyone of this generation was capable of creating, and the technology that allowed it to manipulate its carapace into an adaptive weaponry was unheard of. Truly, it was one of the most marvelous things ever created by the Horde, and one of the princess's most proudest creations!

There was just one tiny flaw they weren't prepared for; IT CONSIDERED PRINCESS FROSTA ONE OF ITS ENEMIES!

Even now, the back of Adora's mind was filled with worry of whether or not Frosta would maintain her relationship with the Horde after this, as well as her own safety. The Kingdom of Snows was one of Etheria's strongest kingdoms, and was proving to be an invaluable ally since they joined forces. They provided resources and information on the Alliance that was unaware of Frosta's true allegiance, and the Horde provided a handful of technology and schematics in exchange.

Nothing too important, of course, for safety precautions, but more than useful enough to the Kingdom of Snows in their environment. Adora took personal responsibility to make sure they were evenly compensated in the exchanges, much more than any of the other Horde Captains or Officers would've allowed if she wasn't Hordak's second-in-command. And that same princess was almost on the receiving end of Orbko's wrath if it wasn't for Entrapta's timely intervention, resetting its priorities long enough to temporarily force it to leave them alone.

So, now with their ally out of harm's way, she took great enjoyment as she watched the remaining members of the Princess Alliance struggle in vain against Orbko's might, sitting left of Scorpia as she helped herself to a bowl of popcorn, and an overly-excited Entrapta who seemed more interested in the technology surrounding the robot than the battle itself.

"There's enough technology in those ruins to create an army of those robots." Adora commented, grinning a little as she watched the robot toss Bow through the air into the tree branches. "You'll be able to create so much with all that tech, Entrapta, that it'll make Orbko look like a child's plaything in comparison."

"Ooooooh!" The stars were shining greatly in the scientist's eyes at the announcement, hopping in her own seat out of pure excitement as she squeezed her fists. "I want it nooooow! Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!"

"''Chu think Frosh'ta 'ill be okay," Scorpia paused as she swallowed another mouthful of popcorn, "will be okay if she runs into the robot again?"

"I don't know. It depends on if I can alter its priorities again if she runs into it." Being the always-prepared scientist that she was, she pulled out one of her various datapads from her bundle of hair. "But I also run the risk of it finding out its priorities have been tampered with. If it does, it might not respond to to its orders anymore, or any of its commands."

"Well couldn't we just activate its self-destruct thing if it goes haywire? We wouldn't need to worry about it then."

"We can't afford to destroy it carelessly." Adora never took her eyes off the screen as she replied. "Without the materials from the Beacon, we'll never be able to create another one like it. Besides, at the rate things are going right now, we probably won't even need anymore." The second-in-command smirked as she leaned against her arm, elbow firmly planted against the couch's right arm.

It's funny when she really thought about it. To think that these very same princesses, the ones that wanted discord and chaos throughout Etheria, were the very same people who thwarted Adora's plans a month ago that almost brought the Rebellion down to its knees. Now, here she was, sitting back and relaxing like she was watching an old video as she watched the same princesses getting tossed around and beaten down by one of their greatest creations.

Once they were removed, nothing would stand in the Horde's way. And, when enough of them were taken down, there would be no reason for Frosta to feign allegiance to the Rebellion anymore. Everything was about to be brought to an end, and it would all start the moment Orbko had a princess crushed under its metallic foot.

...

* _Wham!_ *

"Hnngh!" Glimmer grumbled as she dodged right of the robot's powerful fist as it slammed to the ground. With its fist stuck temporarily in the ground, the princess of Brightmoon rushed up the robot's firm limb, jumping several steps ahead of it as she attempted to impale the shaft of the staff directly into the robot's lone eye.

Sadly, the robot was already two steps ahead of her as it predicted the attack and caught her by the back of her right leg before she could reach her intended target. Dangling briefly in the air, Glimmer let out a small shriek of fear as she felt the robot rotate its entire arm once before throwing the princess over to the trees, straight into the archer who had just recovered from his previous toss, and knocking the both of them head first into the ground.

* _thud_ *

"Owww..." He felt like he got hit with a suitcase for a moment, his whole body wracking with a minuscule pain as he lifted himself from the floor. "Glimmer! Are you alright?"

The princess didn't seem to be any better or worse than he was safe for a few scrapes along her arms and head, brushing the dust out of her hair as she shook away the dizziness. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine." She assured, paying almost no mind to her friend as she directed her attention back to the robot.

"Nothing's working, Glimmer. That thing's too strong." Bow kept his gaze on the robot as he watched Perfuma and Mermista attack it at the same time.

The technology was unlike anything Bow was used to, and there was little time for him to examine its structure when it was flailing about and attacking them at the same time. Restraining it didn't help with the four of them, its metallic plating grew more resilient the longer they attacked it, and his attempts to blind the robot's one eye proved futile as the robot managed to burn away anything that disrupted its vision in a few seconds.

It was virtually unstoppable.

"What if we removed its core? Wouldn't that turn it off completely?" Glimmer asked hopefully.

"We'd still need to restrain it long enough to remove its back panel." Without a moment's hesitation, the archer jumped back to his feet as he attempted to fire another arrow directly at the robot's head as Mermista distracted it with another wave of her mystical waters. Sadly, as expected, the robot didn't give so much as a single twitch as it predicted the projectile coming its way, using the shield-like plate over its left arm to angle the arrow just slightly enough to bounce away completely.

And to the ground directly at Mermista's feet.

* ** _Boom!_** *

"Ngh!" The oceanic princess groaned in pain as she was pushed away by the powerful blast, sending her through the air until she collided painfully against the Beacon's outer walls. While the explosion didn't seem to graze her too much, there was a searing pain in her right shoulder, one she couldn't soothe as rubbed it with her other hand.

"Mermista!" Bow cried out with worry and regret. It wasn't a matter of the robot trying to defend itself- it  **intentionally**  directed the arrow so it would blast her away and damage her shoulder. With a distracting pain running through the upper right of her body, it would be harder for her to direct the flow of water as easily as she did while moving from the robot at the same time. This, like many other cases, was a prime example of the robot's superior intellect and strategy.

"Bow!" And no sooner did Bow hear Glimmer's cry of panic did he see the robot charging straight towards them. Knowing that Glimmer's magic was waning, giving her an assuring nod, the princess teleported herself away from the scene as Bow shot out another arrow a dozen yards away, one that grappled one of the many thick and sturdy branches of the fine oak, and grabbed on as it propelled him forward and out of the robot's massive tackle, knocking over the tree they were near in the process.

As he propelled through the air, looking back to see Glimmer had teleported, exhausted, on the other side of the clearing, he contemplated. The robot showed no signs of slowing down, no signs of weakness, and grew stronger with every passing second. Something this powerful had to have some sort of vulnerability, some Achilles Heel that many creations had. If his time tinkering and experimenting with a variety of arrows taught him anything, is that all creations had a weakness or vulnerability in one form or another.

But what was its?!

* _swish_ *

Before the robot could advance in the archer's direction, it felt several powerful grips bind each of its arms by the wrists and along its right ankle. Turning its head in a full one-eighty, its systems were already processing how to deal with the princess of plants while eliminating its bindings at the same time. It took all of Perfuma's concentration just to keep the robot at bay, the sweat dripping from her forehead attesting to that.

Her efforts bore little fruit though as the alloy around the robot's limbs began to morph and change shape, taking the form of two serrated blades that began to buzz like a saw. In one swift motion, the robot untangled the sturdy vines in one swift strike, ignoring the princess's useless efforts to attempt another binding at the dreaded machine. Before the princes could launch another row of vines at the creation, the powerful machine launched its right fist directly at the princess, grabbing her arms in the air as it flew her through the clearing until she was pinned against the trees several feet off the ground,.

"Perfuma!" Glimmer cried out, rushing over to her pinned aly. Both princesses struggled as they attempted to pull Perfuma's wrists out from under the robotic hand's tight grip, Glimmer desperately pulling Perfuma's legs as the pinned princess tried to pry her hands free. Even as the princess attempted to summon several long vines from the trees to pull away the mighty fist, nothing seemed to work. "Come on... Come on..." Glimmer muttered to herself as she saw the robot approach.

Watching the scene from the tree's branch, Bow tried to figure out what to do. It was nothing short of menacing as trudged through the mushy ground beneath its large feet, casually making its way towards them, and it was ready to counter anything thrown towards it when the opportunity rose towards it. He couldn't afford to fire any of his arrows towards it or he risked it deflecting the arrow towards the two, if not directly at Glimmer and Perfuma themselves. He needed a miracle right now to descend from the heavens and strike down this contraption once and for all!

...Or a very strong feline with some serious anger issues.

"Hey! Buckethead!"

* _WHAM!_ *

The moment it turned its head it was met with the collosal force of a blunt mallet from a feisty young warrior known as Catra, scraping it across the face with a harsh strike. It was powerful enough to knock the robot off balance briefly, forcing it to its knees as Catra brushed right passed it. It was a sight of relief to her fellow allies as they saw the magicat appear in the nick of time, standing between the large robot and the Beacon itself with her sword-turned-mallet.

"Catra!" Her friends called out in unison and relief as the robot got back to its feet.

It recognized the magicat as the warrior of the group, the one that was quick on its feet but with a greater lack of defense than the others, save for when she returned to her She-Ra state which it had yet to witness. It still gave it more than enough excuse as it readied itself for battle as it reshaped the alloy along its left hand into the battle-hardened maces it once wielded. It also released its grip on Perfuma as it returned its other hand to its side, reforming its other alloy until it was finally dual wielding its weapons.

"Catra, you need to be careful." Glimmer warned as she helped Perfuma back up. "That thing's getting better at predicting our attacks and weaknesses."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, relax." She shrugged off, readying her weapon for the fight in front of her. "I already got a pla-"

* _whoff_ *

There was no warning for the magicat, or the rest of them for that matter, as she found her face engulfed with a giant wallop of snow. Needless to say, they could already see the angry eyes forming over it as it melted around her, her anger literally melting the snow right from her face to reveal the hardened hate-filled expression that covered it. All eyes, including Orbko's, turned back in the opposite direction as they saw another familiar and irritated face greeting them from several yards behind the bot, her hands still in the air as if proving her involvement in Catra's interruption.

It was none other than Princess Frosta, the Princess of the Kingdom of Snows.

"What the heck do you think you're doing?!" She yelled in annoyance, squeezing her fist. "We were supposed to sneak up on it, you stupid pet!"

"I was trying to take it out in one shot, you dumb brat!" Catra snapped back.

"Oh no..." Several bouts of moaning could be heard from the allies that watched from afar, even Mermista as she made her way to the trees where Bow was watching from.

It wasn't enough that Catra had to ruin whatever form of sneak attack they had planned for the monster, oh no. Evident by the lack of care in either princess' eyes, there was little to no care they had for each other, proving that they still had anger towards one another. The entire point of Catra splitting up from the group temporarily was to try and make amends with Frosta after yelling at her to the point of tears and running away. And judging by the sudden outburst of irritation, chances were they didn't make amends in the slightest.

In fact, it only seemed to deepen the hatred the two had for each other. Pranking each other at every opportune moment, being a nuisance at practically every meeting they had, and incapable of forming two sentences without calling each other "brat" or "pet". It was just the kind of thing everyone became accustomed to whenever Catra and Frosta were in the same room.

Now, on top of insulting each other, they seemed to harbor twice the amount of hatred they once had for one another. As if insulting each other wasn't enough for either of them, now they were practically attacking each other in the midst of combat, while dealing with an enemy with the strength to match all of theirs combined. It would prove problematic for everyone from the Princess Alliance.

And a great source of entertainment for those simply watching.

...

"Ha! Talk about clumsy!" Scorpia laughed, leaning into the chair as she continued eating her popcorn. "She messed up the plan before they could even get the drop on it!"

As she laughed, the scientist left of her was already typing a hundred codes a second into the datapad held by one of her hair extensions. "Don't worry, Adora. Already getting Orbko's priority setting on standby in case we need to save Frosta again." She knew with her own assurance that they had nothing to fear. After all, if the robot took out everyone else but Frosta, then there would be no need to even worry about the princess as she could just run away. But it was always better to be safe than sorry.

However, to Entrapta's curiosity, as Scorpia noticed the strange silence too, Adora didn't respond. She didn't even seem relieved. Instead, the blond commander leaned closer to the screen with a hint of anxiety in her eyes. She looked less than pleased about the scenario and more worried about it.

"Adora?" Scorpia received no direct response as the commander's eyes were focused on the screen in front of her.

"...Something's wrong..." She finally said, gripping the tip of her couch's arm a little tighter.

"What do you mean? Everything will be fine!" The scientist's assurance did nothing to waver Adora's worrisome expression. There wasn't so much as a twitch in her eyes as she watched what was playing out before them. "I'll have Orbko's priorities set to escape if it becomes necessary and-"

"No, not that." She interrupted. There was a small scowl growing on the side of Adora's lips as her expression hardened. Her two friends looked to each other in confusion for a second, wondering what was going on through Adora's mind. "I've seen the way Catra fights and pulls her pranks. Whenever she's prepared to do something, something she knows will work, there's always a small glint in her eyes that tells me so." The commander gritted her teeth as she finally turned to them.

"She's not being reckless or purposely trying to draw out the fight to taunt the machine. Catra's up to something." And it wouldn't surprise her right now if she intentionally gave that telltale sign knowing Adora was watching.

...

"Why do you always have to be such a pain?!" Frosta groaned loudly, rubbing her forehead to soothe the migraine she seemed to be having.

"Oh yeah,  _I'm_  being the pain in this group." Catra scoffed, leaning against her sword as she tipped it into the ground. "Definitely not the princess crybaby who probably still wets the bed."

"That's rich coming from the person who's probably covered in fleas right now!"

"I don't have fleas!" She yelled back, subconsciously scratching the back of her head as she taunted. All throughout the banter the mechanical being seemed to stare between the two, noticing the tension rising between them. If it allowed this to continue, chances were they would eventually attack each other, a fitting strategy against higher numbers.

Meanwhile, it brought untold disbelief to her remaining friends who were recovering and watching from the sidelines, doing their best to stay out of the situation and recover for the brief moment they have of respite.

"Why does Catra have to do this now of all times..." Honestly, Glimmer would've preferred any other time of the day for them to do this, not when they were fighting an unstoppable killing machine that could take them out at the same time.

"At least the droid seems preoccupied." Perfuma commented, reminding her of their minor fortune.

"So... Shouldn't we be helping them? Or something?" Mermista asked as she continued to soothe her aching shoulder.

"Not until we find some sort of opening." Bow replied quietly as he readied his arrow. "If we all rush out at once, that thing will just shoot our attacks back at each other. We need to wait until Catra has its full attention."

"You know I honestly thought you were on to something back there with that whole apology thing." Frosta continued to rant, casually pacing a slow step after the other. "You were kind, seemed sincere, and I thought you were keeping a leveled head, but clearly that required too much brain power from you."

"Pffft, yeah, that's rich, talking about  _brains_  from someone like you?" Catra taunted back, sneakily giving a quick glance at the robot out of the corner of her eye. So far it didn't seem to be fighting back as it waited for the two to possibly turn on each other. "You know maybe I'd take your words more seriously if you were someone of adult height. At least then I could hear you from all the way down there."

"Yeah, like I want to waste precious oxygen wasting words on someone like you." As she insulted, she began to gather a bundle of ice around her feet, spreading slowly a few yards around her. "You know at least in the Horde, someone like you could be commendable. Around here, you're just a pain to deal with, in Brightmoon and out."

"They're going to kill each other, aren't they?" Perfuma panicked as she felt the tension rising between the two again, her fear encircling Glimmer who let out a small gulp.

"I really want to say you're exaggerating but..." A single teleport. That's all Glimmer could muster at this point. If she had to get in there and sort this out then she would, but she almost prayed it wouldn't come to that.

"You know, I almost wish your parents were still alive at this point," everyone else's expression went dead at the statement, unable to believe what they just heard as Catra sneered back to her, "because at least then they could share in my misery with you."

"...You take that back..." Frosta's face tightened with an insurmountable hatred, one that caused the ice to crack around her feet.

"Aww, did I strike a nerve?"

"I said take it back!"

"Why don't you make me, brat?" Catra's final taunt was brought with a gesture by the magicat, telling Frosta to give her everything she had. "Or do I need to tell mommy and daddy what a bad girl you've been? Oh, wait, I forgot."

"That's it!" The eleven-year-old had enough by the looks of it. She wasn't going to take any more sass from this stupid and annoying "Hero of the Rebellion", no matter how prestigious her title or her status might be. She had pushed Frosta far beyond the point of simply talking their way out of the situation, and now seemed more intent than ever to end that miserable excuse of a princess.

Gathering all the energy she could around her, the others watched as she formed a massive ball of solid from out of the ground, shaping and sizing it until it was as large as she was, and in the shape of a solid wrecking ball. All around her, worry and warning signals were flashing in everyone's mind, save for Catra and Adora, the latter of which continued to watch all of this play out through the eyes of the powerful machine.

If everything was a ruse, Orbko would pick up on it after Frosta attacked. It would know all of it was a trick, retaliate against the princesses, and continue fighting on as it has been, and, hopefully, without Frosta ending up in the ensuing casualties. It would quickly be reprogrammed like it was before under those events to keep it from endangering Entrapta's life, and the Horde could carry on their business without further irritation or distraction from the Rebellion and its stupid Princess Alliance.

...So why did she feel uneasy all of a sudden?

"Frosta, no-!" The sound of a thunderous crackling caught Adora's attention as the princess finally launched her attack, ignoring the pleading cries of her surrounding allies. Catra grinned at the oncoming projectile as she prepared herself for the oncoming strike. Planting her feet firmly in the ground, Catra struck the massive globe of ice with as much strength as she could without her She-Ra state, shattering and scattering the contents directly at the robot standing between them.

* ** _crish!_** *

The others watched as the robot was pelted by dozens of shards of solid ice, some of the icicles penetrating its metallic plating in its forearms and legs as it covered its head for protection. As expected, the Horde trio could see the robot already analyzing the attack and calculating it at a mile a second with coding dancing around the screen. It saw the threat standing before it, generating over a hundred different ways to combat it, and prepared the maces within its hands as it was about to engage in combat, taking a step forward-

"You call that a blast?" Catra taunted back as she stuck out her tongue. "I've been hit harder by a mosquito, and it was at least a hundredth of the size you were!"

...

...

...

* _bzzzt_ *

"Huh?" The same flash of confusion went off in the minds of her surrounding friends as they saw a small spark of electricity dance around the robots head. The massive droid grabbed its head as if in confusion over its current state. It didn't take any direct hits to where the brain should've been built, it didn't appear to be in any sort of agony, and yet it was standing around like it didn't know what to do.

"Oh please," the younger princess scoffed back, "I wasn't even trying. I mean, it would be a huge loss if we lost the She-Ra side of you. Oh, I'm sorry, I meant the only  **useful**  side of you."

"...You want to say that again you little brat..." Catra's brow narrowed as she willed the weapon to change within her hands again. Thankfully to her, it transformed into the beautiful spiked ball-and-chain flail that has worked wonders for her in the past.

"What? Was it too fast for you? Geez, no wonder the Horde never wanted you. If you were any smarter, then maybe you would actually make a friend who wanted you back."

"...I really wish I did this the first time I met you. Hnnnngh!" The growl stemming from Catra's throat was followed by a massive heave as she swung the massive chain around her for a full swing before flinging it directly at the younger princess. Grinning, Frosta formed a durable thick coating of ice around both her hands as smashed the giant ball away in a single punch, directly into the path of Orbko who continued to survey the situation dumbfounded.

* _crunch_ *

Like before, the robot wobbled in place as its right shoulder was scrunched up by the ensuing strike, leaving a trail of cuts and scratches along the right side of its arm. Processing the attack, the robot turned its attention back to the blue-haired snow girl who launched the attack, preparings its calculations to-

"Oh come ON! If you're supposed to be the "big hero" of the Rebellion, why do your attacks feel like a light breeze? We would've beaten the Horde months ago if you were even a little stronger!"

* _bzzzt_ *

And like before, the others watched as another spark of electricity danced around the robot's head, this time with its body trembling in place. It's like it was scared at the apparent amount of confusion it was feeling, at a loss for how to process what was being displayed before it.

The others watched in the same amount of curiosity as a small amount of hope began to rise in their spirits. Catra and Frosta weren't being attacked or countered by the robot's immense strength, the robot wasn't preparing any sort of strategy to retaliate, and it continued to struggle against the array of data that was going through its mechanical mind. Whatever was going on right now, it was working. There was just one question.

What was going on?

...

"What's going on?!" Adora yelled in frustration. The blood boiling in Adora's veins wasn't just limited to her actual blood. A small trail of dark veins began to grow along the right side of her arm, her emotions working against her as the darkness seeped into her body.

"I-I don't know!" The three words that no scientist in the history of Etheria should ever utter, and Entrapta finally used them. Nibbling her left fingernails while typing madly into the datapad with her right, holding it with her hair, she panicked. "I-It's not picking up or registering itself as being attacked!"

"Is it broken or something?" Scorpia might not have been as intellectual as the other were, but she knew enough to know something was wrong when a giant monitor in front of her was displaying an ERROR message repeatedly and flashing a dim red light that blanketed the whole screen.

"No! ...Maybe? I don't know!" Ah! The second time she said that! She swore to herself if she said it one more time, her hair would likely fall out! "For some reason it isn't processing the attacks like its being attacked itself! I had it programmed for this exact thing if the Rebellion ever tried to attack it as a team, like it did before!"

"Well I don't really blame it." The stinger-girl shrugged as she looked back to the monitor. "I mean, just by looking at it, it looks more like those two are fighting each other than they are fighting it."

"Fighting each oth-!" The scientist froze as hard as Frosta's ice at the comment as she felt every brain cell of her glorious mind slowly draining away from her. "Oh noooooo! No! No! No! No! No-!" The scientific mastermind panicked as she tapped endlessly against the pads. Shrieking, Entrapta grabbed several more datapads as a revelation came to her mind, one that didn't go unnoticed by the commander.

"Did you figure out what's wrong?"

"Unfortunately! I think I know why its not fighting back!" Looking back to the big screen, the others watched as they saw several graphs and readings indicating what its perception of threats and details over its intended targets were. "I designed Orbko to respond to direct and immediate threats like if it was ever attacked. Naturally, with a programming that advanced and with the technology I used to make it, I had to set its functions so it would only register direct threats against it as an enemy. Obviously we couldn't have it roaming around attacking every soldier that bumped into it or pebble that fell on it, right?"

"Yeaaah...?" Despite the lack of information Adora had compared to her enlightened friend, she could tell she wasn't going to enjoy where this line of reasoning was headed.

"So, I built its functions with the ability to determine one's emotional response, so it could always pick up an enemies intent in attacking it. It was the only way I could get it to tell the difference between friend and foe, to keep our own soldiers safe if I ever deployed more of these on the battlefield."

"And that means..." Slowly, the commander's eyes widened as the dread piled on her mind, turning back to the screen from the scientist with her anxiety rising. "Oh no..."

"What?" It was times like this Scorpia wished she was as smart as her friends so she could keep up with whatever line of reasoning they had. Then again, she wouldn't ever dream of giving up her artistic ability either. "What does that mean?"

The mad scientist clutched her forehead with a loud cry, distraught over the great realization she had. "It's not registering Catra or Frosta as its targets because they're directing their anger at each other instead of Orbko!"

"Ah-!" Now that much Scorpia could understand. In short, if the two kept yelling and taunting each other back and forth like they were now, there would be no way for Orbko to logically determine that they were attacking it rather than each other.

"Now do you finally understand what it means, Scorpia?!"

"I think I do... It means Catra actually outsmarted you!"

"... AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

...

Back in the field of battle, the others watched in amazement as Catra and Frosta continued bash away at the giant droid that could only stagger in place. It was starting to become oblivious to its surroundings as Catra and Frosta continued to rant back and forth, swinging their power and weapons at one another and deflecting it at the robot.

It was beside itself with a paradox of confusion. It was being attacked by an enemy force but the violence wasn't directed towards it, yet its self-defensive protocol was registering as it being attacked, and it wasn't supposed to attack anything not directly attacking it! It was the programming within its own advanced mind that was chipping away at the robot's reasoning, and the longer it remained perplexed by this endeavor, the longer Catra and Frosta bashed away at it.

None of the others could believe what they were seeing either as they continued to watch Catra and Frosta chip away at the monstrosity, seeing the bits of protective alloy around its limbs being scraped away. The very robot that was kicking their butts at the same time mere minutes ago was now acting like a training dummy against Catra's and Frosta's brutal onslaught of insults and retaliation, or at the very least, getting caught in the crossfire of it.

"They're winning!" Perfuma squeaked as she clasped her hands together. Her eyes were alight with stars as she watched the marvel in front of her, unsurprised that the mighty She-Ra would find a way to save the day.

"Shouldn't we help them now?" Mermista asked, still on the other side of the clearing with Bow.

As much as Bow wanted to assist his friends, he shook his head in response. "Not now. If we try to interfere in any way, we could draw the robot's attention and mess up their plan. We need to keep quiet until they can disable it without destroying it." By the looks of things, that wasn't going to be a problem at this rate.

Already, the bot was covered in cuts, dents, and scrapped along its limbs and torso. Chunks of the alloy were torn away from the robots bits and scattered across the ground beneath its feet, and the electricity continued to worsen as it sparked around its head. No matter how focused Catra and Frosta were on each other, they could see the amount of damage they were doing to the once brilliant creation, and knew it was only a matter of time before they brought it down to its twitching knees.

...

This was bad. Really bad.

The screen was flashing red at an increasing pace as Orbko continued to take damage. A small outline of its body was propped up on the right side of the screen, identifying the areas that were currently the most damaged. It was an unsettling sight to the commander as more and more of its body was continuing to flash in red, the sound of its destruction echoing in Adora's ears as it endured its onslaught.

The worst part about all of this was the amount of technology used to create this powerful machine. If it failed now, if it was beaten and battered beyond recognition, there would be no means of remaking it or acquiring a new one. It took nearly all the First Ones tech they had acquired in the first place to build this one, and it could take potentially years to make a brand new one from scrap with the technology they had on hand.

"Come on, do something!" Scorpia stammered as she watched in dismay.

"I-I-I'm thinking! Every time I try to input a new set of commands, though, Orbko locks me out like it did before!" Why was Entrapta cursed with so much intelligence that her own beautiful creations would be used against her?!

Again.

"...Does Orbko have any other combat settings?" Adora finally asked as the thought crossed her mind.

"Huh?" Taking a pause from her dancing fingers, Entrapta turned to the datapad on her right as she checked. "Oh, well, yeah. It also came with basic combat functionality. It wouldn't need to analyze enemy data by being attacked or anything, but-"

"Then do it." The commander's expression hardened as she gazed at the main screen.

"B-B-But Adora! If I switch its current settings, it won't be able to learn while its fighting! It wouldn't use its abilities to its fullest, exploit its enemies weaknesses, or-"

"Do you want to live with the knowledge that Catra outsmarted you, or not?"

"Done." With a simple click of the pad, any resistance or hesitation Entrapta had was erased. On the main screen they could see the screen flashing with a lighter color of blue instead of red as the message  **Rebooting**  was displayed in bold white writing. Whatever default setting this thing was set to had to work for their sakes. Otherwise, Adora would have to resort to plan B.

...

On the other end of the screen, in a mere second, Orbko's systems were calibrated as the robot's ocular vision changed from a camera lens-like appearance to a burning shade of red. Too distracted by their own agenda, neither Catra or Frosta noticed as the robot lowered its guard as it took the next blast of ice at full force. The only ones who noticed the change of detail were the ones watching from the sidelines, and nothing they were prepared to say could reach them until it was too late.

Raising its mighty fights, both fighters were caught completely off guard as the mighty droid slammed both of its powerful fists straight into the ground, creating a crater nearly twenty feet in radius from where it slammed as it raised the earth around it from all sides. The girls lack of preparation lead to their literal downfall as they lost their footing and began sliding down the raised earth and closer to the terrible droid.

"Whoooa-!" Out of the two, Catra was the first one to yelp as she attempted to scrape her claws and feet against the ground in an attempt to slow down her sliding. Her efforts were all for naught as the robot plucked the struggling cat from the crater and threw her harshly into the opposite direction, smacking her against the very tip of the raised ground and passed it.

The throw proved to be more than enough to distract the younger princess as she briefly watched Catra being flung passed her and outside the crater a good distance before turning her sights back on the robot. Because of the untimely distraction, Frosta only had enough time to make a solid foot-thick wall in front of her to avoid the most out of the robot's follow-up attack as it slammed its fist against her. Despite the amount of shielding she had in front of her, it did nothing to slow the droid down as it smacked her through the raised dirt, slamming her against the ground and skidding several feet away from the crater.

On the plus side, she managed to shrug off a majority of the robot's assault thanks to the blanket of ice that stood between her and the robot's full power. On the downside, the resulting impact against the ground and from the remainder of the robot's strike was enough to almost knock her out completely, dazing her as her eyes closed. It was this image that Catra was met with as she rubbed her aching head, seeing the young princess halfway between her and the robot pulling itself out of the wide hole.

"Frosta!" She yelled out, running to the girl in haste as the robot stomped its way over to her.

Even if it wasn't as advanced now as it was before, it knew enough to determine that anything out here was an enemy, princess or not. Staring at the helpless princess that was blanketed by its shadow, the robot raised its mighty foot as it prepared to stomp the life out of the child for good, eliminating one of its many threats, starting with this one.

* _clang_ *

That little threat continued to prolong its existence as something stopped the robot's massive stomp from reaching its intended target. Several things, as a matter of fact, starting with the magicat blocking the foot from below. Gritting her teeth, Catra struggled as she held the back of her arm against the sword-turned-shield, shaking a little as she was halfway between standing and falling to one knee, a battle she was losing by the second.

The other thing that was prolonging Catra and Frosta's fate was the assistance pulling at the robot from behind. Almost as far back as the crater was, the four remaining members could be seen pulling at the bindings that were wrapped around the robot's arms. On the left, Bow and Mermista were giving it all they had to pull away at the large net Bow managed to shoot from one of his arrows, while on the right side, Glimmer and Perfuma were pulling away with all their might, tugging away at the vines Perfuma had grown to wrap around the robot's waist and right arm.

Together, these friends and allies were pushing back against the robot's formidable strength, yet, it was proving to be nothing more than a delay of the inevitable.

With each passing second, Catra felt herself lower closer and closer to the ground as trickles of sweat dripped over the side of her face. Teeth clenched as she focused all of her energy into pushing back, she could hear the desperate cries and pleas of her allies calling out to her from a dozen yards ahead, doing whatever she could to block it out as she struggled.

"Ngggh! Catra, come on!" Glimmer could be heard yelling as she pulled with all her might. "Call on She-Ra's power!"

"You know, if you feel like it!" Mermista grumbled as her feet were dragged against the ground as she was dragged closer to the robot, one centimeter at a time like the rest of them. "Not like we can't do this all day, but..."

"Ghh..." She knows what she has to do, but was it really necessary? Turning her head back to the kid, every part of her mind was screaming with worry. She knew if she dodged out of the way, Frosta would wind up a pancake. And if she turned She-Ra, a portion of her at least, her secret would be exposed. "Come on, kid..." She whispered to herself, gritting her teeth as her knee was barely an inch from the ground.

The young princess was nowhere near ready to get up, even though she appeared to stir here and there. It might take twenty seconds before she came back to her seconds, it might take a full minute. All Catra knew was that she couldn't afford any of that time or they'd both be flattered by the robot's twisted strength.

Who cares if she had a grand revelation about keeping secrets a couple minutes ago? It's not like she  **needed**  to confront her problems right then and there, right? Yeah, sure. Frosta would wake up. She could wake up, use her powers to impale this thing or something, and nobody would need to know about-

* _creeeak_ *

"Agh-!" The warrior grunted as she was firmly pushed to the knee, almost feeling the of the robot's foot causing her leg's bone to shake.

...Who was she kidding? There wasn't any other way out of this, not that resulted in both her and Frosta getting out of this alive. All of it stemmed from the fact that she caused her own reduction of power in the first place, and she was too afraid to confront the others about it. But how was she supposed to confront the others if she let anything happen to Frosta? It would be more on her then for not telling them the truth in the first place!

Well... Then again... Maybe...

"Ghhhhhh! Oh forget this!" And with a final scream, she uttered the sacred words. " ** _FOR THE HONOR OF GRAYSKULL!_** "

All around her lights of a dazzling displayed danced across the scenery as her entire body shimmered with a sparkling glow, save for her eyes that remained pure light. With the humming of her sword, she brought sword to her face along with her illuminated hand, crossing them side by side until they formed an X in front of her.

With a silent breath, she began pulling the sword and claw against each other on opposite ends, scraping her claws against the mighty blade which danced with a sparkling light. As she did, little by little her outfit changed into a majestic white color, growing little by little along her body as she pulled the blade away from her claw. By the time her claw reached the end of her sword, her entire outfit had finished changing, now sporting a white colored vest with a yellow light image bursting from the center of a light-blue gem, along with a white colored short skirt across her waist.

Finally, she brought her empty hand to her face. She held it there as a golden light enveloped both her wrists, forming a beautifully golden set of bracelets. As a final piece, slowly pulling her hand away from her face as her helmet changed to a golden color, the spikes on the end growing several inches longer as they curved out against her form, just as golden pads stretched from the shoulders.

With this, her transformation had come to an end, and She-Ra had been formed.

* ** _Wham!_** *

* _CRASH!_ *

Following a blinding light that enveloped everyone's vision, they were next met with the sound of a tremendous slam followed by a severe crash. With the light receding as soon as it came, the remaining allies were greeted by the sight of the terrible Orbko flying overhead, watching as it flew over their head and crashing into the wall of the sturdy Beacon. The droid slumped over, still intact, but with a large round dent now present in its chest.

"Phew, that was close." Bow smiled as they turned their attention back to the hero of the day. " Nice work, Ca-" He stopped.

Everyone was taken back as they turned their heads one by one. It wasn't too surprising to Catra that they would greet her with mixed expressions of curiosity and confusion, all things considered. Here she was greeted by everyone who expected something a little different, a She-Ra they had met once before. Instead, what they got was a She-Ra they saw on a handful of occasions, a She-Ra, while strong, that wasn't complete. The very same She-Ra Bow and Glimmer had gotten used to from the day they met Catra.

"Catra... what..." Glimmer couldn't tell what to say, or if she should say anything.

"L-Look, can we just..." Catra huffed as she scratched the back of her head. "Can we trash the droid first before we talk? It'll take awhile to explain."

asdadasdaWhile still confused, a few clicks went off in several spots of their minds as they saw a small grimace in Catra's expression, looking a bit ashamed of her own status. From the look on her face, it was starting to become a little clear what Catra had been keeping so quiet about, and why she's been acting so strangely as of late. And, to Catra's annoyance, it wasn't the worst thing she was greeted with in the next five seconds.

"Ugh..." She turned behind her as she heard the small groan of the younger princess. She watched as Catra leaned herself up from the ground, rubbing her sore head as she regained her consciousness in full.

As opposed to anyone who would be relieved over seeing such a hopeful state, Catra's face showed nothing but more annoyance. "Oh, NOW you decide to wake up!" Her grumblings and apprehension wasn't taken as seriously by the younger princess as it used to be, offering Catra a small smile as she realized what Catra sacrificed to save her life.

Her own secret.

...

At the same time, the commander watched with a building anger that was matched by the small trail of darkness growing along her veins. Her right arm was being covered by these dark strands as she squeezed her fist in anger, one she forced herself to repress as she tried to remain calm.

The princesses were all united again, and finally had a bigger advantage now over Orbko's weakened state. While she was more than overjoyed to know Frosta was alright, it bothered her to know that now all of them were ready to fight again, and this time without an overpowered droid to match their combined strength, one that was nearly doubled in size now that Catra had returned to her She-Ra state again.

She hated it all the same, but she had little choice. It was time to resort to Plan B.

"Destroy the droid." She ordered in a firm tone, much to Entrapta's chagrin.

"What?!" She squealed. "Nooo... Adora please!"

"It's fine, Entrapta." She assured as she grabbed one of the datapads out of Entrapta's hair. With a simple swipe, she initiated the countdown. "We'll just find another site and make more from there."

...

* _beep_ *

With the sound of the audible warning-like beep, all eyes gathered on the battered droid where it came from. Standing up on its own two feet, they watched as the droid suddenly began to convulse, twitching in a spasmic rhythm as the ocular eyepiece of the large droid began to flash with a red light.

"What is it doing?" Perfuma questioned as she eyed the bot in a curious manner. While most of them were in the same state of confusion over its strange behavior, Catra was the only one who managed to realize the truth as she noticed the flashing red from tis eye continuing to pick up in speed.

"It's self-destructing!" She stated, much to everyone's shock. She recognized that state all too well whenever it came to her days of destroying droids in the Fright Zone during training.

"If they destroy that droid, we'll lose our best chance to make a killswitch!" Bow added, reminding them the severity of their situation. "We need to disable the bomb, fast!" It took a single nod amongst the friends and allies to understand the plan, sparing little time in the details as every second counted. They had one shot to pull this off successfully before the droid exploded, and this time, they were all prepared.

Wasting no time, Catra charged headfirst towards the spasming droid who charged in turn to attack her. With the archer running behind her, Bow shot directly for one of the droid's legs, managing to ensnare it in a pile of green sticky goop long enough for Perfuma to work her own magic. With as much power as she could gather, she summoned as many vines as she could to the droid's side, wrapping them tightly against its arms as she restrained it from being able to attack.

With the first half of the robot restrained, Mermista and Frosta combined both of their powers to restrain the second half of the droid. With her arm mostly healed to the point of conjuring her magic, Mermista summoned a massive blast of water, dousing the entire droid's body from the neck down as she drenched it in full. With enough water running over its body, Frosta used her own gift of magic to continue off as she froze everything directly from where she stood to the robot, making sure to avoid Catra as she ran, and created jagged block of ice over the robot's body, one that nearly grew up to its head.

Continuing to run as fast as she could, gritting her teeth as the speed of the beeping increased, she noticed Glimmer running right alongside her, giving her a firm nod in understanding as they had the same time. This was the very last of her magic that she could pull off, but she knew she had nothing to fear as of now. With every ounce she could, she teleported for the last time that she could from the distance as she reappeared a little above Orbko, grabbing onto its neck. With her staff in hand, she threw it around the robot's neck as she kept it from moving any further, all of which lead to the droid being completely immobile.

Everyone had worked their part, and it was almost fitting that Catra found herself as the one to wrap things up. With a solid dash and a leap, she jumped straight to the bot like a rocket, wrapping a firm grip over its frozen shoulder as her nails dug into the claws. Pulling back her fist, she knew.

She knew she was watching. She knew Adora wouldn't send out a droid like this without keeping a constant surveillance on it, and she knew she could see Catra in full from whatever angle she was watching. It had been over a month since the two last saw each other, and even though Catra couldn't see or hear Adora from her end, she knew she was listening, and she had the perfect words to greet her back with after all this time.

"Hey Adora."

* **CRACK!** *

With a single blow, Catra's fist sank straight into the robot's eye, grasping at anything she could feel trembling, and pulled it out posthaste. Sure enough, and thankfully, she found the very mechanism that housed most of the robot's programming, including its brain, and the portion that was set to detonate on a moment's notice. Without skipping a beat, she quickly tossed the device high into the air, just far enough for the rest of them to avoid the explosion that went off not two seconds later.

The ensuing explosion was enough force to crack apart the ice holding robot in place as the shockwave passed by everyone and everything. With the ice coming apart, Catra and Glimmer hopped away from the disabled bucket of bolts as Perfuma drew away her own vines. With nothing more than a single tap from the butt of her sword, Catra smirked as everyone watched the dreaded machine finally collapse, falling on its back with a hard-earned thud.

Orbko had finally been defeated.

...

"... She... won..." The commander was unaware as the veins grew further along her right arm as they started to reach her shoulder.

The image of Catra's fist was the last thing Adora saw before a blip stating that the message feed had been disconnected was displayed, leaving Adora with an irritated reflection looking back at her. So much had happened in the course of one afternoon, some of it for the best, others for the far worse.

On the plus side, Frosta was still alive, and that mattered the most. If she ended up taking Frosta's life indirectly by allowing Orbko to be unleashed, despite being a prototype, she would never forgive herself. It wasn't even the matter of losing a potential ally, she just couldn't fathom what it would feel like to know she was responsible for the loss of life for a young child such as her.

That was the only good thing out of all of this.

Everything after that, though, was worse. For starters, there was the fact Frosta was still alive, after her life was threatened by a robot the Horde sent out. How was she supposed to explain the difficulties or reasoning behind why it attacked her in the first place? How else was she supposed to apologize to her other than a blunt "oh hey, sorry our killer robot tried to eliminate you, no hard feelings, right?". She might as well have sent her an apology card with the words "I'm Sorry" written in bold right in the middle of it. It would've been just as effective.

Another issue was the fact they had lost a majority of their First Ones tech in the process. It would take awhile before they could ever send out something as powerful as Orbko, and there was no telling when that day would be with a lack of materials on hand. They could discover a First Ones cache within a week's time, or they could spend the rest of their lives trying to find anything that came even close to what the Beacon had in store, and they would find squat.

And that's provided they could even find any more ruins at all.

She was so caught up in her thoughts that she jumped as she felt a poke on the back of her shoulder. To her relief, and surprise that she could forget, she was greeted with a calm-looking Scorpia staring back at her.

"Hey, its alright, Adora." It amazed Adora sometimes that Scorpia could smile so easily under the most tense of situations. "Look at it this way; it took us over a month for us to have a mission fail. That's gotta be like a new record around here or something, right?"

"...Huff..." Exhaling a deep breath, Adora sighed, letting the tension breathe out of her as she rubbed her quivering hand. "You're... You're right." It warmed Scorpia a little to see the cheerful expresion return to Adora's face, even more so as the shadows stopped growing along her arms. "We'll... We'll just make up for this next time... Thanks, Scorpia." Nodding to one another, the commander made her way out the door as she went off to preform another duty she had.

It always gave Scorpia that big warm fuzzy feeling whenever she managed to help one of her friends, or anyone for that matter. Outside of brawns, there was only so much she could do when her hands were claws and her personality was... usually gullible. So anytime she managed to solve one of her friends' problems, it always felt satisfying.

"Ehhheh eheh eheh..." Speaking of which, there was someone else who needed cheering up. Ready to work her own magic once again, Scorpia strolled her way over to her as she patted the tearful Entrapta on the head.

"It's going to be okay, Entrapta. We can always make another orb-thingy, right?"

"No, it's not that!" She sniffed. "I just can't get over the fact Catra outsmarted one f my creations! I worked so hard on it too, it took me at least two more hours than usual to make! Eheh..."

"Oh... Well that doesn't mean anything. Just because you got outsmarted one time doesn't mean you're any dumber than her." To her joy, she appeared to be on the right track as Entrapta was slowing down to some small sniffling.

"R... Really?"

"Of course! If it makes you feel any better, she outsmarted me too before!"

"...WAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHHHHHHHH!"

...

...

"So... this is what you've been hiding the whole time?" Glimmer asked as everyone gazed at the semi-She-Ra with wonder.

Catra sighed as she looked off to the side briefly, scratching the back of her head with unease. There wasn't any point trying to keep it all bottled up any longer, though, it didn't make the experience any easier to deal with. Her secret was finally exposed in front of all her friends and allies, and the truth had to come out one way or another right now. Like ripping a bandage off, she had to do it quickly, just to get it over with.

"It's not really that I was trying to keep it a secret. It's just that... Mhh..." It always felt awkward to her whenever she had to speak in front of a group like this, especially to her friends. "I didn't really know how to explain it."

"So, like, you weren't going She-Ra because you thought you would've been in trouble, or something?" Mermista tilted her head as she crossed her arms. This was actually the first time she saw Catra's weaker She-Ra form in person, as well as Frosta's, and it was strange to take in.

"No, not that either. I... How am I supposed to explain this?"

"Look, Catra, it's alright." Bow tried to assure with a smile. "So you're not the same She-Ra that won at the Battle of Bright Moon, big whoop. It's not something to be mad about-"

"That's not why I'm mad!" She nearly snapped, almost causing Bow to jump. Turning away again, she groaned. "Yeah, it's annoying I can't go back to the same She-Ra I was before, but that's not why I've been so mad lately."

"... Is this related to the thing you mentioned?" Glimmer questioned, earning the attention of her friends. It was the only thing that made sense to her at the time. How could she forget Catra's strange behavior when they talked at the beginning of this day? "The thing you said that... you were responsible for?" Immediately, the questioning eyes shot back to Catra, all of them wondering what Catra had told her and didn't tell her.

"The reason I'm like this now is because... of something I did... and still doing..."

"What happened, She-Ra?" Out of all of them, it was going to hurt the most when she found out how Perfuma would respond to this. The one who was always praising and worshipping She-Ra, even if Catra was never meant to be her. To her, She-Ra was an icon, a symbol of hope. Thanks to Catra, that symbol was about to be ruined by her very hands.

"Ugggh... " There wasn't any use trying to stall beyond this point. It was time to come clean. "You guys know how I told you She-Ra had to be some  _grand symbol_  of hope and  _truly selfless_  or whatever Light Hope told me, right? Well I... I already messed that up."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, following a few days after the Battle of Bright Moon when we were all recovering, I... I had a thought I shouldn't have." She stared at the reflection etched into the sword's blade, scowling a little at the person who stared back. "I got to thinking how amazing all that power was, and how strong that form of She-Ra made me. I kept thinking how I could end the war easily if I had all that power in my hands, how I could finish things quicker... and I didn't know how selfish it was until it was too late."

She could recall the very moment of the day she ruined the power of She-Ra, how she lost the Rebellion's one chance at bringing an end to the war. Inside of her room, still recovering from her own injuries at the Battle of Bright Moon, holding that glorious sword high into the air and reciting those ancient words. She smiled to herself when she saw the white flash that always followed, and the surge of warmth donning She-Ra's form always brought her.

And in the very next moment, how it was ruined.

After the flash, the smile plastered to her face was quickly drained away as she looked at herself. She didn't feel the same overwhelming strength that always flowed through her, she didn't feel the bright radiant light that burned within her on that same day. She felt underpowered compared to her previous transformation, like she was missing a lot. And all of this was just based on how she felt on the outside, that didn't even touch how she was on the outside.

Glancing around, trying to find it, she saw the mirror in her room, and silently gasped. She was the same old She-Ra she was used to, the one that was barely a third of what the truth power of She-Ra was capable of. She couldn't believe her eyes, she tried to pinch herself to see if she was dreaming. Yet, no matter how many times she tried, she couldn't wake up.

"I tried over and over again for what felt like hours," she continued, "but no matter how many times I tried, it never came back. By the time I realized why, it was already too late."

"So you've been blaming yourself because-"

"Because it was my stupid selfishness that lost us that power." She cut Bow off. "I finally had the true power of She-Ra at my disposal and I ruined it."

"But that doesn't make sense." The princess of Bright Moon rubbed her chin in confusion. "I mean, if you thought of it then and there, then shouldn't bits and pieces of it come back over time? You're still the Hero of Bright Moon, and you still want to... wait..." A thought suddenly dawned on the princess as she blinked, to no surprise of Catra.

"So you finally get it, huh?" It was almost worth smirking over at how foolish all of this was. She would've gladly chuckled if she wasn't on the receiving end of that joke."I can't turn back into She-Ra because nothing's changed. I keep pretending that I don't have any selfish desire, I keep trying to feign ignorance and pretend I don't know why this stupid sword won't let me transform. I've been struggling with all of this for the last month, and have been doing everything I can to regain She-Ra's power, and nothing's worked."

"I want to be She-Ra. I want to defeat the Horde and stop this stupid war before anything else happens, but not because it's the  _right_  thing to do or or something as stupid as honor. I want to end it because I don't want to lose anything else in my life. I can never get rid of that one selfish desire." Her ears drooped at this as she squeezed her grip on the sword tightly. "We lost our one chance of winning this war, all because of me... and I'm sorry."

Everyone was silent as they processed this one by one. There was so much information to take in that none of them knew where to begin, and, personally, Catra hoped it never would. Here she was, waiting for some sort of response from any of them, and worrying every second. Would they blame her for everything that happened? Would they loathe her for costing them the war? If it was her, she wouldn't blame them.

How could she make a ridiculous mistake like that in the first place? She had the full power of She-Ra on their side, she had a chance of turning this all around! Light Hope constantly told her that only one pure of heart, one who achieves pure selflessness, would be worthy and capable of using the full power of She-Ra. She had a taste of all that power, and thanks to her own greed, one which was still ongoing, she lost it all.

Maybe the Horde would return with a grand army the next day, one too big for any of them to stop unless Catra had She-Ra's full power? Maybe some catastrophe would occur that required She-Ra's grand magic to save them, like a shield that could protect the entire castle? All of this and more, Catra lost, and she had no one to blame but herself, and her selfishness.

The first to react was also the last person Catra wanted to see a reaction from. Standing in front of her, Perfuma gazed into Catra's eyes, hiding whatever intent she was feeling in her mind. Catra couldn't tell if she was disgusted, confused, angry? The only thing worse than knowing what she was feeling was not knowing what she was feeling. At least then she'd be better prepared for it after.

There was little else she could do at this point. Seeing the girl preparing to take a step forward, Catra just closed her eyes as she prepared for whatever slap or berating Perfuma had to unleash.

* _tug_ *

...Or a hug... Huh?

Catra blinked as she opened her eyes again, confused beyond words as she felt Perfuma's warm embrace. Not only that, but none of the other princesses or allies appeared to be glaring at her. In fact, they almost seemed to be... smiling?

"Thank goodness." She finally said, pulling away from the girl. "I thought something was wrong."

"Huh?" It was the furthest thing from a last reaction that Catra had expected.

"You had us worried for a moment." Even as Perfuma pulled away from her, her smile looked almost alien compared to anything she was expecting.

"O... kay? I... kind aexpected you guys to be a bit more angry..."

"Angry? Why would we be angry?"

"Why do you think? I just told you, I lost She-Ra's power! We had a real chance against the Horde and I lost it now!"

"So?" It was almost baffling how passive Perfuma was being, almost as much as the rest of them as they continued to smile.

"Catra, we don't care about that." Glimmer stated.

"You don't?"

"Of course not. Catra, just because you want to beat the Horde, it doesn't mean you're selfish."

"It... It doesn't?" There was almost a spark of hope in her words that Catra wanted to believe in. "But I don't care about doing all of this cause it's right, so how is that not selfish?"

"Catra, we all have our reasons for wanting to defeat the Horde. I want to keep my mother and home safe." With this, she laid a comforting hand on Catra's right shoulder, the warmth of it assuring Catra of her feelings.

"I want to stop them from destroying the nature around us." Perfuma smiled.

"Protecting the seas is my reason." Mermista smirked, patting her other shoulder.

"I'm doing it for my parents, and for my friends." Bow stated proudly, planting a soft hand right on her back.

"...And I'm doing it for my kingdom, like my parents would've wanted." Frosta finally said, touching hey left leg as she gave a small smile up.

This was insane. Catra had finally gone off the deep end, or she was hit by Orbko so hard that she didn't know that she passed out instantly and this was all a dream. Everyone, all the eyes and faces greeting her, were warm and comforting. Not one of them had a look of ire or disgust with Catra, but that of a closeness, a bond. In fact, it almost seemed like they were comfortable with the revelation, even knowing it was Catra's fault.

"B-But... If it isn't selfish, then why can't I-"

"We don't know Catra," Glimmer interrupted, knowing what she was going to say, "and we don't care. Even if you're only a portion of She-Ra, all She-Ra, or none of She-Ra, we don't care. Whatever is wrong with it, we'll fix it together, but even if we can't, it won't matter. We're happy enough to have you fighting with us Catra, with or without She-Ra."

Catra didn't know what to say, or how to respond. Everything that she was given just now, the comfort, the acceptance, the understanding, was the complete opposite of what she expected. They should've hated her for this, she should be angry that she lost their only chance at a possible victory.

So why weren't they?

They weren't angry, they didn't seem to hold any sort of grudge. They just smiled at her, patting her back, and embraced her, like she was one of them. How could they be so accepting of her like this? Were they just pretending to be satisfied with all they had? Were they just pretending so they could still have her on their team? Or was it...

No. It wasn't. She couldn't comprehend what she was feeling or why, but... she believed them. She actually believed this was what they were like, the two friends she knew she had were proof of that. They accepted her for who she was, with or without her faults, just like that very day at the Battle of Bright Moon.

She was their friend.

"...Thank you..." With a smile, she spoke quietly, closing her eyes as she held back a trickling tear. It had been over a month since the Battle of Bright Moon, a day that took its toll on all of them. She was still dealing with scars from that fateful day, both physical and emotional. But after all of this, and everything she's been through in the last month, she felt something she hasn't felt in quite a long time.

Peace.

* _shiiiiiiiiiim_ *

"Huh?" Her eyes snapped open as her sword and her body began to glow again, coming to life with a new energy.

Wait... No... it wasn't just her. All around her, her friends, the princesses, were starting to glow to. Their powers were radiating off their body, glowing with a bright light of their distinguishing colors.

Glimmer glowed with a sparkling brightness of pink, Frosta had a snowy cold blue to her person, Mermista was dripping with an oceanic blue, and Perfuma was growing with a bountiful green of nature. And herself, Catra, was no different. Even though she lacked the golden armor she once donned at the battle, she was glowing all the same with a white pure light. She felt a warmth she wasn't used to, her back appeared to be growing, their magic was flourishing all around-... wait, what?

The others were drawn to Catra and all around them as the miracle happened. The nature around them, the freezing and melting slush, was beginning to die out, and spring to life with a renewed vigor. The plants were coming back to life, glowing with a greenness the Rebellion hadn't seen in over a month. And none of it even compared to how much Catra was glowing, both, inside, and out.

The others watched in wonder as Catra's back was glowing, watching as sparkles of pure light began to gather along the blades of her shoulder. What first felt like a small tingling sensation to Catra's back started to grow into a miracle in itself. From one line to the next, they watched as the light grew, amassing as it grew further and further out until a solid mass of light grew from her back and down to her thighs. Eventually, all the light receded in turn as it was replaced by a single item that Catra had not seen since the Battle of Bright Moon.

Her Cape. And with it, she felt lighter, and maybe a little stronger.

"W-What the-?" To say she was shocked would be an understatement of the year. Her friends were nowhere near as surprised as she was, and that was putting them all together! It looked real, it felt real, it smelled real! Well, for a cape, anyway. It wasn't anywhere as much as she would've preferred, but it was better than anything she expected, and something to hope for. "But I don't... I don't understand. How did-"

"Catra," Glimmer interrupted with a calm smile, as always, "it's okay. Just accept it."

"But how did it.. why is it happening now?"

"Maybe its not a matter of being selfish, Catra?" Bow guessed with a shrug. "Maybe you just have to be more honest with yourself. You just need to take it one step at a time, not all at once."

"One step... at a time..." She repeated, staring back at the sword. If everything they said was true, then she had a new goal to obtain: find a way to achieve She-Ra's true form again, and this time, without a selfish mindset to it. She needed to figure out how to be more open with herself, and a way to make up with for what she's done.

She knew for a fact it wasn't going to be done anytime soon. Not today, not tomorrow, she  _ **prayed**_  not in a year. But whatever happened now she knew that her friends were going to be behind her, all the way through.

"...Do you think if I asked it, I could get some pants next?"

...

...

Cold. Lifeless. Hopeless. The very definition of a Prison Cell. Within the Horde, it was something so much worse.

The glowing shackles that held her wrist in place, that kept her from attempting any sort of resistance, was a testament to the vileness that grew within her veins. No matter how many times she came down to this place to check on her, she never grew comfortable to see her like this.

Her former mentor, her instructor, a mother. One who once had it all around here, who had the capacity of understanding. She could've been someone Adora looked up to throughout all of her life, and for a time, she did. Now, she was someone Adora wanted nothing to do with, someone Adora would strive to refrain from. She was nothing more than a traitor that got too greedy for her own good, someone who wanted more than they already have. She would never be like her, and she would do everything to make sure of that.

Not someone like a traitor. Not someone like Catra. Not even someone who lied there on the floor under Adora's shadow.

Like Shadow Weaver.

"Shadow Weaver." Adora greeted with a smug grin as she crossed her arms. Out of everyone in the world, save for Catra, there was nobody she felt necessary to tower over except for Shadow Weaver. "You're continuing to look worse by the day. Then again, you did plan to overthrow Lord Hordak, and you didn't seem to care about using those around you." She paused, looking at her own fingertips. "I should know."

"..." Silence. Nothing else but silence. This is exactly what Shadow Weaver gave her every time she came down here for her, whether to berate, taunt, or bring her food. And for some reason, it bothered her.

Looking over to the wall where the chains were attached to, she saw it. A lone, single, monitor, that gave her a camera's feed of the outside world. There wasn't much to it in this dreary environment, but compared to almost every other cell in this prison, she was practically getting the "Royalty Treatment" in turn. "You know, I thought you'd be a little more appreciative after I had the monitor installed in here, or at least a little more chatty, but clearly I was wrong. You continue to dole away down here, doing nothing with your life, when you could be working for us again if you swore allegiance."

"..."

"I just came by to let you know that we actually suffered our first loss today, and I'm actually pretty proud of it." She paused, hoping for even a twitch of her fingers. "Not even a month. Over a month, and it took us this long to suffer a single loss. I don't can't even remember the last time we went three days without a loss under your command."

"..." The witch turned her head to the side, still keeping her masked face hidden from Adora.

"We're getting stronger by the day, our armies are growing, and our success has never been better. And you want to know how I know? Because Lord Hordak acknowledged my achievements himself. His words, not mine. I think I almost saw him grin when I compared my accomplishments to yours. And all you're doing right now is rotting away into nothingness."

"..." Once again, nothing but silence. It almost felt like she was taunting Adora on a level that only she knew.

"Ghhh... Say something!" Adora barked, ignoring as the shadows pooled around her own feet. No matter how threatening she looked, or what sort of threats she made, Shadow Weaver wouldn't even give her a wink. If it wasn't for the fact she knew she was breathing, or how she changed where she was squatting and kneeling every time she came down here, she'd almost think she was dead.

"You know what? Forget it!" She scoffed. "If you want to continue wasting away down here, that's fine by me. The Horde's been doing wonderfully since I became Hordak's new second-in-command, and the soldiers and cadets couldn't be any happier. They appreciate all I'm doing for them, they're succeeding because of what I'm doing for them. I'm leading the Horde into a brighter new age than anything you've been capable of, and all without your twisted methods to boot."

"I don't need you, and I don't need your way of thinking. I'm going to show the world how wrong they are about the Horde, and I'm going to crush the Rebellion under my own path. We have more allies than we ever did with you, and we'll never need what you had to offer, ever again." With that, the blonde teenager began to march out of the cell. If she wasn't going to give Adora any sort of response, then why should she even bother?

"...Heh..." Adora froze mid step as she quickly shot back. "Heh heh... Eh heh heh heh heh heh!" She couldn't believe it. After a full month of full-on silence, Shadow Weaver finally gave her a validated response. And out of all the things she could've done, she just had to laugh at her. Mockingly. "Oh, my dear, sweet, Adora. It's almost precious how naive you are."

"Excuse me?" Finally! A response! Even if it was insulting, it was better than the emptiness that once filled this cell!

"You parade about with this  _innocence_  here and there, when in reality, the real world is nothing like you dream it is." Still without looking at her, Shadow Weaver held up her own fingertips to her face. "If there is one thing I never taught you, its how to face the real world, and all it truly has to offer. All the selfishness, all its greed. I never prepared you for what the real challenge that lies ahead of you, and I almost feel sorry for that... Heheheheh..."

Wow. Just wow. Adora didn't know what level of angry or hateful she should be right now. She's waited forever for her to say something, anything at this point, to her, and instead of some deep and meaningful apology like she's owed, some sign that she'll cooperate with the Horde, or something to just let Adora know that she actually regrets her actions, she goes off and mocks her? It would have sicked Adora if she had any respect left for her former mother figure.

"You'll learn, Adora. With or without me to guide you, you'll learn." She didn't care if she was talking anymore as she walked her way to the door. She just wanted to put the past behind her. "You'll never make it out there on good intentions or a peaceful frame of mind. One way or another, you're going to learn that betrayals, schemes, and exploits are the only way to make it through this world." Whether or not she heard Adora before the door closed on her or not, it didn't matter. From behind her mask, the vile woman couldn't help as her expression softened somewhat.

"Or you'll suffer for it even more..."

...

...

* _ssskkk_ *

* _ssskkk_ *

* _ssskkk_ *

"Wh-Whoooah!"

"Wall!"

"I got it!" Catra chirped as she pushed against the solid wall and continued skating across the ice. "Hahahaha!"

This was new to her. It felt new to her. For the last month, she never thought she'd be able to feel any semblance of peace of happiness again. She didn't think she'd find much of a reason to smile during this war given everything it had to offer. There was only pain, suffering, and violence throughout this war, and for a time, that's all she thought she was going to get. What else could one expect out of a war, anyway?

To her surprise, she found something new. She found an understanding that she didn't think was possible, she made amends with a young princess who continued to harass her endlessly, and she revealed a secret that had haunted her for the last month. Back in her typical outfit, back in Castle Bright Moon, she didn't think it would be possible to have anything close to fun anymore, but here she was. Skating across a row of magically generated ice from the young princess who piggybacked on her, the two were actually having more fun than either of them have had in a long while.

And it felt peaceful.

So much peaceful that Glimmer almost didn't recognize them at first as she made her way to her bedroom. She had a few scratches and scrapes she was planning to take care of with some ointment and the occasional bandage around her hand. So imagine her surprise when she saw two people who practically hated each other up till now suddenly sliding across the hallway, coming to a stop as Catra spun around in place as she approached her. Fortunately for the three of them, she managed to catch herself on the wall right next to the door.

"Heh, seems like you two are in a good mood." She commented, ignoring the fact there was now ice trails littered around the various hallways of Bright Moon. And yes, she did find it more than precious to see Frosta piggybacking the magicat with her legs around Catra's sides.

"Heh, why wouldn't we be?" Catra grinned back with a shrug. "All in all, day's been pretty hectic, but at least it'll be less stressful now once Bow makes that killswitch."

"So does this mean you two are friends now?" Glimmer asked with a curious grin as she leaned against the door.

"Friends?" Both Catra and Frosta eyed each other in wonder for a few seconds before chuckling in response. "Heh, I don't know if we'd go that far-"

"But we did at least agree on a truce over the things we both have in common." Frosta stated with a smile.

"A truce?" Glimmer questioned, earning a satisfied nod from Catra.

"Mhhm. We both like to give nicknames-"

"We both like to have fun when it gets boring around here-"

"And we both love to play pranks." They agreed in unison. There was something almost frightening about Catra being a role model to any sort of child, especially when it came to pranking, but at the same time Glimmer couldn't bring herself to ruin the closest thing Catra had to a moment here.

"Heh, why does that not surprise me?"

"Well it's true. We're actually a lot better pranking when we work together." Frosta mentioned with a triumphant nod.

"Oh man, you should've seen the last person we pranked a few minutes ago!"

"And... Who, exactly, did you pra-"

"CATRAAAAAAAAAAA! FROSTAAAAAAAAAAAA!" The sound of the bellowing voice was enough to shake the entire castle, causing the two girls standing to nearly trip over themselves in place. It was nothing like Glimmer had ever heard of throughout her life, and yet she knew perfectly well who the voice belonged to.

"Annnnnnnnd that's our que to leave!"

"Cheese it!" Frosta panicked, creating a whole new path of ice for Catra to skate over like never before. No sooner did Glimmer see the two rounding the corner of the hallway did she look back to see her own mother marching up to her, completely red in the face. It didn't appear to be of anything like anger or fury like she thought, but more along the lines of embarrassment. If her mother's pinkish skin didn't make it harder to tell if she was blushing or furious, it'd be easier to say.

"Mom? What did they do?" She almost didn't want to know, knowing a simple prank from one of them was bad enough. She couldn't even begin to think what sort of chaotic mischief the two could get into when they combined their pranking powers.

It took the Queen a few seconds to compose herself, or at least stop her fists from shaking at her side. Whatever happened to her was embarrassment of the worst kind, and Glimmer knew she wasn't going to like the answer.

"They froze me... to the toilet..." She stuttered.

"O-Oh!" Glimmer didn't know whether to be embarrassed for her mother over the prank that was pulled, or the idea of  _ **when**  _the prank could be pulled. All she knew was that it was one of the worst kinds of prank to pull on practically anyone she knew, even from the Horde.

Maybe a happy Catra wasn't such a good idea after all...

...

...

* _click_ *

"Huff..." Frosta sighed as she locked the door for the night. The spare guest room was one of a dozen different guest rooms they had provided for the members of the Princess Alliance while they were visiting or helping with another mission, each one suited to their individual tastes. While she didn't really have a preference on it, Frosta could admit the winter ornamental design to the room was a nice gesture.

It had been a long and demanding day in terms of her physical prowess and relationship with the other princesses, namely Catra, aka, She-Ra. To think she would actually manage to go from horrible to decent in a single afternoon? One filled with a rampaging robot that tried to smash her on several occasions? She wonders if they would be where they were now, or anywhere near it, if it wasn't for that behemoth of a machine?

Digging through her pockets, she reached around as she searched for the small treasure box that was always kept on her person. After all they been through, she did admit it felt a little bad to trick Catra with the box she gave her. Oh sure, the magicat could open the box with her claws, just like Frosta currently was with her ice-made key. Prying it open, Catra fortunately didn't know how to open the secret compartment that was under the precious locket. And why would she?

After all, she failed to notice the small indent at the top of the locket, one that required a simple click as such to open the compartment to the treasure box.

It was there that the true prize behind all of this lie hidden, the very badge that displayed Frosta's status as a fellow Horde Officer, on top of being a princess of her own Kingdom. Checking around one last time, a quick peek through the door to make sure the coast was clear, the young princess grew a small sheet of ice in every opening of the door until she was sure it was sound proof, then activated the small badge that was specially made as a communicator by Entrapta.

"Hey Adora, are you there-"

FROSTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-!"

"Ack-!" Frosta jumped momentarily from the shock of the loud screeching, covering the badge with her hands to silence the noise. "Would you keep it down?!" She shushed, trying to calm her heart as she uncovered the badge. "Catra just left a few minutes ago, you don't want her hearing."

"Sorry, sorry." She heard Adora apologize through the badge. At the Horde, the same commander was leaning against a wall in her bedroom as she spoke into the communicator next to her ear. "Are you hurt? Are you alright? Ugh, I feel like an idiot for sending that robot today."

'Yeah, was about to ask you on that." Frosta told her as she made her way over to the lone bed in the middle of the room. "What was with that?"

"Again, I'm very, very, sorry. It was a new prototype Entrapta made out of the First Ones tech from the Beacon and your resources. We didn't know it couldn't distinguish friend from foe and we would've disabled it in an instant if it wasn't so close to you guys at every moment. Frosta, I swear to you, we never would have let anything happen to you, and we did at least stop it earlier-"

"I get it, I get it." Frosta interrupted, rolling her eyes a little. "It wouldn't benefit you guys to betray me after only a month anyway, so I kind of figured it out for myself halfway through. Just promise me you'll check in with me next time before you use anything that dangerous, whether or not we encounter it on the same mission."

"I promise you, Princess Frosta." Adora's heart relaxed from its rapid pacing as she heard of Frosta's acceptance. It worked wonders on her stress as well as the stress building up in the form of the black veins along her right hand. By now, her entire arm was covered in black veins from the tips of her finger to her shoulder, something she could probably put off for another day or two at most before needing a recharge. "Nothing like this will  **ever**  happen again."

"Hmph... okay. But last chance, got it? I'm not going to risk a relationship if your technology does more harm for my kingdom than good."

"You don't need to worry, Frosta, I swear the tools and stuff we send over are tested twice every time." That was one load off Adora's conscious. She'd had to find some way to make it up to Frosta in the future, hopefully she could find something with a big enough contribution. The only question is what specifically would make it up to her, and how much of it? "The Horde doesn't betray its allies, and I promise you it never will. I have a few more things I need to check on for the night, so I better get going-"

"Wait, Adora?" Frosta spoke up as she lied on her front on the bed. A solemn expression crossed her face as she spoke from her mind. "Are... Are you sure Catra is... really as bad as you say?" The question made Adora's heart nearly skip a beat from surprise, and briefly sickened with disgust. It wasn't like she didn't mind who was asking the question, she just couldn't get over who the question was about. "It's just that... today she was like... I don't know... someone a little more... innocent, than you described her as?"

"..."

"I'm not trying to make you uncomfortable or anything, it's just... It's just I could've sworn that-"

"It's okay, Frosta. I get it." The commander slid against the wall until she was squatting down to her own two feet, looking up in thought as she spoke. "I know she has that look about her. Something that pretends to be innocent, tries to act like a friend? She might do and say things that'll make you question what she's truly like, and I wouldn't blame you. She was my friend for most of my life, and I thought I knew her too."

"But take it from someone whose known her for most of her life. Everything about Catra, everything she does, is all an act. In the end, everything she does is to benefit herself, and only herself. The moment she finds something that'll prove more helpful to her, she'll betray you at a moments notice. I should know, after all... Even after spending nearly a decade together, look whose side she ran to as fast as she could, all for the sake of some stupid kingdom to call her own?"

It was a painful but reassuring reality that Frosta needed to be reminded of. It was how Adora's come to know Catra, and everything she stood for. She was the embodiment of greed, the entity of selfishness. If the Horde was truly as Evil as the Rebellion tricked everyone into thinking, then what kind of evil creature could Catra be in reality?

After everything she's been through, there was only one word Adora had to describe her as.

A Freak.

"No matter how much she smiles to you, don't let her get in your mind. Because the minute you do, you'll regret it... just like I did..."

"...I understand." Frosta finally replied, to Adora's relief. "Sorry, Adora."

"It's fine, I promise. I'm just trying to keep you from ending up like I did... somewhere painful... filled with regret..."

"Y-Yeah..." Unbeknownst to her, there was a small frown perched on Frosta's face as she lied her head against the covers. "I'll check in with you later, Adora. See you."

"Have a good night." A click was the last thing Adora head, and the only thing she wanted to hear as she buried her head between her knees.

Catra had taken a lot of things from her. Half her life, a friendship she cherished, and flippped every aspect of their reality on Adora's head like an anvil. She wanted to help the Rebellion out of her own twisted desires and greed. That's it. That's all Adora could truly see. If Catra ever succeeded and made her dreams come true, Adora didn't know what she would do with herself. And as bad as that was, another worry crossed Adora's mind.

What else did Catra have left to take from her?

...

...

"Uh, okay. I'm talking into this recorder," Bow spoke aloud as he circled the remains of the terrible droid, "because that's what the best scientist I ever knew did."

After a long day of fighting, trying to make sense of these terrible creations and how they work, the self-proclaimed Tech Expert of the Princess Alliance finally had a semi-fully functional droid in his lap, or his table to put it specifically. All that hard work of sweat, tears, and feelings had eventually paid off, as he was already putting together ideas of how to put this so-called killswitch together.

"I'm not really sure who I'm talking to." He continued, examining the robot's limp arm as it lied against the table. "Me, I guess. So, hi, Future Bow... Huh... okay... time to open this thing, I guess." The head of the creation would have to be done last. If Catra's fist was as effective as they appeared, no doubt the inside of its head was shattered to pieces, a small price to pay compared to the rest of it.

Taking one of the screwdrivers on hand, he jammed it directly between the opening of the robot's metallic torso as he pried for dear life. Grunting, the tech expert pulled with all of his might until he finally managed to pry open the lid of the creation, giving him access to the mechanical doodads and wires that were strewn across its body. When Bow finally picked himself off the floor, leaning over the creation, his eyes widened as he gave a short whistle, speaking back into the recorder.

"Whoo, oh boy, uhh... Wow, the technology in this stuff is really... really advanced." He's never been so fascinated by the complexity of a machine like this, or anything it had to offer. "Most of the data programmed into this thing must've been done digitally. Most of the software appears to be from... huh..." It was within the very center of the robot's chest that Bow saw something he had only saw once before. Reaching for it, the young archer plucked out a slender diamond-shaped data crystal from the confines of the machine, filling his eyes with a light he didn't think was possible.

"Hold onto your hat, Future Bow. Entrapta's alive!" This was great! This was amazing! This was beyond glorious!

To think, the friend they all once knew and cared about was actually alive! Oh man, this feeling was intense! How was he supposed to put it? It was nothing like he's ever felt before! It's like the limits of his excitement somehow went beyond the tipping point and kept rising with each beat of his excited heart!

Entrapta was alive, she truly was! Gosh, what an awesome feeling this was! Entrapta was definitely alive! She never died in the Fright Zone! She was alive this whole time! She was-!

"..." The realization took an unexpected turn as it dropped immediately from its rise. All that gusto, and all the excitement, drained from Bow's face as he realized that his greatest revelation was also his biggest regret.

"..And we left her behind..."

 

**_..._ **

 

**_..._ **

 

**_..._ **

 

**_A/N: You know whats funny? Almost a little under the entire 2nd half of this whole chapter I did this morning. That's the usual work output I give on a daily basis, so if thats not a sign that I'm coming back, idk what is._ **

 

**_What's more, we're FINALLY (thank GOOOOOOOOD T_T) done with this episode! Thats means, on top of keeping up more with the plot for the next few episodes, we'll also be going more by the episode, so, not to jinx it, but we should be able to see more regular posts ^^ Since im not in school atm, chances are on a more weekly basis (which I pray not since it means no season 3 watching for me till then T_T *cry*), but at least you guys will get to enjoy some good ol' fanfiction AU ^^!_ **

 

**_Again, huge shoutout to all the fans and reviewers who help keep this fanfic alive, and thanks again to petie doon from Instagram. I repeat, you guys HAVE to see his work, its freaking amazing._ **

 

**_With all that said, hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you all soon!_ **


	62. Season 2 Episode 2: Ties That Bind Part 1

_**A/N: Heyo guys! Another post from yours truly ^^ Not much this time around, but barely any stuff happened within the first 5 minutes of the episode. On the brighter side, a quicker post, ANNNNNND, as a reminder, the last one had about 18k+ words, so i think its a bit of a fairer trade XP.** _

_**As always, huge shoutout to fans here and there of the series! People like on instagram and all that and others who've done work. If you guys are interested in doing fan work of my fanfic, im more than 100% fine with it and deeply appreciate it :D if you have any, contact me to let me know, and I'll be sure to post about it in these authors notes ^^** _

_**With that said, enjoy!** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

_**...** _

The wind was rather soothing as it breezed across the Kingdom of Dryl. All around the fortress, the Horde banners could be seen being raised all around the walls. With Entrapta on the Horde's side, taking the city was nothing short of easy. Those who did resist were captured, albeit with leniency thanks to someone's intervention, and the rest who refused to stick around were quick to run for the literal hills.

Atop the archway-like entrance, the second-in-command, Adora herself, could be seen smiling as she held a large spike jutting out of the ground to keep her balance. This was just one of many kingdoms that would unite under the Horde banner, and understand what the Horde was truly about. It wasn't corrupt like the Rebellion was making them out to be, it wasn't some army bent on total destruction or whatever. It stood as a symbol of peace and protection, one that Adora was proud to serve under as Hordak's second-in-command.

All around her she could see the various encampments that were built within the walls of the mighty fortress, each of them with their own banner being displayed proudly in the air. It made Adora wonder sometimes if the other princesses would join as easily as Entrapta and Frosta did, and if they were just as determined to stand against the Rebellion as she was. That was, of course, provided there weren't any slip-ups as there were yesterday.

What kind of slip-ups could there be that would make Adora worry? The kind that involve a new creation going rampant and almost ending the life of one of their allies, in this case, Princess Frosta!

She never should have allowed the stupid droid to go out without any prior field testing to begin with, that much she could admit openly. Under the name of Orbko, it was the Horde's, and Entrapta's, greatest creation to date. Thanks to the resources provided by Frosta's kingdom and with the First Ones tech Adora managed to acquire from the Beacon, they created one of the most powerful creations that Etheria has ever known.

It was capable of learning as it fought, had a strong metal alloy around its limbs that could transform into defensive and offensive tools of destruction, and could identify and exploit the weaknesses and strengths of its adversaries. Thanks to its learning capabilities, it was also capable of predicting and countering any attack thrown at it, preventing the same move from working on it twice in a row.

Yes it was truly the Horde's greatest creation, and  **would**  have gone down as such if not for one, tincy, little, dilemma they came across- IT COULDN'T DIFFERENTIATE FRIEND FROM FOE!

In the midst of a battle it had engaged Catra and Glimmer with in the beginning, Frosta appeared out of nowhere and attempted to attack the creature, if only to secure her appearance as a member of the Princess Alliance and not a spy. And while she still managed to maintain the cover by the end of the day, during her attack, the robot's own advanced systems managed to rewrite its own programming as it was incapable of harming a fellow member of the Horde otherwise.

What ensued was a long, grueling, and stressful day as Adora, Scorpia, and Entrapta had to keep a close eye on Orbko and do everything in their power they could to prevent it from bringing any further harm to Frosta, or at least as much as they could to provide her cover as a spy. They couldn't find a single opportunity to blow it up without the princesses being too close, and they couldn't rewrite its programming as its systems kept locking Entrapta out. It wasn't until they managed to bypass its priorities, filling it with new information in what was and wasn't important, that it finally left Frosta alive at the last second.

By the end of the day the robot was officially scrapped as the Alliance managed to defeat it later. To their surprise, Catra had exploited a surprising error in the machine that even Entrapta didn't think of. Pretending to show hostilities to the younger princess, both she and Frosta tossed insults and anger towards one another and attacks with enough force to safely deflect it from the other and straight into the robot itself. As opposed to reacting to this in any sort of way, the robot found itself perplexed by a mind-numbing paradox.

It wasn't supposed to attack unless it was attacked first. Ergo, it was fitted with the ability to sense emotions and intentions so it could tell between friend and foe whenever on the battlefield. However, thanks to the combined efforts of anger the two had for one another, it couldn't process that it was the intended target. With their attentions set solely on the other, the robot was helpless and incapable of responding, even as the two managed to bludgeon it with their attacks.

It wasn't long after that the robot had been incapacitated by the combined efforts of the Princess Alliance, and provided the means for Bow to make a killswitch.

Despite the setback, thanks to the encouragement of her friend, Scorpia, Adora took this as more of a good thing. It took over a month before they suffered their first big loss, and it took all of the Princess Alliance just to do it. They managed to secure a vast amount of land and resources over the course of the month they kept the princesses distracted with their meager droids, and the army had never been stronger than it was now.

This frame of mind gave Adora the much needed peace of mind she required to get through the rest of the evening, less she allow her magic to corrupt her body any further. Along both arms, thick trails of black veins could be seen grown, both sides finally having grown to the base of Adora's neck.

The Force Captain wasn't one to ignore the treatment she needed, but it became unsettling every time she heard the strange whispers in her mind that followed. They were quiet most days, with a mere utterance once or twice they could drown out. But whenever she fully recharged her body, purging her bloodstreams of the dark energies that were corrupting them, for a single moment, she could hear whatever the voice had to say in full. And every time, they sounded more twisted and ominous than the last, something she couldn't allow while committing to her duties as a commander of the Horde.

All of this was for the Horde, a commitment Adora tended to live by daily. And she wasn't going to allow anyone to ruin it.

* _bzzzt_ *

The sound of static caught Adora's attention as she brought up the datapad in her left hand to her face, smiling as she was greeted by Scorpia's face from the other end. "Everything's good over here, Scorpia." She said, looking over the view with pride. "The city's forces have all fled if they didn't join with us already. The kingdom is now ours."

"All right!" Scorpia cheered as she walked down another of the twisted hallways of Dryl, eyeing the various paintings as she passed them. "I mean, I guess it kind of already was ours since their princess is on our side and all, but the banners really make it feel official."

"Yeah. I do wonder if we actually brought a few too many, but I can't say I disagree with the design." Adora commented in return. "By the way, where are you right now?"

"That is a great question, and the answer is..." The Scorpion Woman paused as she looked around. Somehow, despite walking around in a straight path for the last twenty minutes, she managed to find herself, once again, in the twisted crossway she passed earlier. Somehow the path brought her to a little alcove above the pathway, one that didn't lead to anything short of a dead end. "...I don't know. Yeah, this place is some kind of maze."

"Heh, tell me about it. It took me half an hour just to find the bathroom around here." At the comment, the commander tapped on the badge adorned on the left chest of her uniform, springing it to life with a red light. "There you go. You should be able to see a small blip on the datapad. That's me. Just follow it out when you're done. We've still got a lot of work to do." And with that, she jumped from the archway towards the ground, creating a small stream of shadow that slowed her fall during her descent.

At the same time, she was unaware of a few prying eyes that were spying on her, ones belonging to the very citizens that once called this kingdom their home. They couldn't understand where their dear princess had gone or her reasons for leaving. All they knew was that this once majestic place they called home was no more, and they had no other choice but to run.

From the cliffs that they watched from, they made their way down the path as fast as their legs could carry them. They couldn't afford to linger around here any longer, they had to get to another kingdom and tell them of the kingdom's development. This once proud kingdom that was once their home was nothing close to its once glorious self. The image of the Horde banners burned deeper into their minds as they passed the large drape hanging overhead as they finally escaped the kingdom.

The Kingdom of Dryl had officially belonged to the Horde...

...

...

**_The intro starts with Shadow Weaver in the Black Garnet chamber spying and glaring at a image of Catra. Than the image dives into the water of her scrying spell._ **

**_~ We're on the edge of greatness ~_ **

**_Where we have Catra at Bright Moon looking both determined and forlorn out into the distance._ **

**_~ turning darkness into light ~_ **

**_A scene of kid Catra and kid Adora training together in the fright zone under Shadow Weaver. Before being replaced with a image of Adora glaring at a heart broken looking Catra who's on her knees across a battlefield._ **

**_~ We're right beside you ~_ **

**_But than Glimmer and Bow teleport to Catra side raising her spirit back up, as shown with her surprise blinking when Gimmer offers her a hand, than she smirks accepting the help as she takes the lead ahead of them._ **

**_~ Ready to Fight! ~_ **

**_Catra raises her sword, transforming into She-Ra in a glorious flash of light_ **

**_~ (fight, fight, fight fight) ~_ **

**_Then She-Ra rushes off into battle with Glimmer and Bow following right behind her._ **

**_~ We're gonna win in the end! ~_ **

**_Mermista rises out of a tide, blasting Horde soldiers with water._ **

**_~ We must be strong, And we must be brave ~_ **

**_Perfuma burst from the ground, capturing and tying up Horde soldiers with vines._ **

**_~(we must be brave) ~_ **

**_Frosta rides an entire wave of frozen water, freezing Horde tanks in their tracks._ **

**_~ We're gonna find every bit of strength that we have ~_ **

**_The scene shifts to Hordaks throne room where the evil shadowy figure sits upon his throne, his red glowing eyes being the only noticeable part of him, surrounded by notable members of the Horde, consisting of Adora and Catra's squadron, Shadow Weaver, Adora, Scropia, and even Entrapta._ **

**_~ and never let go ~_ **

**_The scene shifts to an epic clash between Catra and Adora, the She-Ra gritting her teeth as she presses her sword against Adora's electrical baton, as the Force Captain herself grins with chaotic excitement as the red jewel from her headband shines._ **

**_~ (Oh ah Oh) ~_ **

**_Adora and Catra push each other off as they back up into their friends- Entrapta and Scorpia for Adora, and for Catra Bow and Glimmer._ **

**_~ We must be STRONG! ~_ **

**_ The scene ends with a final shot of both sides looking across the field, a transparent image of Catra and Adora's faces filling the sky as the colors are split between them; _ **

**_A majestic darkness shining into light upon Catra's side, and a horrid light seeping into darkness on Adora's half._ **

...

...

*- _am_ *

* _Wham_ *

* ** _WHAM!_** *

The droid's thunderous footsteps echoed throughout the forest as it pushed aside each and every tree with ease. Nobody would ever think another creation like Orbko could be roaming around the forest as soon as this one did, yet here it was. Customised with the most basic of skills any mobile two-legged droid could need, the towering droid continued to lay waste to its surroundings, caring not for anything that stood in its path, save for those foolish enough to cross it.

Like a potential hero known as She-Ra.

It was distracted by the brilliant surge of light that came from behind it as it heard the familiar phrase that gave She-Ra her power. No sooner did it turn around did it find its face pummeled by a single blow from the magicat's powerful fist, Catra grinning as the robot tumbled.

Unlike most droids that would simply fallen over and gotten back up, a droid like Orbko was more mobile, and capable of reacting much faster than Catra had expected. Before it hit the ground, the droid backstepped, maintaining its footing before directing its attention back to its attacker who was surprised by the new response. Perhaps that's why she was unprepared for the pair of hands that wrapped around her body, leaving her in a vice grip that was sure to crush her.

And still, Catra smiled.

"Sorry pal, but not this time." With a mighty roar, the hero of Bright Moon pushed against the robot's fearsome grip as she punched her way through both of the hands and sunk her claws deep into the robot's metal wrists. Pulling both of the wrists simultaneously, Catra cheered to herself as she yanked the robot's arms straight out of the sockets, ripping them apart as she dropped herself back to the ground, leaving nothing more than busted wires and sparks from were the robot's shoulders once were.

Without missing a beat, she continued her relentless assault on the robot as she shot straight for the robot's legs. Sinking her sharpened claws right into the robot's right foot, mustering as much strength as she could possibly draw, Catra heaved with all of her might and lifted the robot straight into the air. Normally, preforming such a feat of strength would've been impossible for Catra before today, but that was before the change in strength, and appearance, she had yesterday.

With a toss, the magicat threw the robotic bucket of bolts as high as she could, distancing a good twenty feet into the air where the thing was flailing its legs for dear life. Drawing out her sword, with an easy enough image in her mind, the sword materialized into a hookshot, one capable of stretching nearly double the distance that the robot was thrown. It took little work for Catra to shoot at it from a good angle where the rope could wrap around its torso, then smirked as the rope looped around until it hooked onto the other end of the droid.

In a dramatic feat of strength, drawing all the power she could as she grabbed the rope, Catra pulled with everything she had left, and pulled the robot a dozen yards away, and crashed it straight into the ground where it shattered in a violent explosion upon impact.

Once again, Catra had won.

"Whoo!" The She-Ra in training cheered to herself as she walked way from the wreckage, twirling her sword as it and her outfit returned to their previous state. "That was AWESOME!" Nobody was ever used to the sight of Catra in a cheerful mood as the simulation around her began to dematerialize. Then again, she's never had so much to celebrate before.

The battle against the dreaded Orbko was one fraught with peril and dismay. Throughout the majority of the fighting, the alliance found itself matched against a powerful foe that could expose their weaknesses and use their own strengths against them. It wasn't until Catra and Frosta's timely appearance at the end where they managed to trick the robot by fighting each other while indirectly fighting it, before victory was in their grasp.

That victory still came to be a hard earned reward as the robot was defaulted to a basic state of being, one that relied solely on instinct and prowess, thanks to Adora's intervention. With the robot's commands set to fight at the most basic of level, it relied on brute strength and durability to finish off the fighters with as much power as it had, getting the drop on Catra and Frosta for a brief moment. It was here that Catra was forced to reveal the secret that she had been keeping so long, the lack of strength of her lesser She-Ra form, in order to save Frosta's life.

Following the defeat of the robot, Catra was nothing short of uneasy as she was forced to reveal the truth behind her decrease in power, or what she could assume to be, anyway. Like how it was her own desire that split her powers apart again, how her selfishness to defeat the Horde brought along the added consequence of her She-Ra state leaving her. With only a third of her power remaining since the Battle of Bright Moon, what other conclusion could she come to? What else was there to think?

As if that wasn't enough, there was the added dilemma of how her friends would react. She didn't expect them to understand. She knew she wouldn't be able to if she was in their shoes. They would've hated her for knowing the truth, they would've berated her for her own stupidity. Every reason they had to do it would've been justified and Catra would've had no choice but to stand back and embrace it.

Yet none of that stuff ever happened. There was no shouting at the magicat for her foolish actions, nobody appeared to harbor any sort of hate or loathing for the young girl. In fact, much to Catra's shock, they seemed to be completely fine with it! They were actually more worried about her on a whole than whatever power she once had and lost.

It still confused Catra at the present, but maybe that's why a fraction of her power returned immediately after? She felt a sense of peace and warmth from them she wasn't used to, something she can not remember feeling in a long time, way before the battle of Bright Moon. With their acceptance touching her heart, as much as she would deny it, a portion of She-Ra's power was returned to her, and a red cape to go along with it.

"Admit it, I'm getting more awesome!" Catra continued to gloat as she sheathed her sword.

"Statistically speaking, yes." Light Hope replied in the same emotionless voice as always. "I must admit I was rather surprised to witness your progress as well as the state of your Synchronicity."

"My what-city?" Catra raised a brow in confusion.

"Your Synchronicity." She replied, displaying a holographic image with a basic outline of Catra's body. "The bond that allows you to draw your strength from the sword and She-Ra." With a wave of the hand, Catra watched as a portion of her body's outline began to fill up like a loading bar with a red light, eventually stopping when it hit just below her thighs. "According to my calculations, you have achieved an estimated forty-two percent of She-Ra's true form."

"And I'm assuming a lot more power that came with." It wasn't very hard for Catra to put the pieces together, especially after her most recent butt kicking. "The more of She-Ra I unlock, the stronger I'll get, right?"

"Correct. But it doesn't mean you should rely solely on your power or She-Ra's. That method of thinking will break your bond with the sword once again."

That was the one thing she didn't need a reminder of. Even now, nothing irritated her more than the realization that she, presumably, lost all that glorious She-Ra power because of one stupid thought. On the off chance it actually wasn't just from that one line of thinking, then what was it? "Well isn't there any training we could do speed up the process? You know the faster I obtain She-Ra's true form, the faster I can train at my full power."

"True, but it's not a process that can simply be  _sped up_  as you put it. Achieving inner peace and selflessness is the only way you will attain She-Ra's full power, neither of which is something that can be taught. It must be learned."

"Yeah, well I think we can pass on any "group therapy" session or some junk. But how am I supposed to learn something that can't be taught? I get what you're trying to say, but we don't have time to be waiting around for some next big catastrophe to happen that'll let me unlock more of She-Ra's power."

"You are correct. Which is why we should move on to the next level of training."

The announcement earned a satisfied grin from the magicat as she punched her fist into the palm of her hand. "All right, now we're talking!" There was a spring in Catra's tail as she awaited the next instructions with anticipation. "What's next? Learning how to use She-Ra's magic? Like that giant shield? Or shooting energy from the sword? Or how about-!"

"It is time to bring Swift Wind into your training." All at once, the optimism and hope for something cooler went down faster than Catra's ears, tail, and expression did at the announcement.

"Uh, shouldn't I work on mastering the powers I do have, first?" She asked with a hopeful and nervous smile. "Like, how do we even know I can train with him at this stage, anyway? Maybe I need to become more of She-Ra first?"

"You have no need for concern," foolishly, Catra got her hopes up again before Light Hope continued, "I have already ran a diagnostic on your capabilities. By increasing the level of your Synchronicity, I have determined that you are ready for the next stage of your training."

Well that was just  _great_ , definitely something Catra had to look forward to now. Along with all the good things that came with increasing her status as She-Ra, it also increased the likelihood that something bad, in turn, would follow. It's not that she even had anything against Swift Wind either. She just found the idea of her galloping on horseback while swinging a sword around would be kind of ridiculous.

And embarrassing every time she pictured it in her head.

"As She-Ra, your sacred connection with your steed is as important as any of your physical capabilities." At this, Light Hope displayed a small holographic projection between her hands, depicting She-Ra on the left side and Swift Wind on the other. "He is a part of you, your destinies are intertwined." Without twitching a finger, she brought the two projections together, showing Catra how the two were connected in perfect unison.

"They sure are!"

"Ah-!" Catra nearly jumped as Swift Wind's head popped out from Light Hope, distorting the image around her. If it wasn't the surprise itself that almost made her jump, it was the fact he nearly struck her in the head with his horn.

"Hi, Catra!" The noble steed greeted as he trotted in. "I've been here for a while, but there wasn't a good moment to make my grand entrance, until now!" With the wave of his head, he flaunted his gallant position as his mane fluttered in the air, sparkling with a wonder only a steed as noble as Swift Wind was capable of!

"I requested his presence." Light Hope went on. "The time has come for you two to forge your-yo-yo-yo-yo-your-"

* _bzzzt_ *

The horse and cat turned to one another with a curious look as the being known as Light Hope came to a halt. She didn't blink, she didn't move, she didn't even seem to be entirely  _her_ , so to speak. A part of her body was distorted as she stood there with her mouth gaping open, looking like she saw a ghost and died of fright.

Was this a part of the training she had in mind? Was it some sort of secret training where Catra and Swift Wind were supposed to just chat and get to know one another? Some test on Catra's emotions to just stick around and wait for a while until Light Hope came back to life or something?

Whatever the case was, Catra was convinced of one thing. If she was supposed to spend the entire day with her stallion and form whatever "bond" she needed to complete her training, then it was going to be a very long day...

...

...

"What do you mean? Entrapta's alive?!" Glimmer's mind had never been more blown before by a revelation such as this.

Glimmer thought the amount of news could only get better after the events of yesterday. They learned the truth behind Catra's secret and accepted it. They defeated one of the strongest creations the Horde had to throw at them and they stood united. They managed to incapacitate a machine which allowed Bow to construct a killswitch out of the intact parts. And Catra had never been happier in the last month than she was last night. Truly, things couldn't get any better.

She was, unfortunately, right about that.

When Bow rushed in to her bedroom for a major announcement, she thought he was dragging her to something special. She thought he had some great development in the creation process of the killswitch, like he managed to create a device that could turn off all Horde technology! That'd be something to cheer about.

Instead, she was greeted with two disturbing discoveries, the first of which was the wrecked remains of Orbko, the droid that thoroughly thrashed the Princess Alliance singlehandedly, and almost wiped them out. The second thing was the announcement he had to make immediately after.

"I couldn't figure out how the Horde was creating such big technological advances." Bow explained as he continued to fiddle with the droid's remains. "But it all makes sense now. They must be holding Entrapta prisoner. I found First Ones tech in this bot." He revealed the familiar data crystal under a portion of the bot's torso. "This is what Entrapta was experimenting on before she-"

"Before we left her in the Fright Zone." It's not like she needed it spelled out for her to feel like a terrible person. She's never felt so disgusted with herself before, thinking that a friend was dead and moving on with her life while Entrapta could be getting tortured or worse in the Horde.

Bow frowned as he saw the look of dismay on Glimmer's face, feeling the same amount of pain she was feeling at this very moment. "We didn't know." He reminded in the hopes it would brighten her up somewhat as he sat next to her.

"It doesn't matter. We should've gone back for her. We should've tried. She got captured trying to save us."

It was that line of reasoning that filled Glimmer with a newfound determination to set things right. "Well, we're not leaving her there now. We've got to rescue her."

"How? We can't just walk into the Fright Zone. That's how we got into this mess in the first place."

"Maybe we don't have to. Look." Rising from her chair, she activated the holographic map of the War Room, displaying a pinkish outline of Entrapta's Kingdom.

"No. The Horde took Dryl!" All around it, Bow could see the banner of the Horde being displayed at every foot along the map, feeling sickened from the mere sight of the display. As if it wasn't enough to prove their claim, it was followed by a large Horde symbol being displayed over the entirety of Entrapta's castle.

"We just got word. The Horde has Entrapta, and now they have Dryl. The timing can't be a coincidence."

"Of course. They're making her use her own lab!"

"We're going to Crypto Castle, we'll find Entrapta, and bring her back." Her determined smile brought a new sense of hope as she turned to Bow. "No princess left behind."

"Yes! Totally onboard! Let's get Catra!" The archer beamed with excitement as the two marched out the door in different directions.

This was going to be great! Beyond great, really. Finding out that Entrapta was still alive, having a course of action ready and prepared, they were finally going to pay Entrapta back for rescuing them! It was just like Catra's policy of always paying people back, no matter how tedious the favor in return was, and now, it was their turn!

"Catra is out training with Light Hope." Or not.

"What about the other princesses?" All the optimism and faith quickly drained from Bow as Glimmer shot him a look of guilt.

"Entrapta got taken trying to save us, Bow." She reminded. "I'm not going to be responsible for losing anyone else."

"But... Shouldn't we at least get Catra, then? If anyone's going to be determined to save her the most, it's her." She couldn't deny Bow had a good point, but at the same time, she couldn't agree with it either.

"Bow, we can't let Catra know about this. It could ruin her completely."

"What do you mean?"

"What do you think?" It was hard enough trying to talk to Bow without sounding aggravated, the last thing she was worried about was the sarcasm coming from her voice. "Oh hey, Catra, good news! You know that girl you thought you roasted alive in the Fright Zone? Turns out she's just been living in turmoil as a prisoner for over the last month. Isn't that refreshing to hear?"

"Okay, okay, I get your point." Gosh, it really did sound horrible when he heard it out loud. There was no way the two could forget how distraught Catra was following the rescue mission from the Fright Zone. If she was that bad after thinking she got Entrapta killed, how bad would she be when she found out she was being help prisoner for the last month because of, what she presumed to be, her fault? "But wouldn't she still feel bad if we brought Entrapta back anyway?"

"Yeah, but at least she'd be relieved that we saved her. On top of that, Entrapta can tell her personally that she doesn't blame her, so there would be no guilt over it! Besides, she's still struggling to become She-Ra, and she thinks her emotions are connected to it. If we told her she left Entrapta alive in the Fright Zone after everything we did," the princess frowned as she lowered her head, "she might never turn back into She-Ra again."

That was the one fear that was now present in both of their minds. They knew very little about the First Ones and the Sword of Protection, an understandable dilemma they shared with Catra despite all her time spent with Light Hope. From what little they did know, they knew Catra's sword had a spiritual bond with Catra, and has been over the course of her journey. Her emotions, her way of thinking, all of it played a key part in how the sword was used and if it could be used. And if anything was to happen that could scar Catra any more than she has been, then chances were they would never see the light of She-Ra on their side...

...

...

* _click_ *

* _click_ *

"Hello? Hey! Light Hope!" Catra clicked her fingers in front of the hologram's face, trying in vain for the last several minutes to get the woman's attention. She's tried everything from waving her hand in front of her face, phasing her hand through her repeatedly, and tried touching her with her sword to get her to respond, and yet, nothing's worked.

"Ooooh... Did I break her?" Swift Wind fretted as he examined her from all sides. "Was it when I went through her head?"

* _BZZZT!_ *

"Ahh!" Touching her face again with the tip of her claw, both animals were quick to yelp in surprise as the holographic image distorted loudly before their eyes. When it finally reconfigured again, Light Hope reappeared perfectly restored to her previous status.

"The time has come for the two of you to forge your sacred bond. I-" Before she could continue, she noticed the perplexed looks on Catra's and Swift Wind's faces, the two looking as if they saw a ghost with Catra flung back and Swift Wind buried under his wings. "Is something wrong?"

"Uhhh yeah, you kind of froze there for a second." Swift Wind answered as he peaked out from his cover.

"Did something happen?" Catra asked as she approached with Swift Wind trailing behind.

"Forgive me. My system is overloading. I may have to delay today's training so that I can rest."

"Are you sure? I was kinda hoping to get some more practice in today." The magicat commented as she leaned her head back against her arms. With all the newfound power that came with her upgraded She-Ra form, she wanted to test just how far her new form could take her."Couldn't we do something to help you rest faster?"

"Perhaps." Turning back, the two watched as Light Hope raised her hand to display a holographic projection of the planet behind her. Turning the planet around, they waited as a glowing square that was beeping with a pink diamond outline. "This is the Watchtower." She began as the small pink square grew into a pillar. "Once, it allowed me to access my planetary mainframe. But it was destroyed by Mara when she lost control and attacked Etheria."

 _So Mara actually **attacked**  Etheria?_ Catra wondered to herself.

"I have been functioning at only a fraction of my power ever since." She continued as Swift Wind rubbed his chin with his wing, pondering the situation. "If you can repair the Watchtower, my capabilities will improve, and training can commence."

"So fix the Watchtower, get the place up and running again, and then we can do more training. Got it." The magicat nodded with understanding.

"Only then-zzzt." It was almost terrifying how scary Light Hope looked when she suddenly froze again. She was distorted in such a way that her left eye was raised and her mouth was in the corner of her face.

"Light Hope?" She waited a few seconds before shrugging back to Swift Wind.

"I... guess she's out of commission for awhile." The horse replied, looking back to the Watchtower projection curiously. "So now it's up to us!" He couldn't begin to describe how excited he was! He was going to spend time with his master, and friend, and the two were going to go on their very first mission together with just the two of them! He was so excited that it took him several moments to realize Catra's silence as she stared off into thought. "Catra? You okay?"

"Huh? O-Oh! Yeah! I'm fine. Come on, the sooner we get this thing fixed, the better."

"Right behind ya!" Swift Wind trotted with enthusiasm as he followed close by. This was great! Perfect, really! Here they were, Swift Wind and Catra, preparing to go on their own sacred quest with just the two of them! It would give them the chance to bond a little more and get to know each other, and best of all it was just that! It would just be the two of them for the next couple of hours, or however long this mission was going to take!

Man, he couldn't wait to get started!

Catra, on the other hand, couldn't wait for this mission to end. Not because of Swift Wind himself or anything, but because of a new dilemma that was plaguing her mind.

While she didn't know the full details over the situation, the fact remained that Mara, the last She-Ra, ran rampant and tried to destroy the world. Whatever emotions were going through her mind set off some sort of spark that caused her to lash out against those around her and bring ruin and chaos to wherever she went. It was enough to end the She-Ra line over a thousand years ago, and almost end She-Ra's lineage entirely.

The part that troubled Catra the most?

She was a She-Ra. She wasn't some run of the mill person doing their daily job that suddenly couldn't take it anymore, she was a symbol that meant hope to others and protection against the dark forces of the universe. She was an icon that people could look up to and depend on to protect them in their hour of need. She was strong, determined, practically perfect in every way, and she was someone chosen from day one, someone who was proven worthy of honoring the title of She-Ra.

Catra, was none of those things. Sure, she was strong, she was fast. She could always rely on her quick wits and her speed pulling her out of any situation more than half the time, but that was it. She was a fighter, a warrior, not some person who was in control of her emotions or had a strong grasp on what a hero should actually be. She cared more about her own desires, even if her friends did count among those now, and she was someone who used people on a daily basis to get whatever she wanted, and look how that worked out for her.

She was none of the things a hero should be and all the worst parts of what a hero shouldn't be. And the fact Mara was someone who went berserk despite all this is what truly frightened her in the end.

How long would she last before she snapped too...

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

**_A/N: Short, simple, and to the point ^^ I gotta get used to writing shorter descriptions during talks again, that'll take awhile to work into._ **

**_Speaking of which, I was wondering something folks. Would anyone support me if I started a of my own? For those who don't know, is pretty much those monthly pay sites where you'd pay for services, whether it'd be to see a gallery of art or works, early access for demos and games, etc. I question this cause my job is freaking grinding and I need a dire break from it soon. I'm pretty well off atm with a good 6k+ in the bank and living with my parents. I'm just asking if i should take a break from work for awhile until next summer since i start school spring of next year, and the stress is taking its toll on me at work X/_ **

**_Well a discussion for another time I guess. Anywho! Hope you guys all enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!_ **


	63. Season 2 Episode 2: Ties That Bind Part 2

**_A/N: Woot woot! Another fun action-filled one for the first half! Thanks to those, as always, who help keep this fanfic alive! Idk what's going on with work, still fixing that atm. Regardless, it's not going to be interfering with my writing (hopefully) any time soon ^^ Not much to say or much need to say it. With everything said and done, Enjoy!_ **

 

**_..._ **

 

**_..._ **

 

**_..._ **

 

The horde was present wherever Bow went as he snuck around the outside of Entrapta's castle. From the walls to the floors to the land itself, he could see Horde banners present wherever he went, as if mocking their victory and their claim to Entrapta's kingdom.

Okay. So this day has been a bit off and on all at once. On the positive note of recent discoveries, Entrapta was alive! He couldn't believe it and wondered to himself if it she truly was alive or if it was just foolish optimism half the time reeling in his mind. After the last month of being tormented by the regret of losing one of their own, he wouldn't be surprised. She went to the Fright Zone to save him and Glimmer, presumably lost her life in the process, and turned out to be alive after all this time?! It made perfect sense!

It also made sense to understand why the Horde had taken over the Kingdom of Dryl as well. As the Horde's prisoner, they could get the kingdom to submit to anything and acquire anything they wanted. From their resources to the castle itself, everything belonged to the Horde as long as Entrapta was in their evil clutches. They could demand information out of her, get her to make anything she wanted, and force her to cooperate with everything they were doing as long as she was their prisoner.

This is exactly what brought Bow and Glimmer to the Kingdom today. They only had one goal in mind, and that was to rescue their dear, beloved, friend, and save her from whatever horrible fate continued to await her on a daily basis. They couldn't afford to let the other princesses take part in their rescue mission, not after the last one resulted in losing one of their own. Who knows what they could get out of it if they managed to capture two princesses, if not more? Here, it was Entrapta's cooperation and technological advances. Tomorrow it might be an entire naval army or alchemical resources from nature itself!

It was also imperative to save her for Catra's sake. The girl had been through so much over a month ago, wracked with an abyss of guilt that started with Entrapta's supposed death. With her She-Ra powers relying on her own inner strength and emotions, she needed a way to come to terms with what happen, and a chance to move on from it. And what better way to do that than to prove that Entrapta was alive, and to have her personally state that Catra wasn't at fault for what happened?!

Who knows? If they were lucky, this might just give Catra the push she needs to fully transform into She-Ra!

That still required the two to actually  _rescue_  Entrapta first, however, and that was proving difficult in itself. Everywhere they went there was nothing but Horde for as far as the eye could see. They had to take every back road they could see to get around them, wait several minutes at a time for a clear passing, and stay on the move the whole time without being caught. They couldn't risk teleporting anywhere until they got into the castle if they didn't know where the guard posts were stations throughout the valley.

Fortunately, maintaining cover was easier on the inside than on the outside. With the various posts set up throughout the valley, it was only natural that the inner base would be less guarded, the Horde believing themselves to be safer within the confines of Entrapta's castle.

Waiting for a passing patrol of guards, Bow popped his head out to check the coast one more time before running down a small path through the base, ducking behind some containers between the built facilities the Horde had set up within the settlement. He was checking the coast one more time as his attention was drawn to the familiar sound of Glimmer's teleporting coming from behind him?

"Any sign of Entrapta in the castle?" He asked as the princess kneeled behind the cover.

"Nothing." She regretfully informed. "And as usual, that place is impossible to navigate." The princess groaned as she pressed her wrists stressfully into her eyes. She could understand the intention of making a place defensible, but why did it have to be so confusing at the same time?!

"Mmmhhh..." The two briefly ignored the sound of the lone mumbling until Glimmer gave it the briefest of her attention, and quickly pulled Bow behind the cover at who she saw.

Adora. The Horde Captain, and Hordak's second-in-command. The one Catra was forced to cut ties with for the sake of the Rebellion was at their doorstep, or Entrapta's to be specific. The young blonde was unaware of their presence as she stretched out her arms to the sky, still recovering from the brief nap that she just took. The two were so distracted by her appearance that they didn't even notice the smaller details, like the black veins running through her arms.

* _blip-blip-blip-blip_ *

Thankfully, fate appeared to be on their sides as a sudden distress call from Adora's datapad occupied her attention, turning her body in the complete opposite direction of the duo as she turned it on.

"Hello? Tell me you're on your way back, please!" Kyle could be heard begging like his life depended on it. "I need back-up! Entrapta's new invention has lost it and Emily's making it worse!"

...

From the other end of the monitor, Kyle continued to panic as he surveyed the surrounding destruction of Entrapta's lab. Racing around the room was one of Entrapta's latest inventions that she had created just the other night, along with the other thirty-two things she created. With a bit of a pyramid-like design with smoothed top, the metallic creation was designed to be another one of Entrapta's latest in a long line of assistances, one designed to bring her the various tools and gizmos she needed throughout the lab while she was preoccupied with her work, like the one she was currently tinkering with.

Instead of getting the creation that could preform its work flawlessly and without provocation, she instead got a creation who began running rampant the moment Entrapta tasked it with bringing her a screwdriver from the shelves of her lab, resulting in the chaos that was ensuing after the robot couldn't determine what sort of screwdriver she needed between the only two she had.

Throughout her lab, there was wreckage and carnage as the robot ran amok, tearing apart various pieces of metal grafted onto the walls and disassembling several smaller creations that Entrapta created to keep the place spotless. No longer would Cleaning Droid No. 132 see the light of day. And no matter how many of her creations were being destroyed or what systems were being ruined, Entrapta still somehow managed to tinker away with the current thing she was working on, all while being chased around by the same droid that was being chased in turn by Emily.

"Bot Number 437 seems to be having some sort of existential crisis!" She squealed as she ran as fast as her hair could carry her. She would love nothing more than to give her bot the motherly love a scientist could and deactivate it on a moment's notice. Sadly, the current predicament occupying her thoughts was too important to ignore, one that required a very delicate hand to operate. Otherwise, she'd have to start over from scratch, and that was ten minutes she was not going to waste! "Down, boy, down!" She shouted again as the droid nearly snagged her hair.

...

Adora rolled her eyes a little playfully at this. After getting to know the princess for the last month, there was a lot that she could determine. For one thing, the scientist was the very definition of quirky. She was gifted with an inane sense of curiosity that borderlined the insane, and it proved to be one of her best qualities given all the wonderful creations she managed to design for the Horde.

Secondly, half her creations tended to be a little... buggy, to put it lightly, when it came to creating them. For the girl that could create over a hundred types of droids in a day that would take the scientific development team of the Horde to create in a week, it was only natural that some of them would fall under quantity over quality. While most of them tended to only have a partial twitch in movement, one that Entrapta easily managed to fix in seconds, others would occasionally run berserk due to the wrong wire being connected to its targeting systems, like who was a friend and an enemy.

Unlike the previous Orbko that only targeted allies due to its own capabilities being too advanced to tell the difference.

Still, she was a valuable asset to the team, just like Scorpia was. She was strong-willed in her desire for creating anything and everything she could, and did whatever it took to help out the Horde in their advancements of technology. It kind of went without saying that the Horde wouldn't be as grand as it was today if it wasn't for the princess's contributions and efforts.

"Just stay calm, and everything will be alright." Adora informed him calmly. "Entrapta's inventions in the lab aren't that hazardous... usually." Noticing her attention was preoccupied, Glimmer and Bow nodded to each other as they scooted a little closer to the commander, trying to listen in on whatever was going on through the pad.

...

"Ahhh!" Entrapta screeched as she felt one of the robot's legs many hands grab at her right leg. The girl was so shocked by the development that she lost the grip of the small creation she was currently working on, gasping as it slid from her hands a couple feet across the floor. "Noooo, stop!" She begged. "You can't do this!"

The droid wasn't having any of her shenanigans at the time. It had a duty to do to assist its master despite being driven mad by the simple assignment of grabbing one of two various wrenches. Luckily for Entrapta, and those currently present, it wasn't fitted with fighting or defensive capabilities, but that didn't mean it wouldn't do everything within its power to crush those who brought it into this miserable two-wrenched existence!

Protruding several more metallic poles with white pillowy hands on the end of them, the robot hummed with a vigorous anger, shot each of its hands at the defenseless princess as it pulled strands of her hair away... and proceeded to tickle her.

"Ghhh! Ehhh! Ahaha Haha!" The scientist squealed in absolute pain and misery, at least to those listening in on this. "St-Stop it! STOP IT!" She cried out, all the while the robot dragged her around the lab, ignoring the equipment left lying across the room as it crashed through them. "St-Stop it! Please! I beg of you! Ahhaahahaaah!"

All throughout this, Emily began to roar with a similar yet aggressive hum as it attempted to save its master. It wasn't as advanced as Entrapta's previous creations were to date, but it was one of Entrapta's favorites without compare. It did everything in its power to chase after the two, likewise crashing and stomping on several piles of scrap, and at one point losing its footing and crashing through the wall completely with a thunderous echo.

...

"Ahhhhh! You're killing me! You're killing meeeeee!" Entrapta continued to cry out through the datapad.

Strangely, Adora found the sound of the robot's rampaging through the datapad a lot more annoying than the shenanigan currently taking place. Almost drowning out the sounds of Entrapta's pleading cries, the robots were dismantling and breaking nearly everything within the lab, causing Adora to form a small headache in her mind from the combination of just waking up, the numerous crashes, and growing darkness through her veins, one that needed a recharge as soon as she got back.

Maybe that's why she was too focused on what was taking place at what was happening through the datapad and not the pair of eyes that were listening in from behind her. "Entrapta, she really is alive!" Bow's eyes widened in revelation, overjoyed to know that it wasn't foolish optimism that lead them here, and despairing at the sounds of her tortured cries of anguish.

"And they're hurting her!" Glimmer grumbled as she squeezed her fist. She knew what Adora was like, having at least two personal confrontations with the Horde Captain, neither of which ended pleasantly. It took all she had to keep from lashing out at her, doing everything she could to prevent her own emotions from ruining their mission. She disliked the Horde Captain as much as she disliked her, yet she wasn't going to let her emotions jeopardize the mission if it meant losing the one chance they had at saving their dear friend.

At least, that was the plan before Adora spoke again.

"Kyle, would you shut that thing up already?" Adora grumbled as she rubbed her aching head. "I don't care what you have to pull or what you have to break, just do it so we can finally move on!"

"Ghhhhhh!" That was the final straw. Not only was Adora cruel enough to torture another fellow princess, she showed little to no remorse as she ordered this Kyle to, presumably, end the princess's life.

"Wait-!" Bow pleaded too slowly as the princess already teleported by the time he reached out for her.

Within a second, the princess left a trailing mist of her pink magic behind her and reappeared slightly above Adora. There wasn't even enough time for Adora to turn her head at the sound of the familiar magic before she found herself being tackled from above, knocking the datapad roughly to the floor as Glimmer pinned the commander to the ground by her shoulders. "Where is she?" She demanded to know.

"You!" Adroa shouted in fury. Sliding her legs from under her, she quickly kneed Glimmer in her stomach as she threw her off behind her, letting her temper and her darkness flare up in her veins as all her rage contorted beyond her control. Before she could follow up as she chased after the princess, Glimmer managed to recover on her own two feet, gathering a handful of her magic and blasting a powerful pink wave of magic directly at the girl, blasting her against the rough metallic walls of one of the Horde's structures.

That was the very scene Scorpia walked into as she rounded the corner of one of the Horde structures. The sight of her friend fueled her with a natural rage as she charged straight after the princess of Bright Moon, hammering down her massive claws with all her might.

Thanks to Glimmer's magic, it did little more than dent the metallic ground as she teleported away from her, reappearing several feet away as she charged again. No matter how hard Adora's friend tried, she couldn't land a hit. By the time she swung her tail, she reappeared in front of her and knocked her in the jaw. Following the second swing, she elbowed her directly in the back upon teleporting.

Shaking the dizziness out of her head, Adora glared at the princess as she continued to assault her friend, grinding the edge s of her teeth as she ran at the princess with all her speed. At least, she attempted to, if not for the arrow that cut her off not two feet later. Recognizing the craftsmanship and detail, sure enough, there was Bow, Glimmer's friend and one of Bright Moon's best archers, grinning victoriously to himself at a battle that hasn't ended.

A part of her almost wished Catra was there now, if only so she could pound her face in too.

Still, two out of three wasn't too bad, and if she could take down two of the three biggest annoyances in her life, Adora would gladly accept what they had to offer. Wasting no time channeling her power, caring little for how much it was taxing her, Adora gathered a handful of shadows, summoning them to each of her arms as they grew into the dreaded claws that could rip the metal off a tank. With eyes alight with fire, she charged at the now-trembling archer as he attempted to fire off again.

"G-Glimmer!" He called out as he fired away. One arrow. Two arrows. Three arrows. They kept coming and they were proving as ineffective as the next. Every shot Adora fired was bounced harmlessly off the shadows she summoned. The commander didn't even bother using the claws she was saving just for the archer and the princess, she used the freshly drawn shadows protruding from the ground, exerting her energy like never before, until she finally tackled the archer to the ground.

Pinned underneath her, Bow had a brief moment to look into her seething eyes. She wanted him dead, she hated him with all her fury, just like she hated Glimmer. At the same time, he also noticed a small trail of black veins growing along her neck, slowly creeping along her skin as she called upon her shadows again. With her right fist raised, the commander smashed it as hard as she could to the ground, missing by a mere inch thanks to Bow's quick turn of the head.

Before she could attempt another strike, the archer quickly reached for one of the arrows was dropped during the snuffle, grabbing at whichever one he could in his haste, and brought it down upon Adora's head. The commander was caught off guard as the tip of the arrow exploded in her face, leaving a blinding thick cloud of dust that stung her eyes a little, letting out a cough of choking air as her throat tingled. No amount of her magic could protect from the initial blast either as she found herself being blasted back several feel away, still rubbing at her stinging eyes.

At the same time, Scorpia continued to focus. She had so many training drills she took with her friends, numerous courses to keep themselves in shape. The princess was just trying to trick her, trying to fake her out again in the hopes landing another quick strike. If there was one thing Scorpia was catching on to, it was the small pattern in her movements and the way she teleported before she attacked again.

Just like this one: Right, Left, then BEHIND!

"Agh!" Glimmer yelped in surprise as her foot was suddenly grabbed in midair. She was taken by her own surprise as she attempted to strike at the scorpion girl from behind, only for the Force Captain to snag her leg with one of her own claws. There was no end to the number of strikes and punches Scorpia wanted to deliver back to the girl, all of which was put immediately to a halt when she found her other claw getting snagged in a goop caused by one of the archer's arrows, pinning her to the ground.

"Glimmer!" He rushed over as he helped his sore friend up. "We gotta get out of here, now!" She didn't need anyone to tell her twice as she rubbed her slightly sore face.

The two weren't expecting Scorpia. The two weren't expecting Adora. The two weren't expecting Scorpia and Adora. And there was no way either of the two combined could  **ever**  expect Adora to still have her magic! The biggest worry and confusion came to them knowing the Force Captain used to draw upon the power of her headband in order to channel her dark powers. But they were much more content with being confused than dead, knowing they wouldn't be able to handle these two for very long before reinforcements came by.

It was at this time Adora finally managed to clear her eyes of the stinging dust, grumbling as she saw the duo escaping. "After them!" She shouted, running after them as fast as sher legs could carry her.

"Uhhh..." Scorpia looked between her glued appendage and the commander sprinting passed her with uncertainty, taking a brief and failing opportunity to pry her claw away from the ground. "Right... uhhh... behind you..." She assured, even though Adora probably couldn't hear a word from her given how far she ran.

As for the other two, Glimmer and Bow ran as fast as they could as Adora chased from behind. She used every ounce of her magic to pull herself atop the various structures, pulling herself over with the shadowy tentacles stretching from her arms at one spot and boosting herself off the wall of another structure and so on. This would be one of the Horde's greatest accomplishments since, well, the first time Adora captured Bow and Glimmer, if she could manage to get her hands on them.

That was provided she was merciful enough to let them live after all the trouble they caused her.

Coming across one of the last structures before the wall, the Force Captain grinned as she saw the two of them coming to a dead end as they gaped back to her in horror. Her split second of pure joy at the prospect of capturing them was just as quickly diminished as she saw the two teleporting away, just as she struck the ground with a shadowy fist. Yet, no matter how much they teleported, Adora was quick to chase after them, knowing the layout of this place would've made it impossible to teleport safely.

An assessment that Adora proved more than knowledgeable of. No sooner did they reappear did Glimmer regret teleporting as they found their way inside of the chaotic structure once again. Having a bit of a de sha vue moment, she attempted to teleport again, and, just like with Catra, each result was more annoying than the last. First with an unfamiliar passageway, then with a hallway too narrow for them to stand as their backs and head pressed against the ceiling and walls, and finally, back to the familiar hallway they once came from.

"Wait, isn't this where we started?" Bow was the first to point out.

"Ugghhhhh!" Glimmer grumbled with a newfound annoyance as she pulled at her face. "I hate this place?"

"Heh heh heh." The two were startled at the sound of the familiar cackling coming behind them. Sure enough, there stood Adora, smirking at the two with her arms crossed as she leaned against the wall. "You know, I was gonna throw you in a prison cell, but I think watching you flail around as you try to find a way out of this place would be a lot more entertaining." Without another word, Adora charged against the princess again as she manipulated the shadows along her arms, swiping at the dodging Glimmer with her claws.

Glimmer was just at a loss for how the commander had her magic as much as Bow was, but she was more preoccupied with teleporting and dodging out of the way as Adora continued to swipe at her. Unlike Scorpira, Glimmer was forced to stay on her feet, or off her feet in this case, as she kept teleporting nearly every second. The commander was much faster than Scorpia was, and had a keen sense of where she was going to reappear next, forcing Glimmer to stay on the defensive.

There was little Bow could do in this situation as the two danced around with one another, aiming his arrow as he awaited a clean shot. There wasn't a single opening he could find as the two tussled back and forth, never staying in one location for too long before hopping one foot away from where he was aiming.

After the brief dance the two partook in, Adora finally managed to get a grip on the young princess, grinning ear to ear as the shadows manifested in her other hand again. If she had any prior battling experience with the young princess, then she probably would've been more prepared for the small blinding dust of sparkles that Glimmer shot in her face, disorienting her long enough for Glimmer to break out of her grip.

"Bow!" Glimmer shouted as she ran for her friend. This battle was getting to be too much. Too much time and the reinforcements were sure to come up, and the longer it took, the more magic Glimmer would lose that was needed to escape. There was only one other option that came to her mind as she grabbed her friends hand, and that was to escape!

Never realizing that the commander chased closely behind her and grabbed onto her with her shadowy hand right at the last second.

The sudden burst of magic, combined with all the mayhem over the last few minutes, took its toll on the princess as she appeared briefly incapacitated upon teleporting. It was one of the worst times for the two to be teleporting with an incapacitated princess that could teleport them out of danger as they reappeared somewhere above the clouds from what they could see.

"Glimmer, wake up!" He quickly shook her awake as he pleaded. There was a small groan in the princess's voice as she quickly came to from the combined efforts of Bow's shrugging and the strange tugging she felt coming from her cape. Looking back, she let out a small squeak as the two saw Adora trailing behind her with a look of disbelief and confusion crossing her face.

"What the heck did you just do?!"

* _Wham!_ *

The commander was so distraught over the sudden teleportation, and her first experience with it, that she wasn't the least bit prepared as a princess's heel collided with her face, feeling the full force of Glimmer's foot as she was kicked off the girl with all her might. The impact was enough to distance the three of them far enough as they continued their descent, eventually finding an even patch of ground that was soft enough to break their fall, and distance themselves at least ten feet away from each other.

This did little to dissuade the commander as she shook her head of the dizziness she felt, turning her attention and glaring over to the two troublemakers who started this mess. They were two of three sources of her utmost anger. They invaded a newly captured settlement of theirs, toyed around within the confines of the castle, and made a mockery of everything the Horde stood for on a daily basis.

And that was just every reason she hated them for today!

Once again gathering a bundle of shadows, Adora grumbled as she rushed over to the two downed members of the Rebellion with a pair of shadowy claws at her side.

"Look out!" Bow directed as he took immediate charge of the two of them. The moment Adora was halfway to them, Bow had a perfect shot lined up between the three of them as he fired one of his many trick arrows at her, one which burst open into a net that ensnared her upper body and knocked her off her feet a good distance to boot.

All of this happened within the two minutes that Glimmer first made contact with the blonde second-in-command. Bow earned his breath of relief as he found the two of them finally had a chance to catch their breath.

For about two seconds.

The net was sturdy for sure, but it meant nothing to the girl who had a desire to end everything Catra selfishly stood for. Concentrating with all of her might, prioritizing her need to tear these two limb from limb, Adora channeled the shadows along her arms again until they formed a serrated blade of darkness along each arm, easily cutting her way through the strong bonds, and jumped to her feet once more with a renewed vigor.

The two prepared themselves nervously as they watched the commander rush for them again. She wasn't about to let these two get away after all they did! She hated them both with a passion. They were enemies to the Horde, enemies who resisted and stood against everything they stood for! She wasn't going to let them get away after all they had done to the Horde, everything they've done to her and her friends!

She would have vengeance! She would have retribution! She would have-!

"Nggghhh!" Adora screamed through her teeth as she suddenly collapsed not three feet away from the surprised pair.  _Not now! Please!_  She begged herself as she squeezed her head.

Throughout the entire battle, from the very moment she spotted Glimmer, Adora had pushed herself, and her magic, to its limit. Not once since the start of the fearsome battle did she slow down, doing everything in her power to catch and subdue the two with her own two shadowy hands. That included expending any amount of magic she possibly could, not caring in the slightest for her own condition until it was too late.

She expended so much energy that the repercussions finally caught up to her, and the black veins trailing along her skin with it. All throughout her body, her entire being was wracked with an unfamiliar pain, one that seeped deeply into her mind as she squeezed her head against her hands as they returned to normal. All that shadow magic she had been using till now finally came back to bite her in turn, somewhat literally in this case as she felt like her skin was on fire.

The worst source of her pain was coming directly from her forehead where all the veins seemed to be drawn to. It was only now as she groveled in pain that the two managed to get a closer look at her, seeing the mysterious veins of darkness that stretched along the sides of her face. By now, both her cheeks had a small trail of black veins along the edges, ones that eventually slowed in the growing process.

Neither of the two could understand what was going on with her, though they weren't ones to argue with Adora's sudden collapse. With her magic catching them by surprise, there was no telling how much damage she could do to them, or how long they could withstand her onslaught if they couldn't teleport away in time.

Fortune seemed to be smiling on the two as they stared at the groveling captain, knowing she was in no position to be fighting back for the foreseeable future.

Bow felt nothing short of awkward as he scratched his cheek. "Umm... I think we won?"

...

...

* _twitch-twitch_ *

"Hm hm hmhmmm~"

* _twitch-twitch_ *

"Hm hm hmhmmm~"

* _twitch-twitch_ *

"Catra and Swift Wind on an adventure! Fixing the thing that Mara broke when she went nuts~"

Dear First Ones, or any higher source of power. Catra was begging you. Please put her out of her miserable existence before she finally snapped.

She remembers the day when she first met Glimmer and Bow and entered the town of Thaymor. There, she met a young four-year-old deer-like girl named Kim. She was a rather silly child, looking back on her now, and one that was filled with a sense of adventure and having fun. She was also one of the first people Catra got along with upon leaving the Horde behind, and one of the first people she almost made friends with for the first time.

When she met her, she had an annoying habit of dragging her throughout the entire town to do the various activities that were present throughout the town during its festival. Catra thought that getting dragged along by a small four-year-old, doing whatever she could to keep her from crying and causing a scene while she was incognito, was the most miserable three-hour experience of her life. It was boring to her, with only a few things intriguing her curiosity, and she was dragged everywhere against her will. Truly, it was one of the worst three hours of her life.

Catra officially took all of those claims back now.

This long three hours was nothing like the events of that day. That day had its fill of charm and wonder to the young magicat, and plenty of interesting new foods to try, so she could admit it had a small amount of entertaining things to go along with it. This day had nothing of the sort. These last three straight hours were filled with traveling on the back of a winged horse until they reached their destination, and an annoying horse who sung out of tune as he kept trying to add new lyrics to a song he never finished.

Every hum was followed by Catra twitching her brow in frustration. Every new line he came up with came with the magicat doing everything she could to keep her claws to herself. Every time he flew by, she focused all of her movement on her tail which was wagging aggressively as she tried to control her emotions, and her own two feet that continued through the field of grass as she attempted to find the stupid thing Mara broke so they could be done with it.

And she was failing.

"SWIFT WIND!" She finally yelped, doing what she could to collect her emotions before she continued. "Could you not do that for, like, ten minutes?" She almost sounded like she was begging as she continued forward, her brow still twitching with frustration.

"Just keeping us entertained while we look for this Watchtower." He replied cheerfully as he followed alongside her like the proud steed that he was. "Any sign of it yet?"

"There's nothing here but tall dried grass. Maybe Light Hope got the location wrong. I mean, she was bugging out when we left her." Catra felt the dry bristles of the grass around her as she looked around.

Like many places of Etheria, this place was nothing short of strange. All around her she was surrounded by a field of tall dry grass that brushed gently against the breeze of the day's wind. Small puffs of pollen-like substances floated around her as they floated into the air, some spreading through the sky, and others coming into contact with the surrounding lands around them. That was the normal part of this place.

The unnatural piece of this scenery were the floating landmasses that surrounded their location. All around the sky, in various sizes, were pieces of land that seemed partially drawn to this place, Whether through some force of magnetism or a miracle of magic, the floating chunks of land never seemed to distance themselves from this place, as if they wanted to be made whole again.

Whatever this place was, it had the same feeling of strangeness as the rest of Etheria did, yet had something more... different, to it, unlike the others.

"No, I don't think she did." Swift Wind responded casually as he took in the scenery, closing his eyes briefly. "I definitely sense something here, something ancient and magical."

"Where?"

"I'm not sure. Perhaps if we combine our efforts, my intuitive powers might increase." Did he have to say everything with a sense of pride, or was it just in Catra's head? Even the way he spoke, raising his wings a little with a sense of triumph, felt a little awkward to her as she glanced away.

"...Or... Maybe we could just split up or something?" She suggested turning around. "We could cover more ground if we went our separate ways from here."

"I could be wrong, but I'm sensing something's bothering you." If not for the spiritual connection he shared with Catra, the way she was phrasing her words sounded off to him.

"Nothing's bothering me!" She spat with a small irk. "I just wanna find this dumb tower so we can get back to training. You wanna help? Try and find it." She ordered turning around again.

"...Noooo, you're definitely troubled about something else. As your magnificent steed, I am attuned to your emotions."

"Ok. Rule number one: stay out of my head."

"I'm not in your head." He muttered, pressing his forehead against hers as he peered into the depths of her soul, or eyes in this case. "You might be able to hide your feelings from the others, but it doesn't work on me... Is it about me? It's about me, isn't it?"

"What? No!" She insisted, pushing him away and walking ahead. "I'm fine. Let's just go."

"Hmm," the magnificent stallion refused to back down from a challenge as he rubbed his chin with his wing, "is it about Bow? Glimmer? Adora? The Horde?" All the various people he came up with was presented in his own mind as a horse version of themselves, the best way he could identify them.

"No, it's none of that-"

"Is it the weight of the responsibilities you've been given as the new savior of Etheria? Soul crushing regret at all your past mistakes?" Never has Catra ever wished for someone to come with an off button as she did now with the horse that followed her. "The insanity being caused at the unknown of whether or not you can live up to your new task to restore balance to the rest of Etheria or risk bringing eternal ruin and discord to everybody around you-"

"STOP!" She finally snapped, almost looking desperate with the look she shot him. "Just. Stop. Talking! I'm fine, I swear! Just let me think for one second, geez!" She furled her brow as she moved on, scratching her head at the utter annoyance in the shape of a one-horned, winged, horse. For the first time ever in her life, she almost wished someone else was there to annoy her instead of the talking mammal that could get inside her head!

"...Okay!" And one that annoyed her with its always-optimistically-proud attitude when it spoke. "Well, I'm gonna go do a few loop-de-loops! Whoo!" With that, the horse cheered as he soared through the sky.

Why did she have to be burdened with a talking horse of all things? A talking horse that could fly and get into her head, at that. She would much rather deal with a horse that whines constantly as long as she couldn't understand the annoying garble coming out of its mouth if it meant staying out of her head. Add the fact he could fly to wherever he wanted, and there was very little she could do to escape him.

Why was he always so cheerful anyway? Just looking at him doing the loops in the air was enough to irritate her. He was a horse that could fly. Ok. She could see that as something to be cheery about. He was also a horse that was destined to fight alongside the Rebellion for the rest of their lives, provided he  **lived**  that long. That was something he couldn't be cheerful about. Maybe he actually found it entertaining to get under Catra's skin like that? To always be inside her head and-

Catra blinked as she noticed something while watching him. More specifically, something that caught her eye as she looked passed him. The floating landmasses surrounding the place, the things that gave this place a very strange sense of mysteriousness. Each and every one of them had a strange set of glowing lines, almost like runes, placed along the flats of their base. Noticing the other lines that floated around the place with different designs, it finally came to Catra as to why this place felt so unnatural, and why they couldn't find the mysterious tower.

"Hey, Swift Wind?" She called out as the horse continued to loop around.

"Yes, Catra?"

"I think I found the Watchtower."

...

...

"Mmmh..." Adora winced a little as she slowly came to. Her entire body felt sore and stiff, but miraculously she was still alive. The last thing she could remember was using her powers for... something... and then a severe pain shooting through her body, and then... and then... "Huh?" That's when she noticed she couldn't move her arms.

Looking around, her eyes widened a little at the sight of the thick vines binding her. Her arms were tightly wrapped around her sides as she sat upon a large rock. Struggling a little against the vines, she failed to find any sort of slack in their binding, noticing the expert tying displayed to keep her in place. It was just a few seconds later that she realized she wasn't alone as she felt two thin shadows looming over her, lifting her weary head to see Glimmer glaring at her, and Bow watching her movements closely. "Ok. No." She grumbled, trying to pry her arms loose.

"Well look who's awake." The princess of Bright Moon said, almost tauntingly as if she intended to stroke Adora's anger.

Now she remembered everything else. She was fighting with the two biggest annoyances of her life given human form, ones that went by the name of Glimmer and Bow. Immediately, the Force Captain gritted her teeth as anger welled up within her, as well as a sense of personal pride.

"Do you really think these stupid vines can hold me?" She smirked. All she needed to do was draw a little bit of her power to form and a blade and then-! "Aggh!" She yelped, immediately losing her focus as her body practically quaked. She wasn't used to this sensation before, not to a pain that came when she tried to channel her powers. Then again, she never really tried drawing out her powers without recharging for so long either.

"Not so easy to use your powers without recharging for so long, is it?"  _ **Now**_  Glimmer was officially taunting her as she leaned in. She recognized that strained look of pain all too well, having several experiences in the past when she tried to push beyond her limits, only to succumb to a deep pain where she couldn't use her powers anymore.

It was at that time Adora took in more of her surroundings, and the situation at hand. Currently, she was in the middle of nowhere with no idea where the princess teleported them to, currently being held captive by dumber and dimmer, and, aggravatingly enough, she was without her magic. If she had even a fraction of her powers on hand, she could propel herself up high into the air enough to get a view of her surroundings. Then again, if she had that much, she could've cut her way out with even a sliver of her shadow and break through her bonds.

"...Huff..." She really didn't want to do this. Despite every bone in her body shouting at her to stop, or maybe it was her subconscious again, she didn't see any other option. "Ok. This is how we'll do this. You untie me. We go our separate ways. And we'll try to destroy each other some other time. Got it?"

"Do you think you're in any position for demands?" Glimmer grumbled, leaning closer to the girl's face.

"Listen you-! Ngggh!" Darn it! This stupid headache! Every headache brought another wave of a burning sensation throughout her entire body. It's like her mind was telling her if her mind was going to suffer, it was going to make the rest of Adora suffer.

"Hey, ease up on her." Bow pulled back Glimmer as he saw the pain spreading through Adora's expression.

"Ease up on her?! This is easing up on her, Bow!" Glimmer argued as she gestured to the commander. "She let the Horde Torture us Bow! She tortured  **me**!" Did he truly forget everything the Horde did to them? Did he forget every single detail she mentioned when Glimmer recounted her own torture?

"Uh, yeah, because she's a bad guy! We're supposed to be the good guys!"

"That's an opinion, not a fact!"

"Stay out of this, Adora!" Glimmer yelled back briefly.

**_Exp... em..._ **

There was the silent voice speaking in Adora's mind. Thank goodness Adora still had that around because on top of being filled with a severe pain shooting throughout her body, the LAST thing she'd want to be is without a creepy voice echoing through her mind in whispers that only she could hear. Truthfully, she'd be more than happy to listen to anyone else's voice than theirs, but the least it could do is say it more clearly.

"Listen. We didn't want for this to happen, but it did," Glimmer continued, "and now we should use it to our advantage."

"Tch, typical princess tactic." She scoffed. If she was going to be their hostage or prisoner, there was no way she was going to make it pleasant for them! "Use whatever means you have to achieve victory. No matter the cost or who gets injured. Heh, and you call us evil."

"Shut it. We're taking you to Bright Moon. Your people want you back, then they'll have to give us Entrapta in exchange!"

"...Who?" She nearly jumped as Glimmer pulled her closer by the collar of her uniform. In truth, there was a partial lightheadedness she was feeling in the midst of her overexerted state. Anything requiring the simplest form of thought felt blurry to her.

"We know you have her! Where is she? What are you doing with her?"

It took her a few seconds to realize what she was referring to. "Ooooh, riiiight, Entrapta. The Princess you left behind like a piece of trash after she finished saving your sorry excuse for a butt!"

"Grrrrr!"

* _thud_ *

"Oww!" Ugh, even being dropped in her weakened state felt like she was being slammed upon a pile of bricks.

"Glimmer!" Bow groaned as he helped Adora up, brushing a few bangs of her hair out of her face. It was as he brushed the hair from her face that he felt something along her forehead. "Whoa... Glimmer, she's burning up."

"She's probably faking it. Knowing her, she's just trying to trick us."

"Oh yeah?" Adora challenged as her brows narrowed and her face flushed a little. "Why don't all three of you say that to me... as soon as you stop moving..."

"Glimmer..."

"Mmmh..." She hated to feel any speck of sympathy for the girl that literally tortured her over a month ago. Yet, she couldn't deny the small feeling of pity as she saw the black veins along the sides of Adora's face and the small streak of red across her face. It didn't help that the girl continued to glare back at her as she examined the dreary look on her face, but then again, she didn't feel like Adora was worth much sympathy in the first place. At least not a lot. "We can get her treated at Bright Moon once we teleport there."

"Uhhh... hold that thought." Bow muttered as he quickly sat Adora back atop of the rock. The girl's fever wasn't enough to make her delirious, though it was enough to keep her from caring entirely. "Shouldn't you wait until we get closer to teleport us? You don't want to run out of power and get us stuck out here. Especially with... her..." He hinted as he pointed back to the girl who was currently squinting at the sky.

"...Why does the sun hurt my eyes?"

"Ugh, fine! We'll wait until we're closer,  _then_ teleport." She stated, marching back to the girl in delirium. "All right, on your feet."

"Umm... No." She replied, quickly falling on her back against the rock.

"Geh! Would you quit goofing around!" She really hoped she didn't have to literally drag the girl around as she pulled her up by the shoulder again.

"Ow! Stop it!" Did it really hurt her as much as she was saying it did? She had to admit there was a sense of unease in practically every piece of her movement.

"Glimmer!" Likewise, Bow hoped he didn't have to break up the fight between the two as he distanced them a good two feet apart.

"Oh come on, I barely touched her that time!"

"Yeah, but she's already in pain! Just be a little easier with her."

"Ghhhhhhh! Do it for Entrapta... Do it for Entrapta..." Glimmer mumbled to herself as she walked away down the path. She was willing to do anything she could at this moment to save Entrapta, and if that meant putting up with a mad psycho manipulator of shadows turned into a whiny brat, then so be it. She just wished Bow would be more understanding of the same pain she put her through when no one helped her.

Adora tortured her. Not with words, not with gestures, physically. She subjected Glimmer to the mots painful of electroshocks that any one person could ever go through, she still had nightmares when she remembered it seconds before falling asleep! Whatever person Adora was that Catra knew her as never existed, because as far as Glimmer was concerned, Adora was nothing short of a monster.

"Sorry about her, she's just a little... um..."

"Annoying?" Adora scoffed, blowing up a puff of her dangling hair.

"What? No, I was gonna... well... she's just not one to forget peoples' actions. Can't really say I blame her given what she went through."

"Whatever. If you're gonna get rid of me, just hurry up and do it. This headache's bad enough, the last thing I need is a lecture before I die."

"Nobody's going to die." Bow assured as he gently pulled her along the path. "And nobody's going to get tortured. I detest that sort of thing."

Adora blinked. "You... You do?"

"Well, yeah. It's barbaric. It's not like you're guaranteed to get the information you'd want out of someone anyway, it's pointless."

"Bow?" Glimmer called out from ahead, bringing them all to a halt. With a nervous chuckle, Bow ran up ahead to see what she had to say, all while Adora thought about something.

_"You'll learn, Adora. With or without me to guide you, you'll learn." She didn't care if she was talking anymore as she walked her way to the door. She just wanted to put the past behind her. "You'll never make it out there on good intentions or a peaceful frame of mind. One way or another, you're going to learn that betrayals, schemes, and exploits are the only way to make it through this world."_

It was the very words Shadow Weaver told her when she last saw her. As the whispers in the back of her mind started to become more clearer, she realized this is exactly what she was talking about.

Adora tried to be direct with them, and they ignored her. She offered them a reasonable deal with letting her go and having the three of them go their separate ways, and they denied her. She tried to resist them with all that her currently feeble might could, and they were having none of it.

So why should she play by the same rules right now? If they ended up taking her all the way to Bright Moon, she knew that would be the end of it. She would likely be tortured, if not executed by Glimmer's mother personally, she would let down all those who looked up to her in the Fright Zone, and she would never see the light of day again, and that's if she was lucky! And don't even get her started on seeing Catra's smug look for the rest of her life. She'd almost take execution with a smile if she didn't have to hear her tauntings for as long as she lived.

She needed a way out. She wasn't in any shape to run, any stance to argue, and she had little to no magic left that she could draw upon, not without further harming herself. If she wanted to survive this ordeal, she was going to have to rely on her quick wits, and the opportunity that presented itself before her.

She noticed it through small talks here and there between the two. They were not perfect together. They disagreed here and there. From her perspective, they seemed entirely different. Bow seemed like someone who had a decent sense of justice, whereas Glimmer was the sort of cretin that she grew up hearing about, a princess that only cared for the suffering they could inflict on others, and use for their own personal goals.

This once great moment of travesty might've been a genuine blessing in disguise. If Adora played her cards right, not only would she manage to get away from this moment of peril, but she might be able to bring back a powerful ally with her. All she had to do was play the two against each other, and show Bow what Glimmer was really like.

And to do that, all she had to do was to listen for the very first time what the voices were telling her to do.

_**Exploit them...** _

 

_**...** _

 

_**...** _

 

_**...** _

 

_**A/N: Hooftah! ANother fun-filled chapter ^^ Had quite a bit of fun between the dialogue and the action scenes to go with it ^^ Outta curiosity, is the writing still good folks? I feel like its a little off here and there. Then again, its been 2 months, and I've been going through some health problems im seeing the doctor for tomorrow (nothing major- i think), so who knows XP** _

 

_**Anyway, hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!** _

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Cat-Ra: Prank Buddies](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21299147) by [Peyton_Helix](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peyton_Helix/pseuds/Peyton_Helix)




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